Hadrian’s Prohibition of Circumcision
R. Nathan says: Of them that love Me and keep My commandments (Exodus 20:6) refers to those who dwell in the land of Israel and risk their lives for the sake of the commandments. “Why are you being led out to be decapitated?” “Because I circumcised my son to be an Israelite.” “Why are you being led out to be burned?” “Because I read the Torah.”…
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Syrians in Palestine Practice Circumcision
[T]he Colchians and Egyptians and Ethiopians are the only nations that have from the first practiced circumcision. The Phoenicians and the Syrians of Palestine acknowledge of themselves that they…
Antiochus’ Prohibition of Circumcision
And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah; he directed them to follow customs strange to the land, to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in…
Neglect of Circumcision
I am now telling you that the Israelites will prove false to this ordinance. They will not circumcise their sons in accord with this entire law because they will leave some of the flesh of their…
Gentile Ridicule and Reasons for Circumcision
Now the practice which is thus ridiculed, namely the circumcision of the genital organs, is very zealously observed by many other nations, particularly by the Egyptians, a race regarded as pre-eminent…
Neither Circumcision nor Uncircumcision Counts for Anything
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of…
Circumcision as Improvement on Creation
A philosopher asked R. Hoshaiah. He said to him, “If circumcision is so beloved [a commandment to the Lord], why was it not given to Adam, the first [man]?” He said to him, “Why does this man [i.e…