我觉得要解释《巴比伦》这一词最简单的方法是把它看为一个完整的政治和／或宗教体系（an entire political and/or religious system）。没错，在中东以前是有一个巴比伦城市，在今天的巴格达城（伊拉克）以南 85Km。旧约有好多地方提到这个城市，即是在旧约经文（特别是先知书）就看到巴比伦不单是指那个城市，而是指所有抵挡神，攻击以色列民的列国或民族。这就像今天我们说《华盛顿绝对不赞同克里姆林宫的东欧计划》。《华盛顿》与《克里姆林宫》都是实际的地方，可是我们也明白这些都是代表两个不同的政治体系。在新约时代（包括今天），巴比伦早就没了，可是抵挡上帝（还有耶稣基督，教会）的精神和力量比以往任何时候都更强大。
During the daily Bible reading of 14 Feb, in Galatians 4:21–31, this question came up:
What is Paul talking about in the passage, what is the allegory he’s presenting?
Note: There’s a post, in Chinese, that discusses pretty much the same topic, though the initial question was a little different.
Short Answer
Paul is telling the Galatian Christians: You are the children of the Jerusalem above (heavenly), don’t go back to the present Jerusalem. In fact, you should throw out the people (the Judaizers, see below) who are trying to force you to go back to the old ways (present Jerusalem, circumcision, keeping the law, etc.)
Detailed Answer
Background
Paul started the Galatian church, but after he left, there was a group of Jews who insisted that Gentiles must first become Jews (i.e., be circumcised, follow the law, etc.) before they can join the church. This group is referred to as the Judaizers. Paul is telling this group how wrong they are, and telling the church that they should throw out the Judaizers (Gal 4:30)! With the new covenant, we only need faith in Christ Jesus in order to be right with God. The old covenant (circumcision, the law, etc.) are things of the past.
Paul then uses the story of Abraham’s two sons, Ishmael (the elder son of Abraham by his concubine Hagar), and Isaac (his younger son by his true wife Sarah). The story is in Gen 21:1–21. Abraham and Sarah were far too old to have children (even back in Gen 11:30, when we first heard of Sarah, the narrator said she was barren). God promised them a son a long time ago, but they got impatient, and Sarah gave her maid Hagar to Abraham, in order for him to have a son by Hagar (this was a perfectly normal thing to do back then). Ishmael was born, and Abraham placed all his hopes on Ishmael being the son promised by God.
However, God didn’t want Ishmael. By God’s miracle, Sarah was able to conceive, and gave birth to Isaac (she was 90 years old then, Abraham was 100). Isaac was the one chosen by God, the son of the promise. It is through Isaac that God’s plan of salvation will continue (culminating in the Messiah, Jesus). When Sarah saw Ishmael laughing at Isaac, she demanded that Abraham kick Ishmael out, saying, “for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac” (Gen 21:10). Abraham was sad, because Ishmael was a teenager by then, and Abraham certainly loved him like a son. However, God told Abraham not to be upset, but to do as Sarah demanded; God will also bless Ishmael because he is Abraham’s son (Gen 21:12–13).
This story of the two women forms the background of Paul’s argument in Gal 4:21–31.
Paul’s Argument
In Gal 4:24, Paul said “this may be interpreted allegorically.” By “this”, he means the Abraham/Sarah story. Let’s see how he interprets the story.
The two woman are like the two covenants (Gal 4:24). Hagar is like Mount Sinai (the place we know from Exodus), the other he didn’t mention explicitly, but we know he’s referring to Mount Zion (Jerusalem). From Gal 4:25–27, he continues to show that the son of Hagar is like the Judaizers, while the son of Sarah is like the Galatian Christians. Then in Gal 4:28–30, he shows that just like Ishmael persecuted Isaac, the Judaizers persecuted the Galatian Christians. Finally, in Gal 4:31, he summarises to say that “we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.” The “we” here refers to the Galatian Christians (and anyone who trusts in Christ as their saviour). The following table compares the two sons:
Notice something interesting, and very disturbing to the Judaizers. The Jews have always thought of themselves as Isaac’s descendants, while the Gentiles are descendants of Ishmael. They see the Gentiles as without the law (Mount Sinai), and Jerusalem is not their city. But as we see from the table, Paul is saying that the law and Mount Sinai are from the slave woman, not the free woman, and the Gentiles that the Judaizers despised are the descendants of the free woman, and Mount Zion (Jerusalem) is theirs.
