“The Jew as Hagar in Medieval Christian Imagination”
Professor Deeana Klepper, Department of Religion, Boston University
“Abraham had two sons,” wrote St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians, “one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.” Paul associated the child of the slave woman, Hagar, with Jews living under the Law given at Sinai and the child of the free woman, Sarah, with the followers of Christ. Medieval Christians embraced this typological framework to explain both theological and practical relationships between Jews and Christians. This talk will explore medieval Christian associations of the Jews with Hagar in word and image.