Genesis 17:11

Genesis 17:11

And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

a. NLT: You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you.

b. NIV: You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.

c. YLT: and ye have circumcised the flesh of your foreskin, and it hath become a token of a covenant between Me and you.

d. Amplified Bible: And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token or sign of the covenant (the promise or pledge) between Me and you.

e. Septuagint: And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between me and you.

f. Stone Edition Chumash: You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.

1. “And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin…”

a. ye shall circumcise [5243 * namal] [Strong:  a primitive root; to become clipped or (specifically) circumcised:--(branch to) be cut down (off), circumcise.]

b. the flesh [1320 * basar] [Strong: from 1319; flesh (from its freshness); by extension, body, person; also (by euphem.) the pudenda of a man:--body, (fat, lean) flesh(-ed), kin, (man-)kind, + nakedness, self, skin.]

c. the foreskin [6190 * ‘oriah] [Strong: feminine of 6189; the prepuce:--foreskin, + uncircumcised.]

1). Note in Chumash: From the sequence of this chapter, it is clear that the blessings of children and possession of the Land depended on circumcision, a connection that is also implied in the second blessing of the Grace after Meals. The symbolic signifigance of this commandment is indicated by the name of the flesh that is removed in performance of the commandment [oriah], commonly translated as foreskin, but more accurately, as it is used in Scripture, a barrier standing in the way of a beneficial result. Thus, for example, the sinful habits that predispose a person not to change his life-style are called oriah of the heart (Leviticus 26:41; Jeremiah 9:25; Ezekiel 44:7). Thus, although this concept is beyond human understanding, circumcision is a means to help the Jew enoble himself and return to the spiritual state of Adam before his sin…By commanding Israel to circumcise its male children on the eighth day, God taught that the Jew’s ability to remove the barriers to his spiritual ascent transcends the natural order life

2. “…and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.”

a. it shall be a token [226 * ´owth] [Strong: probably from 225 (in the sense of appearing); a signal (literally or figuratively), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.:--mark, miracle, (en-)sign, token.]

1). The same Hebrew word is used in Genesis 1:14 for “signs”. It is also used in Genesis 9:12, 13, and 17, speaking of the “rainbow”.

b. of the covenant [1285 * bryith] [Strong: from 1262 (in the sense of cutting (like 1254)); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh):--confederacy, (con-)feder(-ate), covenant, league.]

1). Spiritual aspect of Old Covenant Circumcision

a). Israel’s responsibility: Deuteronomy 10:16 “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.”

b). Gods responsibility: Deuteronomy 30:6 “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”

c). Both God and Israel had a part in the spiritual aspect of the Old Covenant circumcision, and there was a limited [limited in the sense of comparison to New Covenant circumcision], work was done in the heart. A work, enabling them “to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might”, (Deuteronomy 6:5). I believe that this work that was done in Israel’s heart was part of the reason they continued as a people for thousands of years.

d). What ever the work done in their heart, it was far short of the New Covenant circumcision. Romans 8:3 “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,…”

e). The law could not give “life”. Galatians 3:21 “…for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.” They could not be born again. The weaknesses of the Old Covenant have already been mentioned, but a very powerful witness to that was preached by the Apostle Paul in Pisidia Antioch.

(1) Acts 13:38, 39 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses.

(2) Spiros Zodhiates Complete Word Study of the New Testament: “In Acts 13:39, dikaioo, the Greek word for “justified” is used with the preposition apo – from, referring to all those things from which the Mosaic Law could not liberate us. In this instance as well as in Romans 6:7 where apo is used with the word “sin”, it refers to our liberation from something, i.e., sin which holds a man a prisoner, a slave…thus dikaioo does not mean the mere declaration of innocence, but the liberation from sin which holds man a prisoner.”

4). New Covenant Circumcision

a). The New Covenant Circumcision is a spiritual circumcision: Romans 2:25-29.

(1) Romans 2:25-29 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

2:27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

b). The spiritual circumcision spoken of in Romans is the new birth, the born again experience. Paul wrote about it in Colossians 2:11, “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.”

c). The “body of the sins of the flesh”, in Colossians 2:11 is the same as the “body of this death”, in Romans 7:24. It is “the law of sin and death”, in Romans 8:2.

d). The spiritual circumcision of the Old Covenant was not as effective or complete as the spiritual circumcision under the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, the effect was, “…to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” Deuteronomy 6:5, while the effect under the New Covenant is, “…putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” Colossians 2:11.

e). We are under a better Covenant, a better Covenant! Under the old Covenant they did not have the authority we have, they did not have the power to break free from the bondages of sin that we have in Christ. Acts 13:39 says it right: “…and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.”