Note that in the entire passage, Paul never once mentioned Sarah (he did mention Hagar), so we know the main point isn’t about Sarah. The point is about Jerusalem: Hagar is the present Jerusalem, she is in slavery along with her children (Gal 4:25); while Sarah is the Jerusalem above, who is free (Gal 4:26). Paul is telling the Galatian Christians that if the Jerusalem above is our “mother”, why do you want to go back to be slaves with the present Jerusalem, a place that God has already forsaken?
Just like Sarah throwing out Ishmael, Paul invites the Galatian Christians to throw out the Judaizers, because the latter “shall not inherit with the son of the free woman” (Gal 4:30).
Some Notes About the Isaiah Quote
The allegory is interesting, and Paul quoted Isaiah 54:1 to prove his point. Isa 54:1 mentions a barren and desolate (divorced) woman. This woman is Israel. God has “discarded” Israel, because she was nearly always unfaithful to her covenant with God. But now she can be joyful. She can make her tent larger (Isa 54:2) because more children means a bigger tent is needed. She will “spread out to the right and to the left,” and her “children will conquer nations” (Isa 54:3). How can this be? Has she changed? Isn’t she just as unfaithful to God as before? The reason for all this happiness is not because of what Israel has done, but because of what God’s servant has done, as described in the previous passage (Isa 52:13–53:12), the fourth of the so called “Servant Songs.”[1]The other three “Servant Songs” are: Isa 42:1–4; 49:1–6; and 50:4–9.
What the servant accomplished allowed this desolate woman to once again return to God. Israel just has to trust in God, and they will have these blessings. On “this side of the cross”, we know that this servant is Jesus. He accomplished God’s plan of salvation for both the Jews and the Gentiles. Gentiles like us, who originally had no relationship to God, can now shout for joy. Because of our faith in Christ Jesus, we can become God’s children, the same as Israel.
But how can Paul equate Hagar with the present Jerusalem, and Sarah with the Jerusalem above? Isn’t this a bit arbitrary, and taking Isaiah’s prophesies out of context? Actually, Paul is following Isaiah’s lead. Let’s see what Isaiah says a few chapters earlier, in Isa 51:1–2.
Isaiah 51:1–2 (ESV)
1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 2 Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.
Outside of Genesis, the above is the only passage in the entire Old Testament that mentioned Sarah. Sarah was just Isaac’s mother, but she has now become the “Sarah who bore you.” Who are the “you”(“you” in the Hebrew is plural) that Isaiah is referring to? They are the ones in Isa 51:1, “you who pursue righteousness, / you who seek the Lord.”[2]Note again that “you” here is plural. So Isaiah took the story of Sarah giving birth to a son, to make Sarah become the mother of a people, a people who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord.
Paul more or less followed what Isaiah did. He sees Sarah as not just the mother of Isaac, not just the mother of Israel, but also representing the new covenant, the Jerusalem above (Gal 4:26: “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.”)
References
Silva, Moisés. 2007. “Galatians.” In Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, 785–810. Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic; Apollos.
Wilkin, Robert N. 2010. “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians.” In The Grace New Testament Commentary, edited by Robert N. Wilkin. Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society.
A question came up from today’s Bible reading in Job 41: Is Leviathan a real animal?
今天通读圣经在约伯记 41 有这个提问：鳄鱼是真的动物吗？
Short answer 简答
The Leviathan is some sort of sea monster that is in the mythologies of the people of the Ancient Near East. It represents the forces of chaos, and is one of the gods that fight against a more superior god. The Israelites know of these myths, of course, but the Bible states things very differently: Yahweh (usually written in small-caps as LORD in English Bibles) is the sole creator, everything else, including Leviathan, are created things.
