Circumcision

Contrary to popular assumption, one is not ‘justified/declared right’ before God by the ‘new covenant’. Scripture tells us that the original covenant made with Abraham could not be annulled and that the nations are ‘justified/declared right’ by ‘faith/belief’ under the ‘Abrahamic covenant’. Neither the old covenant made at Sinai, nor the new covenant made by Yeshũa, could add to or annul that original covenant with Abraham. ‘Justification/being declared right’ is afforded to us by our ‘faith/belief’, nothing more:

Galatians 3:6-18

6 Even so Aḇraham “did believe Elohim, and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness.”

7 Know, then, that those who are of faith/belief are sons of Aḇraham.

8 And the Scripture, having foreseen that Elohim would justify/declare right the nations by faith/belief, announced the Good News to Aḇraham beforehand, saying, “All the nations shall be blessed in you,”

9 so that those who are of faith/belief are blessed with Aḇraham, the believer.

10 For as many as are of works of Torah are under the curse, for it has been written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all that has been written in the book of the Torah, to do them.”

11 And that no one is justified/declared right by Torah before Elohim is clear, for “The righteous shall live by faith/belief.”

12 And the Torah is not of faith/belief, but “The man who does them shall live by them.”

13 Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Torah, having become a curse for us – for it has been written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs upon a tree.” – 

14 in order that the blessing of Aḇraham might come upon the nations in Messiah ישוע, to receive the promise of the Spirit through faith/belief.

15 Brothers, as a man I say it: a covenant, even though it is man’s, yet if it is confirmed, no one sets it aside, or adds to it.

16 But the promises were spoken to Aḇraham, and to his Seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Messiah.

17 Now this I say, Torah, that came four hundred and thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously confirmed by Elohim in Messiah, so as to do away with the promise.

18 For if the inheritance is by Torah, it is no longer by promise, but Elohim gave it to Aḇraham through a promise.

The inheritance is ours because of God’s promise to Abraham and no subsequent covenant could alter that promise. The Torah cannot be an additional requirement to the promise. All the Torah provides is an outline for behaviour which is or isn’t pleasing to God. One could scarcely be said to ‘believe’ God whilst acting in a way that He forbids, however. Abraham gave us an example of how ‘faith/belief’ operates in relation to God’s instructions. Abraham was justified by his ‘faith/belief’ before he was circumcised. His circumcision was not what determined that he was ‘justified/declared right’. Abraham became circumcised because God instructed him to and not to be ‘justified/declared right’ by it. He became circumcised because he ‘believed’:

Romans 4:1-15

1 What, then, shall we say Aḇraham our father, to have found, according to the flesh?

2 For if Aḇraham was justified/declared right by works, he has ground for boasting, but not before Elohim.

3 For what does the Scripture say? “Aḇraham believed Elohim, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness.”

4 And to him who is working, the reward is not reckoned as grace/favour but as a debt.

5 And to him who is not working but believes on Him who is declaring right the wicked, his belief is reckoned for righteousness,

6 even as Daviḏ also says of the blessedness of the man to whom Elohim reckons righteousness without works:

7 “Blessed are those whose lawlessnesses are forgiven, and whose sins are covered,

8 blessed is the man to whom יהוה shall by no means reckon sin.”

9 Is this blessing then upon the circumcised only, or also upon the uncircumcised? For we affirm: Faith/belief was reckoned unto Aḇraham for righteousness.

10 How then was it reckoned? Being in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith/belief while in uncircumcision, for him to be a father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for righteousness to be reckoned to them also,

12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith/belief which our father Aḇraham had in uncircumcision.

13 For the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Aḇraham or to his seed through the Torah, but through a righteousness of faith/belief.

14 For if those who are of the Torah are heirs, faith/belief has been made useless, and the promise has been nullified,

15 for the Torah works out wrath, for where there is no Torah there is no transgression.

Abraham is father to those who are circumcised when eight days old, and also to those who walk in his steps, being ‘justified/declared right’ by their ‘faith/belief’ and who subsequently becoming circumcised because of that ‘faith/belief’.

