Texts in Conversation
Isaiah tells a childless woman to rejoice, since she will have more children than a married one. Paul applies it to the Galatian community, while Rabbinic tradition in tractate Berakhot has a teacher and a skeptic argue over who that woman represents.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Galatians 4:27
New Testament
25 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear children; break forth and shout, you who have no birth pains, because the children of the desolate woman are more numerousthan those of the woman who has a husband.” 28 But you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise like Isaac.
Berakhot 10a
Babylonian Talmud
Rabbinic
Rabbi Meir saw that Berurya was correct and he prayed for God to have mercy on them, and they repented. The Gemara relates an additional example of Berurya’s incisive insight: A certain heretic said to Berurya: It is written: “Sing, barren woman who has not given birth, open forth in song and cry, you did not travail, for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, said the Lord” (Isaiah 54:1). Because she has not given birth, she should sing and rejoice? Berurya responded to this heretic’s mockery and said: Fool! Go to the end of the verse, where it is written: “For the children of the desolate shall be more numerous than the children of the married wife, said the Lord.” Rather, what is the meaning of: “Sing, barren woman who has not given birth”? It means: Sing congregation of Israel, which is like a barren woman who did not give birth to children who are destined for Gehenna like you.
Date: 450-550 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Search:
Notes and References
... We can now return to the talmudic passage in tractate Berakhot that stands at the heart of our discussion, armed with the insights into the methodological and hermeneutical considerations involved in interpreting Isaiah 54:1. Specifically, we suggest that the min’s words in the passage, and Beruria’s response, are better understood in light of these earlier interpretations, especially Paul’s epistle. As mentioned earlier, at first glance the passage seems to ridicule the min’s question. It appears easily refutable and it is not clear what stands behind its phrasing. Our reading of this passage treats the min’s words not as a simple debate over the interpretation of this verse. The min does not intend to introduce a pseudoparadox in the biblical wording but rather to assert a polemical theological claim based on Isaiah’s language. ...
Bar-Asher Siegal, Elitzur A. and Michal Bar-Asher Siegal
"Beruria and the Jewish-Christian Conversation in the Babylonian Talmud" in Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, Tzvi Novick, and Christine Hayes (eds.) The Faces of Torah: Studies in the Texts and Contexts of Ancient Judaism in Honor of Steven Fraade
(pp. 213-216) Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2017
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.