8.1 Circumcision References
March 2008
References and Notes:
1. The Chosen People
Deut. 7:6; 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
1 Chron. 16:12,13 O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; the people whom he hath chosen
Psalms 89:3,4 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations.
Psalms 105:5 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
Psalms 135:4 For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
Ephesians 1:4,5 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;
Rev. 17:14 they that are with him (the Lamb, Lord of Lords) are called, and chosen, and faithful.
2. Problems with the reading of this passage:
"This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised" (Genesis 17:10).
"He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:13).
Verse ten apparently says that circumcision IS the covenant. The problem is that the covenant given to Abraham is the everlasting covenant, and in the New Testament circumcision was discontinued as unnecessary for Christians (Acts 15:5-29; Galatians 2:3-5; 5:26; Romans 2:28, 29). Let us look at verse ten carefully:
"This is my covenant" refers to the everlasting covenant that had just been given to Abraham in the preceding verses (Genesis 17:1-9). This was the covenant of God formulated before creation of this earth. Circumcision was a "token of the covenant" (Gen 17:11). There are times where the sign of a covenant becomes so closely associated with the covenant that the sign is called "the covenant." This is a possibility.In ancient times the Bible was written without punctuation or divisions between words OR verses! All these were added later, using the best knowledge of the language available. Genesis 17:10 might best be read with the first phrase being the conclusion of the discussion of the everlasting covenant in verses one to nine.
10 "This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you, and thy seed after thee;"
The second half of this verse begins a new subject, "Every man child among you shall be circumcised." This second half naturally fits with the three verses that follow.
But there is more: The last part of Genesis 17:13, "and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant" offers more problems. "My covenant" is a term used in the Bible 51 times but never referring to circumcision. It is reasonable to see this referring again to the everlasting covenant of Genesis 17:1-9. "Shall be in your flesh" is a direct reference to circumcision. It would be more than a mental concept. It would be a physical personal reminder of a man= s covenant relationship with God.
"Everlasting covenant" is repeated in the Bible 16 times but never refers to circumcision. It is here reasonable to see circumcision as a "token" of the everlasting covenant. As some have said, circumcision is the sign of the everlasting covenant, but NOT the everlasting sign of the covenant!
3. Circumcision: Ronald L. Eisenberg: The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions. The Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia. 2004:7-134. The Sabbath a sign. Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12, 20
5. The rite of Circumcision given. Genesis 17:10-13, 23
6. Non-Jews accepted if circumcised. Genesis 17:13; 34:14-17; Exodus 12:43-48
7. More on Circumcision. SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 322, 323