{"id":13386,"date":"2018-10-19T07:46:21","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T14:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/?p=13386"},"modified":"2018-10-19T07:46:21","modified_gmt":"2018-10-19T14:46:21","slug":"circumcision-past-and-present","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/2018\/10\/19\/circumcision-past-and-present\/","title":{"rendered":"The Significance of Circumcision Past and Present"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Genesis 17:1, 22,<\/b> YHVH appears to Abraham and establishes circumcision as a sign of the covenant.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, YHVH appeared [Heb.\u00a0ra\u2019ah<\/i> meaning \u201cto see, look, behold, show, appear, observe, have vision, present oneself, be seen\u201d] to Abram, and said unto him, I am El Shaddai; walk before me, and be thou perfect.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

YHVH proceeds to lay out to Abraham the terms of the Abrahamic Covenant including circumcision and the fact that Sarah would give birth to a son with whom YHVH would also establish his covenant. When YHVH was done Scripture records the following in verse 22,<\/p>\n

And [YHVH] left off talking with him, and Elohim went up [Heb.\u00a0alah, to go up, ascend, climb, depart<\/i>] from Abraham. (KJV)<\/p>\n

And when He had finished speaking with him, God ascended from upon Abraham. (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Tanach<\/i>)<\/p>\n

And He ceased speaking with him; and the Glory of the Lord ascended from Abraham. (Targum Jonathan<\/i>)<\/p>\n

And when He had ended to speak with him, the Glory of the Lord ascended up from Abraham. (Targum Onkelos<\/i>)<\/p>\n

And be left off speaking with him, and God went up from Abraham. (LXX)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This text does not state how <\/i>YHVH appeared or spoke to Abraham, just the fact that he did. According to the Hebrew rules of biblical interpretation (and the rules of common logic when reading anything), a scriptural text is to be taken at its literal or plain (peshat<\/i>) meaning, unless the text itself suggests an allegorical (drash<\/i>) or mystical (sod<\/i>) interpretation. The Talmud (the Jewish Oral Law) states this in Talmud<\/i> b. Shabbath 63a<\/i> ( \u2026 that a verse cannot depart from its plain meaning\u201d) and Talmud<\/i> b. Yevamoth 24a<\/i> (\u201cAlthough throughout the Torah no text loses its ordinary meaning \u2026\u201d). Therefore, it is evident that YHVH appeared to Abraham in some tangible form with which humans are capable of interacting. If he did so once, we have to ask, cannot he do it again in the Person of Yeshua of Nazereth, the Messiah?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s note some reasons why YHVH chose circumcision to be the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. Remember, physical circumcision is not pass\u00e9, but is still a requirement for those desiring to be priests in YHVH\u2019s future (spiritual?) temple (Ezek 44:7, 9):<\/p>\n