Texts in Conversation
In the Greek version of Isaiah 54, God promises children to a barren woman. In Galatians 4, Paul applies this to Sarah's free children, and in 2 Clement, the preacher applies it to the church's growth, likely drawing on Isaiah independently of Paul.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Isaiah 54:1
Septuagint
1 Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth, and shout, you who are not in labor! Because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her that has a husband, for the Lord has spoken. 2 Enlarge the site of your tent and of your curtains; make it firm; do not hold back; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes, 3 because you must spread out to the right and to the left, and your offspring will inherit the nations and will inhabit the cities that have become desolate. 4 Do not fear because you were put to shame, neither feel disgraced because you were reproached, because you will forget your ancient shame and the reproach of your widowhood you will not remember,
Galatians 4:27
New Testament
22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 But one, the son by the slave woman, was born by natural descent, while the other, the son by the free woman, was born through the promise. 24 These things may be treated as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar. 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.”
2 Clement 2:1
Early Christian
1 “Rejoice, you barren who bore no child. Break out and cry, you who have not labored; for more are the children of the desolate than of her who has a husband.” In that He said “Rejoice, you barren who bore no child,” He spoke of us: for our Church was barren, before children were given to her. 2 And in that He said, “Cry aloud, you who have not labored,” He means this: Let us not, like women in labor, grow weary of offering up our prayers simply to God. 3 Again, in that He said, “For the children of the desolate are more than of her who has the husband,” He spoke so, because our people seemed desolate and forsaken by God, whereas now, having believed, we have become more than those who seemed to have God.
Date: 130-160 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... There is one potential parallel, 2 Clem. 2. 1 and Gal. 4. 27, but this may be explained by each author’s independent use of Isa. 54. 1. [...] As Lightfoot observes, both ‘Clement’ and Justin apply the prophecy of Isaiah in the same way, as referring to a time when there would be more Gentile than Jewish believers. This is quite different from the use to which Paul puts his citation, for he uses it to demonstrate that Sarah’s children (the followers of Christ) are free, whereas Hagar’s children (the Jews) are slaves to the Law. This would imply that ‘Clement’ and Justin drew on the same Vorlage, perhaps a testimony book, not on Paul’s letter to the Galatians. ...”
Gregory, Andrew F.
The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers
(pp. 285-286) Oxford University Press, 2005
* 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.
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