Then, in Leviticus 12, God lists commandments for Moses to pass on to the Israelites as they sojourn in the desert. One order, essentially repeating what he had already told Abraham to do, is to circumcise their sons on their eighth day. The sixth mention is in the Book of Joshua. After David slays Goliath, he becomes too popular for the liking of King Saul, who devises a plot to eliminate the upstart.
He has his henchmen tell David that if he brings foreskins of Philistines, the king will marry his daughter Michal to him. Saul thought it a suicide mission, but David returns with foreskins and goes on to become king.
Summing up the history of circumcision in the Bible: Circumcision was commanded by God to Abraham, and was carried out throughout the age of the Patriarchs and the sojourn in Egypt. For some reason, it was discontinued while the Jews wandered the desert, though God had commanded otherwise. Then upon entering the Promised Land, circumcision was reinstated by Joshua, from which point it has been carried out to this very day. But "source criticism" — the theory that the Bible was not written by Moses but by different people over the ages , then later edited by yet more people — leads to the theory that the circumcision stories were not written in the order in which they appear.
Some "early" stories were evidently rewritten "later", without much regard for historical veracity. The covenant between God and Abraham, the circumcision of Isaac, the rape of Dinah, the Passover exhortation to circumcise servants too and the divine command to conduct circumcision in the desert are believed to have been written during the Babylonian Exile and in the early Second Temple period from about the 6th century BCE to the 4th century BCE.
And the oldest tale is the circumcision conducted by Zipporah, which was written in the middle of the First Temple period. So, the biblical narrative as we know it, was apparently formed by stitching together these various sources and stories during the early Second Temple period.
What are the implications of this theory for the origins of circumcision? None, note you, indicate that the ceremony was performed on infants.
But if circumcision had been a central tenet of the pre-exilic Israelite religion, surely mention would have appeared more often? The answer to this curious lack of interest in circumcision on the part of First Temple-era scribes is probably that circumcision was not unique to the Judeans at that period. Conclusion: In First Temple times, circumcision was not perceived as a unique marker of Judean identity.
There was no reason for it to be featured with any prominence. Only during the Babylonian Exile, where the Judeans found themselves living among uncircumcised peoples, did circumcision come to be seen as unique to the Jews and receive "nationalistic" significance.
It was in Babylonia or perhaps in Jerusalem after the return, that the exiled priests rewrote the story of Abraham's covenant with God, giving the now important and uniquely Jewish ritual the air of antiquity and thus prominence. The original version of the covenant story Genesis 15 was written in the First Temple era. They say the operation only takes a few minutes to perform and the wound has usually healed after five days.
In an online article on male circumcision, Dr Morris Sifman, medical officer of the Initiation Society of Great Britain, observes: "It is worth mentioning that many fathers and others have remarked that the baby's cry does not change at the moment of incision. However, if the decision is left until later in life, anaesthetic is usually needed and there is an increased risk of medical complications and infections.
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The circumcision ceremony Judaism and circumcision Circumcision is an initiation rite for Jewish newborn babies. Jewish opposition Jewish opposition Although circumcision is widespread in the Jewish community, not all Jews accept the cutting or removal of a baby's foreskin as an absolute requirement. Opponents claim that the religious arguments are not clear.
Is circumcision ethical? Joshua In an article in the Jewish Spectator , he wrote: "Because most Jews are non-traditional and are not aware of the religious meaning of circumcision, most Jewish circumcisions are done for cultural not religious reasons.
Alternatives to circumcision Alternatives to circumcision Jews who decide against circumcision but still want a ritual sometimes opt for a naming ceremony. The alternative circumcision-free ritual is known as bris shalom. Sacred act But supporters of circumcision argue that there is no real alternative. The text does not explicitly provide a reason. And the Rabbis were anticipating the inevitable questions future generations would have.
They have done an admirable job infusing the act with spiritual depth so that the bris is far more than the act of the removal of a piece of skin. What we do know is that in Biblical times, ritual circumcision was a defining act for the young Israelite nation and continued to distinguish us from other peoples. From the Hellenistic period on, ruling powers attempted to outlaw circumcision, knowing that it was an essential expression of Jewish faith.
Stories of men forced by the Nazis to pull down their pants in order to determine if they were Jewish still haunt us. Contemporary debates about health and sanitary issues are not part of the conversation as far as traditional Judaism is concerned. Nor is it simply a medical procedure. We use cookies to improve your experience on our site and bring you ads that might interest you. Join Our Newsletter Empower your Jewish discovery, daily. Sign Up. Discover More.
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