Galatia 3:7

3:7 so then, understand ¹  that those who believe are the sons of Abraham. ² 

Galatia 3:26

3:26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. ³ 

Galatia 4:5-6

4:5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights. ⁴  4:6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls ⁵  “Abba! ⁶  Father!”

Galatia 4:22

4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the ⁷  slave woman and the other by the free woman.

[3:7]  ¹ tn Grk “know.”

[3:7]  ² tn The phrase “sons of Abraham” is used here in a figurative sense to describe people who are connected to a personality, Abraham, by close nonmaterial ties. It is this personality that has defined the relationship and its characteristics (BDAG 1024-25 s.v. υἱός 2.c.α).

[3:26]  ³ tn Or “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

[4:5]  ⁴ tn The Greek term υἱοθεσία (Juioqesia) was originally a legal technical term for adoption as a son with full rights of inheritance. BDAG 1024 s.v. notes, “a legal t.t. of ‘adoption’ of children, in our lit., i.e. in Paul, only in a transferred sense of a transcendent filial relationship between God and humans (with the legal aspect, not gender specificity, as major semantic component).” Although some modern translations remove the filial sense completely and render the term merely “adoption” (cf. NAB), the retention of this component of meaning was accomplished in the present translation by the phrase “as sons.”

[4:6]  ⁵ tn Grk “calling.” The participle is neuter indicating that the Spirit is the one who calls.

[4:6]  ⁶ tn The term “Abba” is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic אַבָּא (’abba’), literally meaning “my father” but taken over simply as “father,” used in prayer and in the family circle, and later taken over by the early Greek-speaking Christians (BDAG 1 s.v. ἀββα).

[4:22]  ⁷ tn Paul’s use of the Greek article here and before the phrase “free woman” presumes that both these characters are well known to the recipients of his letter. This verse is given as an example of the category called “well-known (‘celebrity’ or ‘familiar’) article” by ExSyn 225.