LEVIATHAN (לִוְיָתָן, liwyathan). One of the Hebrew names for the sea monster of ancient Near Eastern mythology that represented the forces of chaos held in check by the power of the creator deity. Sometimes rendered “sea monster” or “dragon” in modern English biblical translations. … Leviathan is mentioned by name six times in the Hebrew Bible (Job 3:8; 41:1; Pss 74:14; 104:26; Isa 27:1). Most of these passages assert or allude to Yahweh’s power and control over the sea monster. … The only detailed physical description of Leviathan in the Bible is found in Job 41, which describes a powerful and fearsome creature that cannot be tamed or subdued by human power. [It] has fearsome teeth (Job 41:14) and impenetrable scales (Job 41:15–17); it breathes out fire and smoke (Job 41:18–21) and breaks through iron and bronze as though it were straw or rotting wood (Job 41:27). Warriors will retreat from Leviathan when all their weapons have proved useless against it (Job 41:25–29). … The mythical background is evident in Isa 27:1 and Psa 74:14. In Isaiah 27, Leviathan represents Israel’s enemies and embodies the metaphysical cosmic forces of evil and chaos. … The physical description of Leviathan in Job 41 clearly depicts a creature that cannot be tamed or subdued by human power. In this case, the writer of Job clearly appropriated imagery to make the rhetorical point that only Yahweh is powerful enough to keep the forces of chaos in check. Whether the description in Job 38–41 moves from physical creation to mythological imagery, the message is the same: Yahweh, not Job, is the sovereign creator who has absolute power over creation.
Douglas Mangum and Matthew James Hamilton, “Leviathan,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
屠杀 túshā is massacre, so 大屠杀 is the great massacre, or the holocaust.
掳囚 Lǔ qiú
Captive, in captivity, held in prison.
依 Yī
According to. So 依 whatever = according to whatever.
抟面盆 Tuán miànpén
Kneading bowl. The bowl they use to knead dough for baking bread. They left in a hurry, so no time for the yeast to work through the dough (so unleavened bread).
面盆 miànpén usually means wash basin (the bowl you use when you wash your face in the old days before we have sinks).
催促 Cuīcù
To urge. The Egyptians were urging the Israelites to leave. In Hebrew, the verb is khazaq, the same verb used to describe Pharaoh’s heart being hard (unchanging). So the Egyptians wanted the Hebrews to get out, and they’re not going to change their minds about it.
提防 tífáng
To guard against, to watch out for.
规则 guīzé
Rule, regulation.
践行 jiàn xíng
To practice something, as in following something. 践行规则 guīzé Follow the rules.
失迷 Shī mí
Lost, can’t find your way.
遮盖 Zhēgài
To cover something, usually with the intention of hiding it from view.
遮掩 Zhēyǎn
To hide something or someone.
挤住 Jǐ zhù
To squeeze, to choke.
世界观 Shìjièguān
World view. The “lens” through which we see everything around us.
优先事项 Yōuxiān shìxiàng
Priorities. What we put first or consider as most important.
理念 Lǐniàn
Concept, idea.
劝勉 Quànmiǎn
Exhortation, to exhort (to exhort means to strongly encourage someone to do something).
息息相关 Xīxī xiāngguān
Closely related.
始终如一地 Shǐzhōng rúyī dì
Consistently, as in doing something consistently.
安全区 Ānquán qū
Safe zone, or safe place.
详细 xiángxì
Detail, as in “more detailed description.”
中秋节 zhōngqiū jié
Mid-Autumn Festival. The festival when we eat moon cakes (月饼).
端午节 duānwǔ jié
The festival when we eat 粽子 zòngzi, and have dragon boat races.
元宵节 yuánxiāo jié
Usually called the Lantern Festival in English. It’s the annual festival when we eat 汤圆 Tāngyuán. In northern China, 汤圆 is usually called 元宵 yuánxiāo, hence the name of the festival.
春节 Chūn jié
Chinese new year. The two Chinese words literally mean spring festival.
副词 Fùcí
Adverb. 副 by itself is something like secondary (as in “vice president”). So 副总统 (zǒngtǒng) means vice president.
蘸盆 Zhàn pén
Dipping basin, dipping bowl. Like a small pail or bucket that we might use today.
蘸 by itself means to dip.
祭 Jì
A sacrifice. As in sacrificing to God.
应许 Yīngxǔ
A promise, to promise.
不容 Bùróng
Not allow, won’t permit.
容 by itself can mean allow, permit, tolerate, etc.
牛膝草 Niú xī cǎo
Hyssop.
a small bushy aromatic plant of the mint family, the bitter minty leaves of which are used in cooking and herbal medicine.
