Bible Encyclopedias
UncircuMcIsed; Uncircumcision

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

un - sûr´kum - sı̄zd , un - sûr - kum - sizh´un : The adjective in the Old Testament is ערל , ̀‛ārēl ( Genesis 17:14 , etc.), from a root of uncertain meaning, with the noun ערלה , ‛orlāh , "uncircumcised (person)" (Leviticus 19:23; Jeremiah 9:25 ), and the verb ערל , ‛āral , "count as uncircumcised" (Leviticus 19:23; the Revised Version (British and American) Habakkuk 2:16 ). In the Apocrypha and the New Testament the noun is ἀκροβυστία , akrobustı́a (a physiological term, 1 Macc 1:15; Acts 11:3 , etc.), and the adjective ἀπερίτμητος , aperı́tmetos (Additions to Esther 14:15; 1 Macc 1:48; 2:46; Acts 7:51 ), with the verb ἐπισπάομαι , epispáomai , "become uncircumcised" (1 Corinthians 7:18 ). The language of 1 Macc 1:15 suggests the performance of some surgical operation, but no such operation appears to be possible, and "behaved like uncircumcised persons" (as in 1 Corinthians 7:18 ) is the probable meaning. See CIRCUMCISION .