A few days ago I said that the flood was the first time flesh was cut. That is true with respect to the particular phrase “cut off flesh” (Genesis 9:11). Several readers have pointed out, though, that there are a couple of cutting episodes prior to the flood.
Adam’s “flesh” is opened and closed so that Yahweh can build Eve from a rib, and animal flesh is implicitly cut in order to make robes for Adam and Eve. If we bundle these together as part of the background for circumcision, we come to this: Circumcision is the division of humanity in two, into “male” and “female,” so that they can be reunited in the one flesh of Jesus. Circumcision is the cutting of the flesh to “cover” nakedness and sin, and hence is a prelude to the sacrificial system, centered on the “day of coverings.”
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