(in biblical use) a wild shrub of uncertain identity whose twigs were used for sprinkling in ancient Jewish rites of purification.
To use interchangeably, can be substituted one for another.
互换 means exchange, swap.
使用 means to use, to make use of.
平凡 Píngfán
Mundane, the usual.
焦点 Jiāodiǎn
Focus, main point.
确保 Quèbǎo
To ensure, make sure.
妥协 Tuǒxié
Compromise, to compromise.
澄清 Chéngqīng
Clarification, to clarify.
容忍 Róngrěn
To tolerate.
性质 Xìngzhì
The nature of something, the characteristic, etc.
调解人 Tiáojiě rén
Mediator.
谈判者 Tánpàn zhě
Negotiator. See also 中保, 调解人.
凭 Píng
By, lean on, rely on, according to.
添 Tiān
To add.
过犯 Guò fàn
Transgressions, sins.
中保 Zhōng bǎo
Mediator.
Note that the biblical meaning of mediator is not quite the same as what’s normally understood in English usage.
军队 Jūnduì
Army.
寄居 Jìjū
To sojourn, to live temporarily at some place. Temporary resident.
剪除 Jiǎnchú
Cut off.
无酵饼 Wú jiào bǐng
Unleavened bread. Bread made without yeast. Pain sans levain. 酵 = leaven, yeast, levure.
愤怒 Fènnù
Wrath, great anger.
革舜 Gé shùn
Gershom, the firstborn of Moses. He first appeared in Exo 2:22, and also in the strange incident in Exo 4:24–26, when God wanted to kill Moses, but Moses’ wife Zipporah circumcised Gershom and “applied” it to Moses, saving Moses.
牲畜 Shēngchù
Livestock, like cattle, sheep, etc.
攻击 Gōngjí
To attack.
计算 Jìsuàn
To calculate, calculation.
晓谕 Xiǎoyù
Another (maybe more formal or fancy) way of saying “to speak to” someone, or to give someone a message.
砂浆 Shājiāng
Mortar, the cement-like paste that glues bricks together. Used in construction.
欧芹 Ōu qín
Parsley.
辣根 Là gēn
Horseradish. The 2 Chinese word are literally spicy root.
严惩 Yánchéng
To punish severely.
定例 Dìnglì
Regulation, rule or statue (as in law).
五旬节 Wǔ xún jié
Pentacost. The Chinese 五旬 means 50, so does Pentacost, which comes from the Greek word for 50. The is the last of the four spring festivals, the 4th of the seven Festivals of YHWH (see Lev 23). It’s 50 because the feast takes place 50 days after Passover.
In Jewish tradition, the is also the day when God gave them the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. For Christians, Pentacost is also the birthday of the church, when the Holy Spirit first came down and filled all the believers who heard Peter’s preaching (Acts 2:1–4) on that Pentacost day after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
住棚节 Zhù péng jié
Feast of Tabernacles, celebrated in the fall. It’s the final of the seven Festivals of YHWH (see Lev 23). The feast celebrates the Israelites’ days in the wilderness (after they left Egypt), when they lived in tents (tabernacles), when God was with them to bring them to Canaan.
无酵饼 Wú jiào bǐng
Unleavened bread. So bread made without the use of leaven (yeast). The Chinese term has 3 words: “无 Without,” “酵 leaven or yeast”, and “饼 bread.” So “bread without leaven,” or “bread without yeast.”
门框 Ménkuàng
Door frame (that’s pretty much the literal meaning of the two Chinese words).
残疾 Cánjí
残疾 Disability, deformity. The 无 Wú in front is a negation, so 无残疾 means “no disability” or “no deformity.”
With animals offered to YHWH, it must not have any defects, deformities, etc.
击杀 Jī shā
To kill. The CUV uses 击杀 to translate the Hebrew word נכה, where נכה means to strike or to attack, which might or might not involve killing. All modern Chinese translations instead use 惩罚 (Chéngfá, to punish) or 击打 (Jī dǎ, to strike or hit).
灾殃 Zāiyāng
Plague. Any epidemic with a high death rate.
惩罚 Chéngfá
To punish.
越过 Yuèguò
To pass over something. This is the Hebrew verb that gave us the name Passover.