The practice of circumcision has been entirely removed from the man-made religion of Christianity, in part, because of misunderstandings about some things that Paul wrote. I will consider each of these verses. Obeying Torah, in general, is removed from the lives of believers who see it as being ’legalistic’ instead of an act of ‘faith/belief’. Paul addresses the idea that ‘faith/belief’ has superseded Torah:

Romans 3:31

31 Do we then nullify the Torah through the faith/belief? Let it not be! On the contrary, we establish the Torah.

Paul wrote many times that one is not ‘justified/declared right’ by obeying God’s Torah and many mistake him to be saying that one, therefore, should not pay heed to it. Romans 3:31 is an example of Paul clearing up his message. One is ‘justified/declared right’ by one’s ‘faith/belief’, like Abraham, but, like Abraham, that ‘faith/belief’ causes one to obey God.

One can understand why some of Paul’s words confuse some:

Galatians 5:2

2 See, I, Sha’ul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Messiah shall be of no use to you.

Such confusion is, in part, an artifact of not understanding the whole of Scripture as a homogenous unity. When many people come to the Bible, they start reading it from close to its end and ascribe what seems like logical meanings to words and phrases that are properly defined in the part they have skipped over. If and when they go back to the beginning, it is read through the prism of their misapprehensions. Such interpretation has become entrenched in mainstream Christian thought. Misunderstandings that are taught to pastors in seminary thereby become ossified presumptions within man-made and man-conceived religion. I think of it as being like finding the recipe for an apple pie and following it all correctly, except thinking that the word ‘apple’ refers to oranges. One would end up with a pie that was not quite right despite one’s faithful attempt to follow the recipe.

For us, simply continuing to read elucidates the matter:

Galatians 5:2-4

2 See, I, Sha’ul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Messiah shall be of no use to you.

3 And I witness again to every man being circumcised that he is a debtor to do the entire Torah.

4 You who are justified by Torah, you have fallen from grace/favour.

Paul explains that seeking ‘justification/to be declared right’ because of one’s circumcision is to render Messiah mute. If one seeks to be ‘justified/declared right’ by obedience to Torah, what need does one have of the Messiah or God’s ‘grace/favour’? He makes the point that those who become circumcised in order to be ‘justified/declared right’ would, necessarily, then have to have done the entire Torah flawlessly. Paul’s persistent point is that no flesh is ‘justified/declared right’ by having done the Torah, and that all need Messiah and God’s ‘grace/favour’. ‘Faith/belief’ is the only hope that any of us have for God to declare us right because all have sinned and fallen short of God’s ‘glory’. One’s works can never justify one because we all fall short.

Later in the passage, Paul confirms that he preaches circumcision:

Galatians 5:11

11 And I, brothers, if I still proclaim circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling-block of the cross has been set aside.

One might reasonably ask why Paul focuses on circumcision as the work of Torah that one cannot rely upon for one’s justification, and there is a reason for this. The matter of whether one must be circumcised and Torah compliant to be ‘saved/delivered’ was a debate of the time. One group, who were known as the ‘circumcision party’, held that gentiles who joined themselves to YHVH’s people, ‘Israel’, must be circumcised:

Acts 15:1-5

1 And certain men came down from Yehuḏah and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised, according to the practice of Mosheh, you are unable to be saved/delivered.”

2 So when Sha’ul and Barnaḇah had no small dissension and dispute with them, they arranged for Sha’ul and Barnaḇah and certain others of them to go up to Yerushalayim, to the apostles and elders, about this question.

 3 So, being sent on their way by the assembly, they passed through Phoenicia and Shomeron, relating the conversion of the gentiles. And they were causing great joy to all the brothers.

4 And having arrived in Yerushalayim, they were received by the assembly and the apostles and the elders. And they reported all that Elohim had done with them.

5 And some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees, rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Torah of Mosheh.”

