Elohim’s Covenant of Circumcision - fertility and eternity

The Covenant of Circumcision is the fifth of seven blessings made to Abraham, and the first and only covenant made by Elohim.

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Its subject matter is very different type from that of the proceeding Covenant between the Pieces. That covenant related to the future of the Jewish people in its historic and political mission. God was the most active party in this contract, and Abraham did little more than cut up some animals for the contract and then view the proceedings in a vision while asleep. By contrast, the Covenant of Circumcision related to Abraham’s life at that moment and not only to the future. Abraham was also an active participant in this covenant by circumcising himself and his household, which he did “on that very day” (ibid 17:26).

 

The context of this fifth blessing is that the issue of descendants had been preying on the minds of Sarah and Abraham. Abraham listens to Sarah’s advice and has a child with her servant Hagar. When this son, Ishmael, is 13 years old, God again appears to Abraham. The initial part of this revelation is through the name YHWH and then through the names El Shaddai and Elohim. However, the majority of this blessing/covenant is revealed through the name Elohim. 

 

The passage is structured such that its first three verses are about Abraham’s obligations in the fulfillment of this covenant. There then follows two verses about Elohim’s obligations, and this is followed by five verses regarding Abraham’s commitment to circumcision. There is then a paragraph about Sarai’s name change to Sarah, a prophecy directed at Abraham that she will bear a son, and then prophecies about Ishmael’s future descendants.

 

The covenant opens as follows:

 

And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, YHWH appeared to Abram, and said unto him: “I am El Shaddai; walk before Me, and be perfect/wholehearted. I will set My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram fell upon his face; and Elohim spoke with him, saying: “As for Me, this is My covenant with you. . . .” (Genesis 17:1-4).

 

The first of Abraham’s two obligations is to “walk before Me and be perfect/wholehearted (tamim)” (ibid 17:1).

 

Elohim is saying that you, Abraham, are to walk in front of me and be my representative to the world. This can be contrasted with Noah who walked “with” Elohim (Genesis 6:9). In what way Abraham is to walk before God is not delineated in this passage, but will be mentioned in the next section that Abraham will teach “justice and righteousness” to his children (Genesis 13:19). God is the epitome of justice and righteousness. Abraham has become His representative who will embody these attributes and through his example and preaching will disseminate these ideas to the rest of the world. 

 

To be “tamim” or perfect/wholehearted is variously explained by commentators, and a number of interpretations have been suggested. The first issue is whether there is one directive here or two. It may be that perfection is a consequence of Abraham walking before God. This could be related to his circumcision.1 Others suggest that there are two directives. Sforno suggests it means being wholehearted in how one emulates God’s ways. Similarly, Grossman relates tamim to the blamelessness discussed in Psalm 101 while walking with God.2 Nachmanides associates it with a similar use of this word in Deuteronomy when the Bible discusses forbidden magical practices and concludes with the phrase “you shall be perfect/wholehearted with YHWH your God” (Deuteronomy 18:13). Hence, just as one is to avoid magical practices and retain one’s trust in God, so one should walk before God and maintain one’s belief in Him.3 

 

This blessing is the only one of the seven blessings and the only one of the two covenants that are transmitted to Abraham through the name Elohim as distinct from YHWH.4 Whereas YHWH is the personal God of the forefathers and in the future will be the God of the Jewish people, Elohim is a more distant God whose primary concern is with the welfare of all the nations of the world. Abraham will father not only Isaac, but also Ishmael, and will be “a father of a multitude of nations” (ibid 17:4). Abraham, and in the future Judaism, will also interact with the other nations of the world.

 

Moreover, circumcision is not a matter of personal commitment, since most Jews are circumcised as infants, but more a matter of national commitment on the part of the parents. Through this sign, a nation, the Jewish nation, is distinguished from the other nations of the world. The interactions between the nations of the world and their providence are more the province of Elohim than YHWH.  Hence, the Covenant between the Parts and the Covenant of Circumcision reflect both the national and international implications of the mission of Abraham and Judaism.