败坏 Bàihuài
To corrupt, to ruin, to undermine. In the CUV, 败坏 translates two Hebrew words, אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֥ה שְׁפָטִ֖ים, “do punishment.” So it’s better to translate these Hebrew words as “execute judgement” or “bring judgement.” More modern Chinese translations all use 惩罚 Chéngfá (or 严惩 yánchéng, where 严 means heavy or severe).
头生 Tóu shēng
Firstborn.
巡行 Xúnxíng
To patrol. In the CUV, 巡行 translates the Hebrew word עָבַרְתִּ֣י, whose original meaning we’re not entirely sure of. The most common translation is “to pass through,” which is used by most English translations.
逾越节 Yúyuè jié
Passover. The annual event that Jews celebrate every spring. It’s the first of the 7 feasts of YHWH described in Lev 23.
束带 Shù dài
Best understood as a belt. In Exo 12:11, 束带 is used in 腰间束带, which means “a belt around your waist.”
In the original Hebrew, 束 translates חגר, which means “to be girded (dressed),” 带 is added on by the CUV.
五脏 Wǔzàng
Five internal organs. In Chinese, these are the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.
In the CUV, it translates the Hebrew word meaning “inner parts.” More modern Chinese translations use “内脏 Nèizàng,” (which means internal organs or viscera) instead of 五脏.
脏 itself means dirty, as in “肮东西 dirty thing.”
水煮 Shuǐ zhǔ
Boiled in water. The Chinese term is “水 water,” “煮 cook.” So literally water-cooked.
门楣 Ménméi
Lintel. The horizontal beam (can be wood, stone, etc.) that spans the top of a doorway.
涂 Tú
To paint, as in applying some liquid substance to a surface.
宰 Zǎi
Slaughter, to slaughter (usually applied to animals).
黄昏 Huánghūn
Dusk. The time of day when the sun has just set below the horizon.
隔壁 Gébì
Next door, neighbour. The Chinese term is made up of the words meaning “separate 隔” and “wall 壁.”
邻舍 línshè
Neighbour.
恳切 Kěnqiè
Fervently, earnestly, sincerely. This is the way James said Elijah prayed, and we can pray the same way.
哈马斯 Hā mǎ sī
Hamas, the Islamic terrorist group. The Chinese is a good transliteration of the Arabic acryonym HMS:
حركة المقاومة الإسلامية Ḥarakah al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah
Islamic Resistance Movement
相似 Xiāngsì
Resemble, similar, like.
功效 gōngxiào
Effect, efficacy.
大有功效 Very effective.
妒忌 Jì xié
Jealous, jealousy, to be jealous.
性情 Xìngqíng
A person’s nature temperament, character, temper.
他与我们是一样性情的人 He is a human like us. (James 5:17)
巴力 Bā lì
Baal. One of the chief gods of the Canaanites. Israelites often turned from YHWH and worshiped Baal along with the Canaanite neighbours.
嫉妒 Jídù
Envy, envious, to be envious.
客西马尼 Kè xī mǎ ní
Gethsemane. The place where Jesus and his disciples spent their final moments before Jesus was arrested. Jesus prayed three times for God to spare him. See Mark 14:32–42.
以利亚 yǐ lì yǎ
Elijah, the famous OT prophet. You can read about him in 1 Kings 17–19.
In Chinese, his name seems very different from English, because English pronunciation of certain letters have changed over the centuries. The original Hebrew name is אֵלִיָּ֫הוּ, which sounds very much like the Chinese pinyin (there’s a “hu” at the end of the name that’s not transliterated in the Chinese version, so yǐ lì yǎ hu).
特征 Tèzhēng
A feature, a trait, a characteristic.
羡慕 xiànmù
Envy, envious. To envy or be envious.
迦密山 jiā mì shān
Mount Carmel, a mountain range going from the Mediterranean Sea towards the east, at about the same level as the Sea of Galilee. Wikipedia article here.
亚舍拉 yà shě lā
Asherah, another Canaanite deity. Jezebel supports Asherah. In the story about Elijah in 1 Kings 18:19, it tells us there were 400 prophets of Asherah (along with the 450 prophets of Baal) that got together to have a competition against YHWH’s single prophet, Elijah.
耶洗别 yé xǐ bié
Jezebel, the wife of king Ahab of Israel (an evil king and an evil queen).
