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 learned the custom from the Egyptians. [ . . . ]
Credits
Herodotus, Histories 2.104.2–3, from Herodotus, vol. I, trans. A. D. Godley, Loeb Classical Library, vol. 117 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1920), p. 393.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
You may also like
Antiochus’ Prohibition of Circumcision
Neglect of Circumcision
Jubilees 15:33–34
Gentile Ridicule and Reasons for Circumcision
On the Special Laws 1.2–11
Neither Circumcision nor Uncircumcision Counts for Anything
Circumcision as Improvement on Creation
Hadrian’s Prohibition of Circumcision
Herodotus, writing in the fifth century BCE, provides the first testimony in Greek to Jewish circumcision (his reference to “Syrians in Palestine” likely refers to Judeans). Like many Greek ethnographers after him, Herodotus asserts that these “Syrians” learned the practice from the Egyptians.
Related Guide
Circumcision in Antiquity
Related Guide
Ancient Life-Cycle and Ritual Practice
Related Guide
Jewish Daily Life in Roman-Era Palestine
You may also like
Antiochus’ Prohibition of Circumcision
Neglect of Circumcision
Jubilees 15:33–34
Gentile Ridicule and Reasons for Circumcision
On the Special Laws 1.2–11