<p>4:26 <i>But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother</i><i>- </i>The Jews believed that &quot;as the navel is found at the centre of a human being, so the land of Israel is found at the centre of the world... Jerusalem is the centre of the land of Israel, the temple is at centre of Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies is at the centre of the temple, the ark is at the centre of the Holy of Holies... which spot is the foundation of the world... the holy city... is also the mother city&quot;. This was all consciously countermanded in Hebrews, where each of these features of the temple is shown to have been surpassed in Christ; and it is the <i>Heavenly</i> Jerusalem which is now &quot;the mother of us all&quot; (Heb. 12:22; Gal. 4:26). And of course Gal. 4 drives home the point that it is the &quot;Jerusalem which is above&quot; which is the true Jerusalem, whereas the earthly Jerusalem and temple are in fact now to be associated with bondage and Abraham's illegitimate seed. This language of Hebrews and Galatians was just as tough on the Romans, who considered <i>Italia</i> as the &quot;mother of all lands&quot;, and Rome to be the mother city. Paul's language was geared to provoke his readers to decide strongly one way or the other.</p>