In my previous blog post, I covered why circumcision was given as the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. In this post, I will seek to explore further the purpose and function of circumcision. What did circumcision mean to Abraham? As noted in my previous post, circumcision would perpetually remind Abraham of God’s promises including land, blessing, and abundant fruitfulness in offspring. But what did circumcision signify as a religious act?

To understand what circumcision meant to Abraham, it is helpful to examine the history of the rite. Abraham was not the first to be circumcised. Historians and archaeologists have noted that circumcision was practiced as early as the third millennium BC in ancient Egypt.[1] Though there is a slight difference in technique compared with early Egyptian circumcision, the practice of cutting the foreskin was a custom that existed before Abraham’s day.

So that means when God told Abraham to circumcise himself, it was not a completely new concept. It may in fact have been a very common practice among the peoples that Abraham sojourned among, and he may have been very familiar with the ritual (Cf. Gen 12:10–20). If we want to understand what circumcision meant to Abraham, it might be helpful to examine the meaning of the rite in Egypt. There, it was apparently a way for individuals to dedicate themselves to the service of deity.

One of the striking features that leads to this conclusion is that there seems to be an association between circumcision and the priestly class in Egypt.[2] Upon entry into the service of their gods, Egyptian priests would circumcise themselves. This seems to be one of the main functions of circumcision, as practiced in Abraham’s contextual surroundings.

Borrowing this meaning of circumcision, is it possible to understand Abraham’s circumcision as an act of consecration? This seems to be a likely conclusion based on several biblical clues. At the beginning of Genesis 17, where circumcision is given as the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant, God tells Abraham to “walk before me and be blameless” (Gen 17:1).

This call to personal holiness summons Abraham to a life that is devoted to Yahweh. He is not just told to be blameless, but to be blameless before Yahweh. The purpose of his holy character is to be governed by his relationship to God. One theologian writes,

What does it mean to walk before someone? Careful study of the use of this expression throughout the Old Testament may be summarized as follows. When God walks before someone, this expression means to give guidance and protection. Conversely, when people walk before God, it means that they serve as his emissary or diplomatic representative.^[3]

Yahweh is calling Abraham into a life of representing Yahweh to the world—to model what a right relationship with Yahweh looks like. And God promises, on his part, to “make my covenant between me and you” and to “multiply you greatly.”

It should be noted that the parties in Genesis 17 are not just God and Abraham, but rather Abraham and “your offspring afterward throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant” (verse 7). God is thinking long-term, and the ultimate fulfillment of His promise will not occur in Abraham’s lifetime. The promises of land, seed, and blessing are firm and secure, but the “timing and participants” of their ultimate fulfillment will be determined based on conditional factors.[4]

Interestingly, in the book Exodus, as the nation of Israel––descended from Abraham––is being assembled, God makes his consecratory purposes for that nation explicit. He tells Moses they will be a “kingdom of priests” (Exod 19:6). This means that Israel is expected to serve a priestly role to the other nations—and it is a vital role in God’s redemptive plan.

When God told Abraham to be circumcised, “every male among you” (Gen 17:10), He called for a situation in which they would all be dedicated to Yahweh in the priestly role. Unlike Egyptian examples, circumcision among Abraham’s people is not restricted to the priestly class only, because everyone plays a role in priesthood to the other nations. This is why it is essential that not just Abraham be circumcised, but also every male in his line, and even foreigners who come under his roof (Gen 17:12). God is shaping for Himself a lineage of representatives that will become a priestly kingdom, and everyone associated with that kingdom must be devoted to Yahweh.

God graciously stipulates that every male in Abraham’s line be circumcised while in infancy, which is in itself an act of grace. Consecrating the newborn early in life reduces the impact of such a harsh medical procedure on the body. Since each and every male was to be dedicated to Yahweh, it makes sense to take care of it when it hurts the least!

Concluding thoughts

Now we’ve seen that circumcision had both a mnemonic aspect (helping someone remember something) and a dedicatory aspect (consecration into priestly service). So how does the circumcision theme play out in the Old Testament? That is the question we’ll begin to answer in the next post. For now, it is helpful to note that the purpose of physical circumcision was to point to the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and to dedicate every male baby to Yahweh’s service.

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[1] Meade, John D. “The Meaning of Circumcision in Israel: A Proposal for a Transfer of Rite from Egypt to Israel.” SBJT 20. Spring 2016. 38

[2] Meade, 43-45

^[3] Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants: A Concise Biblical Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 114.

[4] Keith Essex, “The Abrahamic Covenant,” MSJ 10 (1999): 207–9.