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It is of significant that there are literary connections between this Covenant of Circumcision and the Covenant of the Rainbow, which was also given over by Elohim. In the Covenant of the Rainbow, Elohim promises Noah that He will never again destroy the earth by a flood (ibid 9:8-17). The sign of this covenant will be a rainbow that appropriately links heaven and earth. Nevertheless, there is a loose end to this story. Following the flood, God admits that “the design of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). What then has changed and why will a flood never again be necessary?

 

Elohim’s answer is to repopulate the world with the offspring of Noah, and His hopes are focused particularly on the descendants of Noah’s son Shem. Now, ten generations later, there is a descendent of Shem, namely Abraham, with whom God can partner to bring the ideas of ethical monotheism to the world. 

The word “covenant” (brit) is a key word in the covenant with Noah and appears there seven times. The word “covenant” (bris) is a keyword in the Covenant of Circumcision and is repeated ten times.

 

Significantly, there were ten generations between Noah and Abraham. This Elohim-passage also relates that “Noah was a righteous man, perfect (tamim) in his generation, Noah walked (hit’halech) with Elohim” (ibid 6:9). Abraham is also asked at the beginning of the Covenant of Circumcision to “walk (hit’halech) before Me and be perfect/wholehearted” (ibid 17:1). 

 

Moreover, both covenants were “established” (vehakimoti) rather than “cut” as in the Covenant between the Pieces. Nevertheless, in both these Elohim-derived covenants the word to “cut” is still used, in this case with reference to humanity. In the Noah passage “all flesh” will never again be “cut off by the flood” (ibid 9:11) and in this Abraham passage an uncircumcised person will “be cut off from its people” (ibid 12:1). A “sign” also accompanies both covenants. In the covenant with Noah this is a rainbow and in the Covenant of Circumcision circumcision.

 

Fertility is also an aspect of both covenants, in that prior to the Covenant of the Rainbow “Elohim blessed Noah and his sons, and He said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land.’” (ibid 9:1). Fertility will ensure that the world is populated. It will also counteract pessimistic attitudes towards procreation that might have arisen because of a fear of natural disasters.

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The Covenant of Circumcision introduces for the first time in the Torah another name for God besides YHWH and Elohim, namely El Shaddai. 

 

There are Jewish interpreters who explain the name “El Shaddai” as being derived from the two Hebrew words “She” and “dai, which mean “that” and “sufficient.” Accordingly, its meaning is there is sufficiency within Me for every creature and I have the wherewithal to care for them.5 

 

Cassuto and Grossman suggest that this name is used in the Bible in relation to fertility.6 It seems to have this connotation, for example, in the following passage from the Book of Ruth:

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Do not call me Naomi (pleasant one), call me Mara (embittered one), for Shaddai has dealt very bitterly with me. I was full when I went away, but YHWH has brought me back empty. Why should you call me Naomi; YHWH has testified against me, and Shaddai has brought misfortune upon me (Ruth 1:20-21).

 

The name El Shaddai appears again in the Torah in the Jacob story in an Elohim-passage when Isaac blesses his son Jacob before he leaves for Padam Aram. Foremost in Isaac’s mind is that Jacob should be fruitful, so as to enable the fulfillment of God’s covenant. He says to his son:

 

May El Shaddai bless you and multiply you and make you numerous, and may you be a congregation of peoples (Genesis 28:3).

 

Here also, in the Covenant of Circumcision, the emphasis is on fertility—" and will multiply you exceedingly” (Genesis 17:1).

 

That God has a separate name for His aspect of fertility may sound strange to us moderns. Nevertheless, it was common in the pagan world that a chief male god of might partnered with a female god of fertility. The name of the God of might in the Bible is El (similar to Elohim) and God’s aspect of fertility is Shaddai. The Bible is not separating these two aspects of God but bringing them together as a single Divinity in a way that would have been understandable at that time.

