Why Male Circumcision Mattered to Women in the Bible

God has made a covenant with Abraham and then tells him that every male is to be circumcised, which would be a sign of the covenant between God, Abraham, and all his offspring. Circumcision seems like an odd sign, not only because of the physical mark, but also because it appears to be one-sided. What possible relevance would circumcision be to an Israelite woman. It would appear that Yahweh was only concerned with males. What was God thinking when he had the Hebrew males circumcised?

[harrycrocker]

Circumcision was practiced in Egypt 400 yrs before Abram, also done in Sumer, what do we make of this

[paulb]

I am at the 6:30 mark and this man has not answered any questions. He just repeats the question.

[robertrettig]

I’m a retired male registered nurse. I am circumcised and can attest that it does not reduce sensitivity at all. The foreskin is a skin flap covering that can create numerous problems for men such as chronic yeast infections, mainly cuz men don’t clean themselves well! It can cause constricting problems and one of the medical treatments I’ve seen is teaching men to clean and retract foreskins to prevent these problems. On newborns, we teach mothers to do this as well, and to make sure fore skin is placed back in normal position to prevent blood circulation from being stopped. I’m retired military and had a friend who in his twenty’s had to have a circumcision due to the chronic problems mentioned above which he had in spite of being very hygienic. Circumcised men tend to not create vaginal problems for women. Babies are medicated now for pain ( never much done in past years) and tolerate it well. It prevents a lifetime of problems for men! God gave Abraham most of man’s early hygiene decrees for our learning and prevention of problems. That’s Him teaching us some pretty basic stuff! Can you imagine how dirty early men’s habit were? It’s pretty popular for modern literature to call this procedure barbaric, a statement ignoring the realities of why it’s done!

[hunterw]

I’m circumcised. I am very grateful for it. Much more sanitary and there is evidence of lower rates of infection, STDs and other issues.

[anitarobertson]

Intertesting, but in the New Testament, Paul's letter to Galatians, 5:1-6, Paul tells us that after the coming of Jesus Christ, circumcision or the lack of it makes no difference, we are saved by our faith in Jesus. Paul repeats this in some of his other letters.
Speaking as a medical professional, it's well established that there is no reason for this to be done. My late husband was not, as a premie, they were more interested in preserving his life. Our 3 grown sons were not circumcised, by doctor's advice. Later, I went to college for nursing and understood the lack of medical reasoning to do this. They grew up without any problems related to this.
I just love the meaning of the name, Isaac! Laughter, so true, my children brought much laughter into our lives.

[Edward-ydzr]

If God wanted men to be circumcised. Why didn't He created men to be born circumcised?

[benjigirl]

Thank you for your efforts. Some gentle feedback. Too many repetitions in this video. Repeated questions for the first four minutes. Then repeated Bible verses read.
Get to the point a bit faster if you want to hold this generation that is on YouTube.

[kaneyhobelar]

how would the wife know her circumcised husband looked different? who is she comparing him to?

[stephenlang]

What! Does this guy think this is an explanation? It may be a justification, but it explains nothing. Is this what religion is like, somebody spewing nonsense and everybody agreeing?

[GeeThevenin]

What makes you think women’s opinions or health outcomes mattered to a Bronze Age patriarchy?

[philipgrobler]

How many men who are circumcised today at this moment had a choice in this decision?

[dakrontu]

A grown man, an educated man, seriously talking about a bunch of total baloney.

[JamesBrown-jslm]

I was circumcised as an infant at birth, I don’t remember it happening. The test would be to an adult being faced with the task. That’s a true commitment.

[mjays]

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a more superficial presentation of biblical doctrine than this. God’s rationale for instituting circumcision goes so much deeper than this droning, and as a ‘teacher’ this man should be more reticent about things he shows little knowledge of. Consider the following:

1. God intended circumcision as a covenant of conscience. Every time an Israelite man uncovered himself for any reason, whether it was to urinate, to bathe, while working (see John 21:7), or while engaged in sexual activity (especially with someone other than his wife), he was always reminded of his ‘condition, ’ and the reason for his condition. It was intended to be a last-ditch prick of conscience to prevent the Israelite man from violating the Law and committing sin.

2. The covenant applied to males only. God placed the ultimate responsibility to practice righteousness in his sexual conduct on the man’s shoulders. He was the one made in the image of God, not the woman (see 1 Cor 11:7-9). He is the one put in the spiritual leadership of his family, not his wife. Very rarely would a Semitic man fully uncover himself, even to his wife. The sexes slept in individual beds, often in separate rooms of a house, or in separate tents. Sexual relations were conducted in darkened conditions, and only enough clothing was removed or rearranged to facilitate copulation (Eyesight was not the principal sense employed during these times). Being the one circumcised conveyed to the man the necessity for him to always choose righteousness over sin in his personal behavior, and the wife was compelled to trust in God by trusting in her husband.

3. Physiologically speaking for the man circumcision is an insignificant loss. Circumcision does not destroy a man’s ability to perform sexually in adult life, nor does it impede the physical, emotional, and intellectual benefits derived from its practice. The foreskin was designed to be removed. Circumcision so desensitizes a man’s sexual stimulation that the time taken for a him to achieve climax in coitus more closely matches that required for his wife to respond in-kind, and achieve similar satisfaction.

4. Females were exempted from the practice because the female body has no corresponding physiological structure similar to a foreskin in their external genitalia. Excisement of any portion of a female’s genitals would cripple her ability to fully function sexually, which would have violated God’s design in her body. The Islamic practice of ‘female circumcision’ (i.e. female genital mutilation) serves no purpose other than to destroy a woman’s ability to naturally respond to sexual stimulation, regardless of its propriety.

5. The health implications of circumcision are significant. Although Abraham, Ishmael, and all other men found in Abraham’s camp were circumcised as adults (see Gen 17:23), God’s instruction was for it to be performed on the eighth day of life, which corresponds to the time when humans naturally possess the maximum amount of vitamin K, the blood’s clotting agent, in their bodies. This is a function of intelligent design. In addition, circumcision allows a man the ability to keep his body more hygienically sanitary, free from bacterial and viral contaminants, such as HPV, and thus less likely to transmit diseases to his wife. There is a strong correlation between the reduced occurrence of cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancers in women and the circumcised state of their husbands.

These are only some of the reasons God instituted the practice of circumcision, and serves to reinforce the Psalmist’s words, “I will give thanks unto thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Wonderful are Thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well.” (139 Psa:1)

[phil]

With modern sanitary conditions (showers, hot water, soap), there is no justification for circumcision.

[nicholasmccarthy]

According to the Old Testament, God spoke with many people over aeons. He has not spoken in more than 2, 000 years. Q. Is God dead?

[phil]

With modern sanitary conditions, these is no justification for circumcision.

[magrietguthrie]

In the old Testament, God wanted all men to be circumsed by flesh, but in the new Testament, we all needed to be circumsed by repentance and baptised, by the heart, and change your way of living, no longer flesh, of forskin, God bless you all

[Catholicity-uwyb]

POPE BENEDICT XVI: “People should not fear God, thinking he is always ready to punish, but rather they should love him because he is always ready to forgive.
God is not a relentless sovereign who condemns the guilty, but a loving father whom we must love not out of fear of punishment, but because of his goodness.
The Lord is a God who is just, but always ready to reveal himself as merciful and compassionate.”

[pianomanJesus]

Indeed....God has made me unbelievable promises.... For years now I have encouraged myself to walk on by recalling: "There IS an Isaac! Two old people with God are able to have a baby." That encourages me to walk on in my own path. The promises God made to me WILL happen.