It appears from Josephus xiii :9) that when Hyrcanus subdued the Idummans he forced them to be circumcised on pain of expatriation. This shows that they had at least disused the rite. But that is not wonderful, if it was only a custom, and not a national religious ordinance; for, as Michaelis observes, the disuse of it may have dated from the edict of Antiochus Epiphanes, of which it is said (i Macc. 4i, 42), 'The King Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom, that all should be one people ; and that all should keep the ordinances of his country: and all the nations ac quiesced according to the word of the king.' The rather obscure notices which are found in Jeremiah and Ezekiel of the circumcision of the nations who were in immediate contact with Israel admit of a natural interpretation in con formity with what has been already adduced (Jer. ix:25; Ezek. xxxi:i8; also xxxii:19. ct passim). The difficulty turns on the new moral use made of the term 'uncircumcised,' to mean simply impure.
How far the rite of circumcision spread over the southwest of Arabia no definite record shows. The silence of the Koran confirms the statement of Abulfeda that the custom is older than Mo hammed. who, it would appear, in no respect re garded it as a religious rite. Nevertheless it has extended itself with the Mohammedan faith, as though it were a positive ordinance. Pocock (Specimen Hist. Arab., p. 309) cites a tradition, which ascribes to Mohammed the words: 'Circum cision is an ordinance for men, and honorable in women.' This extension of the rite to the other sex might, in itself, satisfy us that it did not come to those nations from Abraham and Ishmael. We have already seen that Abyssinian circumcision has the same peculiarity: so that it is every way probable that Southern Arabia had the rite from the same source or influence as Ethiopia. In fact. the very closest relations are known to have sub sisted between the nations on the opposite coasts of the Red Sea.
(2) Moral Meaning. The moral meaning of the word 'uncircumcised' was a natural result of its having been made legally essential to Hebrew faith. 'Uncircumcised in heart (Lev. xxvi:41) and ears' (Jer. vi:10) was a metaphor to which a prophet would be carried, as necessarily as a Christian teacher to such phrases as 'unbaptized in soul,' or 'not washed by regeneration.' (3) Origin and Purpose. If, however, we try to take a step farther back still, and ask why this ordinance in particular was selected, as so emi nently essential to the seed of Abraham, we prob ably find that we have reached a point at which we must be satisfied with knowing the fact without the reason. Every external ordinance, as for in stance baptism, must have more or less that is ar bitrary in it. It is, however, abundantly plain that circumcision was not intended to separate the Jews from other nations generally, for it could not do so: and, least of all, from the Egyptians, as the words in Joshua v:9 show. Rather, it was a well known and already understood symbol of purity.
A great deal of speculation and argument has been employed on the utility and origin of the rite to the Egyptians and others. Herodotus, long ago, declared that it was adopted for cleanliness.
rca0apcbryros avece., and a slight acquaintance with the ideas of the Turks, concerning per sonal defilement will make it easy to believe that an idea of cleanliness continued the practice among nations which had once become habituated to it. By the ancient Egyptians this same spirit was carried to a great height ; nor is it wonderful that in hot climates detailed precepts of cleanliness form a very large part of primitive religion. But we can hardly rest in this as a sufficient account of the origin of the rite. It was practiced, moreover, by the males of African tribes so savage and so little devoted to religious ceremonialism that a broader ground must be sought for it than simple cleanliness.
The fact, also, that most of these nations per formed whatever operation it was, not on in fants, but on those who were advanced towards marriageable age, conspires to indicate that some physical inconvenience gradually showed itself (as with the Bushmen females, through the en largement of the parts), of which they desired to get rid. Jost looks upon infant circumcision as the distinguishing mark of Judaism; and this may be nearly correct, though we have seen that, ac cording to Abulfeda. some Arabs delayed it only till after teething.
If an independent and human origin has been discovered for Egyptian circumcision, the thought of necessity arises that the Israelites must have had it from the same sources as the nations around then; and it has been discussed (Spencer, De Leg. Heb.) whether they even borrowed it from the Egyptians. The idea has naturally given much offense; but in truth the question involves no peculiar difficulty; it is only part of another far wider inquiry. It is well known that many other ancient nations had various ceremonies and institutions in common with the Jews, and that the Hebrew law is by no means in all points orig inal. That sacrifice pre-existed is on the surface of the Bible History. The same, however, is true of temples, tabernacles, priests, ever-burning fire, oracles, etc. The fact has been often denoted by saying that the Jewish institutions are a selection, revision and re-enactment of an older patriarchal religion.
The process of restoring a circumcised person to his natural condition by a surgical operation was sometimes undergone. Against this Paul cautions the Cbrinthians (i Cor. vii :18). The attitude of early Christianity towards circum cision as a rite necessary to salvation is one of absolute hostility (Acts xv :1; Gal. v :2). While the Apostles forbade its imposition by authority on the Gentiles, as in the case of Titus (Gal. ii: 3-5), they made no objection to its practice as a matter of expediency, as in the case of Timothy (Acts xvi :3).
(4) Modern Surgery. Circumcision is strongly recommended by a multitude of the medical pro fession as a remedy for many nervous diseases so often apparent in children of the present day. The most beneficial results have frequently fol lowed the operation.
Criticism has been made by medical men re garding the employment of unskilled persons by Jews in performing the operation, who are not always cleanly in their persons and methods. .
CIS (sis), (Acts xiii:21). See KISH, I.