offa

Originally Posted by Wikipedia entry on Circumcision
The oldest documentary evidence for circumcision comes from Egypt. Tomb artwork from the Sixth Dynasty (2345 - 2181 BC) shows men with circumcised penises, and one relief from this period shows the rite being performed on a standing adult male. The Egyptian hieroglyph for "penis" depicts either a circumcised or an erect organ. The examination of Egyptian mummies has found both circumcised and uncircumcised men.


Isn't that rather silly? Myself, the atheist, am uncircumcised. All I have to do is peel it back and I appear to be circumcised. When I screw mamma I peel it back for eroticism or a quicker go. If I choose to spend more time I don't peel it back. If I want to really please mamma I wear a rubber.

I mean, c'mon, give a better arguement.

offa

Circumcision is a Jewish right whereas those not informed ahead of time get their peckers whacked and become eunuchs. Circumcision has nothing to do with health care.

Wallener

'fraid you're on your own. I couldn't care less one way or the other if ancient Egyptians did a little customizing, so for this Wikipedia is all the evidence I need.

French Prometheus

OK, this is actually a bit complex. Not all ancient Egyptians practised it and the percentage varied a lot throughout Egyptian history. The practice seems to have decreased with time and in the Late Period, only the priestly caste was cut.

There's a lot of evidence that circumcision was practised in Egypt: statues and wall paintings of nude men (I've seen several in the Louvre Museum that clearly showed circumcized males), mummies (some, not all show signs of circumcision) and texts from both the Egyptians and the Greeks (especially Herodotus).

Moreover, I personally own an Egyptian phallic amulet which dates back to the Roman period. It clearly shows a circumcised (flaccid) penis.

The Egyptians seemed to use the dorsal vertical slit technique rather than the complete removal of the foreskin.

Gavriel

Considering anyone can post/edit on Wikipedia I'd rarely if ever use that as a crediable source.

As for Egyptians circumizing their own, perhaps as two cultures lived together for an extended period of time, one....say the Egyptians picked up some customs and practices of another....say the Hebrews. Just a thought.

French Prometheus

We have evidence of circumcision in Egypt that dates back to the Old Kingdom (actually it was more prevalent then than in the later periods), more than a thousand years before the Jews existed as a people. So if anyone picked up the habit from another, it's certainly the Jews.

Gavriel

Please point me in the direction to the evidence you reference.

French Prometheus

About what?

About circumcision in the Egyptian Old Kingdom? You can find photos of a 4300 year-old stele depecting a circumcision scene here.

Jews have existed as a distinct group for about 3000 years (though they were still polytheistic in those days). Most of the Pentateuch was completed in Judah after the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians in the 8th century BCE. If you want to know more, I recommand reading Finkelstein's book "The Bible Unearthed".

offa

thanks, your time is very much appreciated.

I love knowledge

offa

vsop44

Merci Promotheus for the site .

Also I recommend the reading of the bible unearthed .

The Terrible sweal

Interesting. We have Moses, an Egyptian prince, being taught a practice that archaeology suggests would be well known to him. The Biblical passage on its surface is a narrative puzzle. Suggesting elision; perhaps something about how the hebraic tradition of circumcision came about was a sensitive issue for an editor somewhen.