 

The Covenant of Circumcision continues with seven promises that I have labelled for convenience #1 to #7:

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#1 - You shall be the father of a multitude of nations (ibid 17:4). 

#2 - Your name shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations (ibid 17:5).

#3 - I will make you exceeding fruitful (ibid 17:6),

#4 - And I will make nations of you (ibid 17:6), 

#5 - And kings shall descend from you (ibid 17:6).

#6 - I will uphold My covenant between Me and you and your offspring after you, throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant – to be a God to you and to your offspring after you (ibid 17:7).

#7 - And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land of your sojourns, all the Land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; - and I will be a God to them” (ibid 17:7).

 

The first of these promises (#1) is that Abraham will be “a father of a multitude of nations.”

What nations the Torah is talking about is unclear. Many Jewish commentators assume they are the descendants of Isaac and that the Bible is talking about the Jewish people.7 Sarai is also promised a multitude of nations, and she has only one pregnancy. Nevertheless, they could also be the nations that Abraham has sired through Hagar and his concubines (Genesis 25:1 and 25:5). In fact, Abraham’s family can be considered even larger than this since a convert to Judaism is considered “a child of Abraham.” Muslims and Christians also consider themselves spiritual heirs to Abraham’s legacy. The Qur’an establishes its Abrahamic lineage through Ishmael. Christianity views Abraham as an exemplar of faith and a spiritual and possibly physical ancestor of Jesus.8 In the theology of Paul of Tarsus, all who believe in God are spiritual descendants of Abraham.  

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To emphasize his broadened parenthood, Abraham’s name is changed (#2). Until now, he has been called Avram, meaning a father of Aram. From now on his name will be Avraham — meaning a father of “a multitude of nations.”9 Mentioned later in this passage is that Sarai’s name will be changed to Sarah. In the ancient world, a name change indicated the assuming of a new personality. For both Abraham and Sarah, their new names come from the addition of the Hebrew letter heh (ה). This letter occurs twice in God’s name YHWH.

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Abraham is also promised that this covenant will bring in its wake fertility (#3), which is why the fertility aspect of God, El Shaddai, is mentioned in the first sentence of this passage. God had previously pointed out to Abraham in the Covenant between the Pieces that his seed will be as many as “the stars in the heaven” (Genesis 15:5). In that YHWH blessing, Abraham’s descendants will become a large nation that will enable them to populate “this land.” In this covenant promised by Elohim and El Shaddai, they are to become fruitful so they can fulfill their universal mission to the nations of the world.  

 

Abraham will also become the progenitor of kings (#5). The term “kings” implies sovereignty and power. Hence, his offspring will not be a small and insignificant people tucked away in a remote corner of the globe but a major and powerful actor on the world stage in one of the central locations of the world between the great Mesopotamian and Egyptian superpowers.

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These promises are written in a crescendo form building up at their end to two promises related to eternity, namely (#6) for Elohim “throughout their generations …..  to be a God to you and to your offspring after you,” (Genesis 17:7) and (#7) to be a God eternally to the Jewish people in “all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:8).

 

In these two final sentences Elohim promises to forge a special relationship with Abraham and his descendants by being a God to them.10 At first glance these two sentences seem very similar. However, they do express different ideas. In #6, Elohim promises to be a God to Abraham and his seed forever, including during periods of exile. In the last sentence (#7), He promises to be their eternal God in the land of Canaan. He is thereby promising to be their God throughout all Jewish history.11 

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The eternal nature of this covenant is also expressed in other ways. In #6, God promises that the covenant will be “an everlasting covenant.” Another aspect of eternity is mentioned in the next promise (#7) in that the land of Canaan will belong to the Jewish people “for an everlasting possession” using the Hebrew word “ahuza.” Hence, an eternal people, the Jewish people, have been allocated a specific country, the land of Canaan, forever. 

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Abraham’s and thus the Jewish people’s second contribution to this covenant is circumcision. The blessing continues:

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And God said unto Abraham: 'As for you, you shalt keep My covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a sign of a covenant between Me and you. At the age of eight days every male among you shall be circumcised throughout your generations, he that is born in the household, or bought with money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. He that is born in your household, and he that is bought with your money, must surely be circumcised; and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. An uncircumcised one, a male the flesh of whose foreskin shall not be circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from its people; he has broken My covenant' (Genesis 17:1-14).

 

Circumcision is to be “a sign of a covenant between Me and you.” Because it is performed on every Jewish male, this sign also becomes an aspect of the covenant itself - to “be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.” A Jew who is not circumcised denies that he is part of the mission of the Jewish people – “that soul shall be cut off from its people; he has broken My covenant.” 

 

Circumcision is performed on the eighth day after birth (Genesis 17:12). The number eight in the Torah has the meaning of a level above the regular holiness of number seven — super-holy as it were. This is because the act of circumcision binds the Jew in the strongest way possible to a holy purpose.

Grossman has noted that this particular section has a chiastic form, with the peak of the chiasm being at d and d1:12:

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a. 'As for you, you shalt keep My covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.

b. This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.

c. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a sign of a covenant between Me and you.

d. At the age of eight days every male among you shall be circumcised throughout your generations, he that is born in the household, or bought with money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring.

d1. He that is born in your household, and he that is bought with your money, must surely be circumcised;

c1. and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

b1. An uncircumcised one, a male the flesh of whose foreskin shall not be circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from its people

a1. he has broken My covenant.

   

There is discussion among Jewish commentators as to the symbolic meaning of circumcision. Most agree that it is a means of distinguishing the Jewish people from the rest of humanity.13 It is clearly not an overt symbol, although every Jewish male knows he has the circumcision engraved in his flesh and that his connection to God has been signed in a blood ceremony. By this he is marked for the mission statement of the Jewish people – to stand “before” God as His representative to the world in promoting justice and righteousness.

 

Circumcision was practiced in the ancient world well before the Jewish people adopted this custom. It was performed in ancient Egypt and may have been a mark of distinction of the elite. The priestly caste of Egypt also practiced circumcision.14 Perhaps related to this, the Jewish people are marked for a priestly function to the nations of the world. Later, the Torah will be explicit about this by calling on the Israelites to become a nation of priests — “You will be for me a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19.6).

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Scholars enamored of the Documentary Hypothesis regard the Covenant of the Pieces and the Covenant of Circumcision as reflecting the product of two different sources that were joined together by a Redactor. There is much in the Torah that negates this hypothesis. Rather, the Torah is a carefully crafted literary work in which YHWH and Elohim passages are part of its very foundations. Consider the following passage:

 

And YHWH remembered Sarah as He had said and YHWH did for Sarah as He had spoken. Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age at the appointed time of which Elohim had spoken with him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him — whom Sarah had borne him — Yitzhak (Genesis 21:1-3).

  

Conclusions 

 

Within seven prophetic promises to Abraham are outlined much of Jewish history —the survival of an eternal people, all of which males are circumcised to mark them off from the rest of the nations of the world, oppressive and prolonged exiles, followed by redemption to a land that has belonged to them since the time of Abraham and will continue to belong to them for eternity. The number seven related to these blessings signifies that nothing in these blueprints is coincidental, but all are part of the Divine plan for the material and spiritual blessing of mankind.31 

 

This leads to a concept that many may have trouble dealing with ­— that much of world history revolves around the fate of the Jewish people. It has to be this way, for if Jewish history has direction and the Jewish people are an integral part of the nations of the world, then world history must be configured around this Divine plan.

 

The universal aspects of Judaism presented by Elohim have received little emphasis by Jews over the last few thousand years, since they were too occupied in surviving against the adverse forces around them than to be concerned with the progress of the world around them. This has changed with the advent of the State of Israel, which is an important part of the nations of the world. It is no coincidence, for example, that this country is called a start-up nation. 

 

The Torah also describes in these blessings its vision of utopia for the Jewish people and the rest of the world. These promises of blessing are as much material as spiritual, perhaps even more so. It embraces all nations of the earth as “families.” It is not in a miraculous eschatological future. Nor is it in the World to Come. Rather, it is firmly in this world. 

 

How it can be achieved is described in the next chapter.

 

References:

 

1. A midrash sees circumcision as bringing a repair of a physical perfection (Bereishis Rabba 6:1). Rashi follows up on this.  Rashi also brings another explanation that this is a command and that Abraham is to be complete or wholehearted in the trials to which he will be subjected. This could be referring specifically to the command of circumcision (Be’er Yitzchak).

 

2. Covenant and Fertility in Abram to Abraham. A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative by Jonathan Grossman, p227, Peter Lang AG, Bern Switzerland.

 

3. Nachmanides commentary to the Torah on Genesis 17:1.

 

4. Lecture 3 in The Documentary Hypothesis and the Composition of the Pentateuch by Umberto Cassuto, p46-47. Shalem Press, Jerusalem and New York, 2006.

 

5. Rashi to Genesis 17:1 as explained by Be’er Yitzchak. This is also the explanation of Rav Saadia Gaon. R’ Joseph Solveitchik takes a different approach and explains that God’s creation is not fully complete, but God will partner with Abraham and they will both be creators (Chumash with commentary based on the teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Bereishis, OU Press).  Luzzatto suggests that the name comes from the three-letter root shin daled daled, and notes that the Arabic word shadid means strong. Hence, its meaning would be Omnipotent God. This is similar to the explanation of Nachmanides and Ibn Ezra of Mighty God.

 

6. Section Five. Prelude to Successful Action in A Commentary on the Book of Exodus by Umberto Moshe David Cassuto, p78. Varda Books, Skokie, Illinois 2005 and Covenant and Fertility in Abram to Abraham. A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative by Jonathan Grossman, p224, Peter Lang AG, Bern Switzerland.

 

7. Rashi suggests that it includes the Jewish people plus the tribe of Edom, since Abraham already had Ishmael (Rashi to Genesis 17:6). Nachmanides disagrees that Edom should be included and brings examples where the Jewish people are called nations and peoples (Nachmanides to Genesis 17:6). Targum Onkelos translates the word as tribes. The Radak suggests that the reference is to the descendants of Keturah, in that Keturah married Abraham after Sarah died. 

 

8. New Testament, Rom 4:9-12. 

 

9. The word “riham” in Arabic means a multitude. This word is not currently in use in Hebrew, but Luzzatto suggests it may once have been part of the Jewish lexicon. The Book of Genesis. A Commentary by ShaDal (S.D. Luzzatto). Translated by Daniel A Klein, p155, Jason Aronson Inc, NJ 1998. 

 

10. The Be’ir Yitzchak, a super-commentator to Rashi, points out regarding Rashi’s commentary to Genesis 17:7, that this verse does not mean “I will uphold My covenant in order to be a God to you.” Rather, “to be a God to you” is the actual content of the covenant, so that the verse then reads: “I will uphold My covenant which is to be a God to you.”

 

11. This explanation is at variance with that of Rashi (Rashi to Genesis 17:9) who suggests that Elohim is only a God to the Jewish people inside the land of Israel. Otherwise, it is as if they had no God. See also TB Kesubos 110b.  

 

12. The Covenant Sign (9-14) in Abram to Abraham. A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative by Jonathan Grossman, p234, Peter Lang AG, Bern Switzerland.

 

13. Sefer Hachinuch 2. 

 

14. The Book of Genesis.  A Commentary by Shadal (S.D. Luzzatto) translated by Daniel A. Klein, p156-157.  James Aronson Inc. to Genesis 17.9. Also, History of Circumcision in Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_circumcision#:~:text=Herodotus%2C%20writing%20in%20the%205th%20century%20BCE%2C%20wrote%20that%20the,passage%20from%20childhood%20to%20adulthood.