This visit to Jerusalem is also referred to in the book of Galatians, wherein we see that Titus was not compelled to be circumcised by these ‘false brothers’:

Galatians 2:1-5

1 Then after fourteen years I again went up to Yerushalayim, with Barnaḇah, taking Titus along too.

2 And I went up by revelation, and laid before them that Good News which I proclaim among the gentiles, but separately to those who were esteemed, lest somehow I run, or had run, in vain.

3 But not even Titus who was with me, though a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.

4 But as for the false brothers, sneakingly brought in, who sneaked in to spy out our freedom which we have in Messiah ישוע in order to enslave us,

5 to these we did not yield in subjection, not even for an hour, so that the truth of the Good News remains with you.

James’ proclamation on whether it was necessary for gentiles who turn to God to do Torah and be circumcised in order for them to be ‘saved/delivered’, as the circumcision party were advocating, is recorded in the same chapter of the book of Acts:

Acts 15:19-21

19 “Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the gentiles who are turning to Elohim,

20 but that we write to them to abstain from the defilements of idols, and from whoring, and from what is strangled, and from blood.

21 “For from ancient generations Mosheh has, in every city, those proclaiming him – being read in the congregations every Sabbath.”

James’ ruling agrees with Paul’s assessment of Abraham; that he was ‘justified/declared right’ by ‘faith/belief’, and his circumcision came later. James says to not make it difficult for those who wish to turn to God but to teach them some basic Torah and allow them to hear the rest of the Torah when it was preached on the sabbath.

We see that Paul did not believe that anyone who became circumcised had fallen from ‘grace/favour’ from the fact that he, himself, performed a circumcision upon Timothy:

Acts 16:1-3

1 And he came to Derbe and Lustra. And see, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Yehuḏite woman who believed – but his father was Greek

2 who was well spoken of by the brothers who were at Lustra and Ikonion.

3 Sha’ul wished to have this one go with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Yehuḏim who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

Paul’s admonition against circumcision is exclusively against circumcision in pursuit of one’s justification before God. One is ‘justified/declared right’ by ‘faith/belief’, and ‘works of Torah’ are the fruit of that ‘faith/belief’. Understanding this allows us to see that Paul was not a conflicted hypocrite who flip-flopped between performing and condemning circumcision and gives us the key to understanding his seemingly contradictory statements:

1 Corinthians 7:18

18 Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised.

This English translation hides an important nuance that is present in the Greek:

1 Corinthians 7:18

18 Was anyone called while circumcised (peritemno)? Let him not become uncircumcised (epispao). Was anyone called while uncircumcised (akrobystia)? Let him not be circumcised (peritemno).

The word translated as ‘circumcised’, ‘peritemno’, is used twice but the word that it is contrasted with, translated as ‘uncircumcised’, is different. Being ‘akrobystia’ is the opposite of being ‘peritemno’, but ‘epispao’ means something else entirely. The doctrine of the translators has led them to render ‘epispao’ as ‘uncircumcised’. ‘Epispao’ means ‘drawn’ from the verb ‘spao’, which means ‘to draw or draw out’:

Mark 14:47

47 And one of those standing by drew (spao) his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

Acts 16:27

27 And the jailer, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, thinking the prisoners had fled, drew (spao) his sword and was about to kill himself.

The reason why a word meaning ‘draw’ is commonly translated as ‘uncircumcised’ is that there was a historical practice whereby Jewish men would seek to hide their circumcision in the Greek or Roman baths by drawing out their remaining skin to cover the glans of their penis. Josephus records this history for us:

‘…And the sons of Tobias took the part of Menelaus: but the greater part of the people assisted Jason; and by that means Menelaus, and the sons of Tobias were distressed, and retired to Antiochus, and informed him, that they were desirous to leave the laws of their country, and the Jewish way of living according to them; and to follow the King’s laws, and the Grecian way of living. Wherefore they desired his permission to build them a Gymnasium at Jerusalem. And when he had given them leave, they also hid the circumcision of their genitals; that even when they were naked they might appear to be Greeks. Accordingly they left off all the customs that belonged to their own country, and imitated the practices of the other nations.’

