Genesis 17:14
in Genesis 17But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
KJV
And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
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This verse in Genesis 17
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe uncircumcised - shall be cut off from his people - By being cut off some have imagined that a sudden temporal death was implied; but the simple meaning seems to be that such should have no right to nor share in the blessings of the covenant, which we have already seen were both of a temporal and spiritual kind; and if so, then eternal death was implied, for it was impossible for a person who had not received the spiritual purification to enter into eternal glory.
This site's exposition
when he is eight days old
on Genesis 17:12-14
The eighth day is fixed, and Clarke ties it to the law that no calf, lamb or kid was offered to God before it was eight days old. The sign is commanded for every male in the household, the one born there and the one purchased from a foreigner. A man who refuses it is cut off from his people.
This site's exposition
he will be cut off from his people
Adam Clarke names two readings of cut off, a sudden death sent by God, which some hold, and the loss of every share in the blessings of the covenant, which he holds. Philo of Alexandria asks why an infant is threatened for what he cannot choose. The verse calls it breaking the covenant.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Nothing done unwittingly is declared punishable by the law, since the law makes allowance even for one who claims to have committed unintentional homicide. Why then is the eight-day-old infant who is uncircumcised menaced as though subject to the penalty of death?
See the Lord's wisdom in knowing how inobservant future generations are likely to be, and so, as though putting a bit in their mouths, he gave them this sign of circumcision, curbing their unrestrained urges in case they should mingle with other peoples. You see, he was aware of their lustful tendencies in not practicing restraint, even though it had been drummed into them countless times to refrain from their irrational impulses. Consequently he gave them a perpetual reminder with this sign of circumcision, as though fastening them with a chain. He set limits and rules to prevent them overstepping the mark instead of staying within their own people and having no association with those other peoples but rather keeping the patriarch's line uncontaminated. In this way even the fulfillment of the promises could be achieved for their benefit. It is like a man of self-control and good sense having a disobedient child; he puts limits and rules on him not to show his face outside the front door or to be seen by passersby. In fact, he oftentimes ties him up by the feet so as to succeed in this way in getting the better of his extreme indiscipline. Well, in just the same way the loving Lord also placed this sign of circumcision in their flesh, like shackles on their feet, so that with this reminder at home they might have no further need of instruction from others.
Not without reason or by excessive reaction do many find this passage disturbing, in that the Lord should say, "Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
The Medieval Church1 voice
A male whose foreskin's flesh has not been circumcised, that soul will be cut off from his people: because he has broken my covenant.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the uncircumcised man child, whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. The promise made to Abraham of a son by Sarai, that son in whom the promise made to him should be fulfilled, that he should be the father of many nations; for she also shall be a mother of nations, and kings of people shall be of her,
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Here Scripture teaches you that this circumcision must be at the location where the distinction between male and female is evident. Thus the words of Rashi. Our Rabbis have likewise mentioned other reasons. 418 Shabbath 108a. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said: 419 In his commentary to Leviticus:3.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעָרֵ֣ל׀ | vearel | and an uncircumcised | H6189 → | |
| זָכָ֗ר | zakhar | male | H2145 → | 82 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִמּוֹל֙ | yimol | he will be circumcised | H4135 → | 37 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּשַׂ֣ר | besar | [the] flesh of | H1320 → | 270 times |
| עָרְלָת֔וֹ | arelato | foreskin his | H6190 → | 16 times |
| וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה | venikhretah | and it will be cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ | hanefesh | the person | H5315 → | 754 times |
| הַהִ֖וא | hahiv' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| מֵעַמֶּ֑יהָ | meameiha | from kinspeople<s> its | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּרִיתִ֖י | beriti | covenant my | H1285 → | 284 times |
| הֵפַֽר׃ ס | hefar | he has broken | H6565 → |
וְעָרֵ֣ל׀and an uncircumcised
vearelH6189 →
זָכָ֗רmale
zakharH2145 →82 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִמּוֹל֙he will be circumcised
yimolH4135 →37 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּשַׂ֣ר[the] flesh of
besarH1320 →270 times
עָרְלָת֔וֹforeskin his
arelatoH6190 →16 times
וְנִכְרְתָ֛הand it will be cut off
venikhretahH3772 →288 times
הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁthe person
hanefeshH5315 →754 times
הַהִ֖וא<the> that
hahiv'H1931 →1879 times
מֵעַמֶּ֑יהָfrom kinspeople<s> its
meameihaH5971 →1873 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּרִיתִ֖יcovenant my
beritiH1285 →284 times
הֵפַֽר׃ סhe has broken
hefarH6565 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 12:19For seven days there must be no leaven found in your houses. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreigner or native of the land, must be cut off from the congregation…
it leads to
- Exodus 12:15
For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be…
- Deuteronomy 16:3
You must not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste—so that you…
- Exodus 23:15
You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was…
- Exodus 12:15
Through
Jeremiah 11:10They have returned to the sins of their forefathers who refused to obey My words. They have followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:16
And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will…
- Ezekiel 16:59
For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to your deeds, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
- Jeremiah 3:6–11
Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to…
- Psalms 78:8–10
Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
- Deuteronomy 31:16
Through
Leviticus 7:27If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.’”
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:29
How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of…
- Hebrews 10:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Genesis
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Abraham; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 39.14; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Philo of Alexandria, Questions on Genesis and Philo of Alexandria, QUESTIONS ON GENESIS 3.52.1.