How many sons did Abraham have and who were their mothers according to Galatians 4?
Galatians 4 states that Abraham had two sons. One son was born by the bondmaid, identified in the context as Hagar, and was born after the flesh. The other son was Isaac, born by the free woman and connected to the promises.
Les explains that Paul uses Abraham’s two sons as an allegory. Galatians 4:22–23 says Abraham had two sons, one by a bondmaid and the other by a free woman. The son of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; the context identifies that child by Hagar. The other son, Isaac, came as a result of the promises over almost 40 years. Les teaches that the whole concept of the birth of Ishmael and the birth of Isaac was for an allegory Paul uses in the age of grace.
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
More Questions
What does it mean that Isaac was the child of promise in Galatians 4?
Isaac was the child of promise, born through God's promise, not through the flesh like Ishmael; God promised this child even though Abraham and Sarah were 100 and 90 years old.
How was Isaac born according to the explanation in Galatians 4:23?
Unlike Ishmael, Isaac was born through God's promise and miracle: God had been promising Isaac for twenty-some years, and after Abraham and Sarah were past childbearing age, God miraculously gave Isaac to them.