Josephus, Antiquities Book 12, chapter 5, part 1

We also see mention of this practice in 1 Maccabees:

“And they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to the custom of the Greeks, and they made for themselves foreskins, and they abandoned the holy covenant” (1 Maccabees 1:14-15a)

This practice is also commented on in more modern literature:

‘How does a person make for oneself a foreskin? There are two procedures in the ancient world designed to undo circumcision: infibulation and epispasm. Infibulation, according to Celsus, the first century medical author, involved drawing the skin around the penis forward to cover the glans and fastening it with a fibula or twine. Epispasm, which is often called the “Cadillac of corrective surgeries,” is the most effective procedure known to undo circumcision. Epispasm was a challenging operation: the surgeon would cut the skin on the shaft of the penis, pull it forward to cover the glans, and dress it carefully so that the skin would attach itself to the glans, leaving a foreskin. Bear in mind that this operation was practiced without anesthesia, though Celsus promises that the operation was “not so very painful.” There simply is not enough data to state whether 1 Maccabees refers to either infibulation or epispasm. It is possible that Hellenistic Judeans were practicing both infibulation and epispasm.

The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal Volume 2 Article 14-1-2017 Reverse Circumcision in Hellenistic Judaism: The Case for a Gender Critical Readying, Josh Law

The reason ‘epispao’ is translated as uncircumcised is the presumption, on the part of the translator, that the ‘drawing’ referred to is, in fact, a reference to this process. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon is an authoritative source on biblical Greek, and this assumption is codified within it. Thayer was a Christian who had flawed doctrine concerning circumcision, possibly due to the writings of Paul that we have looked at (they are the source of much of the confusion within Christianity). This false assumption about the meaning of the word ‘epispao’, and the nature of the ‘drawing’ to which it refers, is reflected in his work. Thayer confirms his reasoning behind the mistranslation within his lexicon:

‘ἐπισπάω, -ῶ: from Aeschylus down; to draw on: μὴ ἐπισπάσθω, namely, ἀκροβυστίαν, let him not draw on his foreskin (Hesychius μὴ ἐπισπάσθω· μὴ ἑλκυέτω τὸ δέρμα) [A. V. let him not become uncircumcised], 1 Corinthians 7:18. From the days of Antiochus Epiphanes [B. C. 175-164] down (1 Macc. 1:15; Josephus, Antiquities 12, 5, 1), there had been Jews who, in order to conceal from heathen persecutors or scoffers the external sign of their nationality, sought artificially to compel nature to reproduce the prepuce, by extending or drawing forward with an iron instrument the remnant of it still left, so as to cover the glans.’

Thayer’s Greek Lexicon

A literal translation yields a more sensible rendering that accords with the rest of the Bible:

1 Corinthians 7:18

18 Was anyone called while circumcised (peritemno)? Let him not be drawn (epispao). Was anyone called while uncircumcised (akrobystia)? Let him not be circumcised (peritemno).

Coupled with the understanding that Paul’s writing on circumcision was a reaction to the falsities of the ‘circumcision party’, it becomes clear that Paul was simply advising those who were already circumcised to not be drawn by these arguments (to not think of circumcision to be necessary for ‘salvation/deliverance’), and for those who were uncircumcised not to be compelled to be circumcised by the same arguments (like Titus was not). Otherwise, Paul would be telling others to disobey God which he did not.

Since one is ‘justified/declared right’ by one’s ‘faith/belief’, pursuant to the covenant made with Abraham, it behoves us to pay attention to what God says in making that covenant:

Genesis 17:10-12

10 “This is My covenant which you guard between Me and you, and your seed after you: Every male child among you is to be circumcised (mũwl).

11 “And you shall circumcise (namal) the flesh of your foreskin (‘arlah), and it shall become a sign of the covenant between Me and you.

12 “And a son of eight days is circumcised (mũwl) by you, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with silver from any foreigner who is not of your seed.

