Paul further supports his concept of two Jerusalems with a quotation from the Old Testament, specifically Isaiah 54.1 quoted from the Septuagint. The quotation has some slight variations from the Hebrew text, but the translator should translate the quotation as Paul has it and not the way it may appear in the Old Testament.

This Old Testament passage of scripture reflects the time that the Jews were in exile in Babylon, away from their homeland. In this passage Jerusalem is viewed in two ways: (1) Jerusalem without its inhabitants, and therefore desolate, is represented as a childless woman (literally “barren one,” that is, incapable of bearing children), while (2) Jerusalem before the exile is represented as a woman whose husband never left her. The “barren” or childless woman is exhorted to be happy and to shout and cry with joy (literally “break forth and shout,” which calls for glad and loud exclamations). The first two lines of the prophecy are parallel to each other, and therefore the “barren” woman is the same as the one who never felt the pains of childbirth. The idea of having more children refers to the hoped for and expected return of the exiles from captivity.

In a number of languages it is necessary to identify who is being spoken to before a command can be given. Therefore, it may be necessary to alter the order in the first two lines of the scripture quotation so as to read “You woman, who has never had children, be happy! You who never had the pain of childbirth, shout and cry for joy!” In some languages, however, this kind of translation might suggest that two different women are being addressed. Since the two parallel lines obviously refer to the same person and the same experience, it may be more appropriate in some languages to translate “You women who have never had children and have never felt the pain of giving birth to children, be happy, shout and exclaim with joy!”

In citing this passage from Isaiah, it is quite possible that Paul is referring to Sarah when he speaks of the barren woman and to Hagar when he speaks of the woman whose husband never left her. It is more likely, however, that the barren woman refers to the heavenly Jerusalem, and the woman with a husband to the present city of Jerusalem. The idea of having more children is perhaps best interpreted to refer not simply to the entrance of both Jews and Gentiles into the fellowship of the church, but primarily in terms of the more desired gifts of freedom and of becoming children of God. The woman who was deserted may be rendered as “the woman whose husband had abandoned her.”

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .