Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Ian Hutchesson <mc2499 AT mclink.it>]

Herodotus tells us that the Phoenicians and the Syrians of Palestine were
circumcised. Evidence from Egypt suggests that males there were also
circumcised. Yet the Philistines are specifically indicated a number of
times on the OT/HB as simply the "uncircumcised" (eg 1Sam14:6 and
Jdg15:18), though such an epithet is never used against Canaanites. Note
also Jer9:25-26 which calls Egypt, Judah, Edom, Moab and Ammon as
"circumcised only in the foreskin". This should be further evidence of the
Philistines coming from a different cultural heritage.

A different issue regarding circumcision:

When did circumcision first become practiced on Jewish children? Gen17:10
talks of every male (zakar), and Gen17:23 specifies every male among the
men (enosh) of Abraham's house. The story about the death of Shechem after
the rape of Dinah suggests that circumcision was originally part of the
male preparation for marriage, Gen34:14.


Ian