As Abraham’s seed we are called upon to become circumcised:

Galatians 3:29

29 And if you are of Messiah, then you are seed of Aḇraham, and heirs according to promise.

One should follow in Abraham’s steps and receive the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that one has by ‘faith/belief’:

Romans 4:9-12

9 Is this blessing then upon the circumcised only, or also upon the uncircumcised? For we affirm: Faith/belief was reckoned unto Aḇraham for righteousness.

10 How then was it reckoned? Being in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith/belief while in uncircumcision, for him to be a father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for righteousness to be reckoned to them also,

12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith/belief which our father Aḇraham had in uncircumcision.

Circumcision has no power in and of itself. One can be circumcised and faithless or uncircumcised and faithful (like Abraham was at first). It is one’s ‘faith/belief’ that is important:

Galatians 5:6

6 For in Messiah ישוע neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any strength, but faith working through love.

The faithful keep God’s commands:

1 Corinthians 7:18-19

18 Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not be drawn. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised.

19 The circumcision is naught, and the uncircumcision is naught, but the keeping of the commands of Elohim does matter!

When one is faithful to God, one is made new, and one walks in obedience to God’s Torah, which He has given for the benefit of those who seek Him, but it is not the ‘works of Torah’ that have any power to ‘justify’ one, rather it is one’s ‘faith/belief’, which then prompts one’s obedience:

Galatians 6:15

15 For in Messiah ישוע neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any strength, but a new creature.

One’s circumcision is only ‘profitable’ if it is born of one’s ‘faith/belief’. If one were to act faithlessly, being circumcised, one’s circumcision would be irrelevant. Similarly, acting faithfully whilst uncircumcised would not preclude one’s ‘justification’:

Romans 2:25-29

25 For circumcision indeed profits if you practise the Torah, but if you are a transgressor of the Torah, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

26 So, if an uncircumcised one watches over the righteousnesses of the Torah, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned as circumcision?

27 And the uncircumcised by nature, who perfects the Torah, shall judge you who notwithstanding letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the Torah!

28 For he is not a Yehuḏite who is so outwardly, neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.

29 But a Yehuḏite is he who is so inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in Spirit, not in letter, whose praise is not from men but from Elohim.

The circumcision of the heart does not supersede the circumcision of the flesh. YHVH willed that the hearts of His people be circumcised from the beginning:

Deuteronomy 10:12-16

12 “And now, Yisra’ĕl, what is יהוה your Elohim asking of you, but to fear יהוה your Elohim, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul,

13 to guard the commands of יהוה and His laws which I command you today for your good?

14 “See, the heavens and the heaven of heavens belong to יהוה your Elohim, also the earth with all that is in it.

15 “יהוה delighted only in your fathers, to love them. And He chose their seed after them, you above all peoples, as it is today. 

16 “And you shall circumcise (mũwl) the foreskin (‘arlah) of your heart, and harden your neck no more.

Having an uncircumcised heart means to not be submitted to God and His instructions:

Jeremiah 4:4

4 “Circumcise yourselves unto יהוה, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Yehuḏah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim, lest My wrath come forth like fire and burn, with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.”

To follow YHVH, one must circumcise one’s heart and ears to obey. Abraham had a circumcised heart and so he circumcised his flesh:

Jeremiah 6:10

10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, so that they hear? See, their ear is uncircumcised, and they are unable to listen. See, the word of יהוה is a reproach to them, they do not delight in it.

Acts 7:51

51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, as your fathers did, you also do.”

In the kingdom, only those who are circumcised in both heart and flesh may enter the temple:

Ezekiel 44:9

9 ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “No son of a foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, comes into My holy/set-apart place, even any son of a foreigner who is among the children of Yisra’ĕl.

The idea of circumcision, as part of following the Bible, may seem alien to our modern sensibilities, but having resolved the scriptural ambiguities that misunderstanding Paul’s words bring, we can see that it is the sign of the covenant by which one is’ justified/declared right’, and it is a seal of the righteousness that one has by ‘faith/belief’ under that covenant.