Bible Dictionary
FREEWOMAN
A freewoman was a woman who was not enslaved. Paul uses Sarah, Abraham’s free wife, as a figure for believers who are children of promise and spiritual freedom.
Definition
A freewoman is a woman who is not enslaved. In the biblical passage where the term is prominent, it refers literally to Sarah in contrast with Hagar, the slave woman, and figuratively to those represented as children of promise and freedom.
Biblical Usage
Paul contrasts Sarah, Abraham’s free wife, with Hagar, the Egyptian slave woman. He then applies the contrast metaphorically: Christians are children of promise, freedom, and the Spirit, whereas the contrasting group is associated with the letter and bondage.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>fre'-woom-an (eleuthera): Found but 4 times in the King James Version (Ga 4:22,23,10,31). In the first three passages it refers to Sarah, the freewoman and true wife of Abraham as in contrast with Hagar, the Egyptian slave girl who became his concubine (Ge 16:1). In the last passage a metaphorical application of the term is made to the Christians who are the children of promise, of freedom, of the spirit, the children of the freewoman, in contrast with the Jews who are the children of the letter, of bondage, of the bondwoman.</p>