CIRCUMCISION IN THE BIBLE

CIRCUMCISION

in The Bible

·       An order in Old Testament

“God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” [1]

·       All boys

“Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring.” [2]

·       It is not a temporary order

“Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.” [3]

·       “Any uncircumcised male has broken my covenant”

“Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” [4]

·       Abraham and  Ishmael

“Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised …”[5]

·       Isaac

“And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.”[6]

·       Moses

“On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” [7]

·       Jesus

“After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb” [8]

·       Paul

“... Circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee…”[9]

·       Paul circumcised Timothy

“… There was a disciple named Timothy[10] …. But his father was a Greek. … Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”[11]

·       Then Paul has changed

“See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ … For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! ….”[12] 

·        “Circumcision is an unbearable yoke.”

““Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’ And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders. … they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.’ … After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them: “…And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us … Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? … Therefore I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God, but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood.[13]… For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials …”[14] 

·       The final decision of Paul

 “Finally, my brothers and sisters … Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers; beware of those who mutilate the flesh! … I circumcised on the eighth day … as to righteousness under the law, blameless. ... Yet whatever gains I had these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish…”[15]

Yusuf Ulucan

translation: H.Neslihan Demiriz

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[1] Genesis: 17/9 – 10

[2] Genesis: 17/12

[3]Genesis: 17/13

[4]Genesis: 17/14

[5] Genesis: 17/24 – 27

[6]Genesis: 21/4

[7] Leviticus: 12/3

[8] Luke: 2/21

[9]Philippians: 3/5

[10] Timothy is the person whom Paul calls “my beloved and faithful child in the Lord”.

[11]Acts: 16/1 – 3

[12] Galatians: 6 / 11 – 16

[13] Pork meat isn’t listed among the things that should be abstained from.

[14]Acts: 15 / 1 – 29 (abridged).

[15] Philippians: 3 / 1 – 8 (abridged).

P.S. Although there isn’t a clear command about circumcision in Qur’an, it takes place as the “tradition of Abraham” in the second main source of Islam, sunnah [the words, actions and behaviours of Mohammad]. In one of the hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah in Sahih Muslim, circumcision is defined as a necessity of creation. According to Abū Ḥanīfah and Imam Malik circumcision is obligatory and according to Ahmad ibn Hanbal it is Vajib (necessary). (Look: Celal Yıldırım, Islamic Law with Sources)