The Covenant of Circumcision

Genesis 17

This chapter continues the story of Abram, whose name has now been changed to Abraham. Sarai is changed to Sarah, and Jewish men are doomed to circumcision.

God once again reiterates the “father of nations” covenant, he’s starting to sound like a trickster full of empty promises. This time, he asks something in return:

Genesis 17:10-14, NIV “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep; Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

God does not condone slavery in this passage, instead he goes one step further. He instructs Abraham to circumcise not only himself and his son Ishmael, but the male slaves in his household as well. If this is divinely inspired by God, not only was he cool with slaves, but he wanted to enforce painful body modification on them as well. OR…..the original authors were not divinely inspired, but lived in a society where slavery was A-OK, and you could do whatever you wanted to your slaves without a second thought.

The last line of that verse also stands out. Why the harshness, casting out uncircumcised men from his tribe? Why is he asking every.single.Jewish.male to go through something traumatic to prove his love to God? God seems very much like a bully in this chapter.

Rendering of an ancient Egyptian carved
scene of circumcision from the tomb
of Ank-Mahor at Saqqara, Sixth Dynasty,Teti,
c. 2340 BC.

According to the archaeological record, circumcision did not originate with the ancient Israelites. The first recorded evidence of circumcision is actually in Egypt. The earliest mummies were circumcised (circa 1300 BCE), but wall paintings in Egypt show that it was customary several thousand years prior to that, going back to the Sixth Dynasty (2345-2181 BCE).

Circumcision in boys on the 8^th day after birth is an ongoing tradition in Jewish families, known as the Brit milah, or bris. Both Muslims and Jews still participate in the covenant of circumcision, Christianity is the only Abrahamic religion that doesn’t. I couldn’t find a definitive answer why, but I believe it has something to with Paul, who postulated that faith in Jesus was the only requirement for salvation, and circumcision wasn’t necessary. Paul also seems to be the one responsible for early Christians to stop following the 613 Commandments, or mitzvot, from the Old Testament. For a time in the 4^th Century, circumcision actually became illegal for Christians in the Roman Empire.

Commandment 2/613 Laws in the Torah: To circumcise all males on the 8^th day after their birth.

And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days. (Gen 17:12, JPS)

New words:

El Shaddai (Gen 17:1, JPS I am El Shaddai) – one of the Judaic names of God. Its etymology comes from the influence of the Ugaritic religion upon modern Judaism. Shaddai was one of the many Gods in Canaanite religion, the God of the Mountain. Shaddai was worshipped in the Amorite city of Shaddai in northern Syria. In the Bible, it is conventionally translated as God Almighty. Just another tidbit that lends credence to the idea that ancient Israelites were polytheistic.