Circumcision

Circumcision

The rite of circumcision (Gen. 17:10) became a powerful, enduring symbol of God’s covenant relationship with Abraham and his offspring. Technically speaking, circumcision refers to the surgical removal of a male’s foreskin. The procedure was widely practiced in the ancient world, including the Egyptian and Canaanite cultures. But they performed the rite at the beginning of puberty as an initiation into manhood. By contrast, the Hebrews circumcised infant boys as a sign of their responsibility to serve God as His special, holy people in the midst of a pagan world.

God instructed Abraham to circumcise every male child in his household, including servants (17:11) as a visible, physical sign of the covenant between the Lord and His people. Any male not circumcised was to be “cut off from his people” and regarded as a covenant breaker (17:14). The custom was performed on the eighth day after birth (17:12), at which time a name was given to the son (Luke 1:59; 2:21). In the early history of the Hebrews, the rite was performed by the father but eventually was carried out by a specialist.

The Hebrew people came to take great pride in circumcision. In fact, it became a badge of their spiritual and national superiority. This attitude fostered a spirit of exclusivism instead of compassion to reach out to other nations as God intended. Gentiles came to be regarded as the “uncircumcision,” a term of disrespect implying that non-Jewish peoples were outside the circle of God’s love.

Eventually the terms “circumcised” and “uncircumcised” became charged with emotion, as is plain from the discord the issue brought about centuries later in the early church (Gal. 2:12).