Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised?

Gender and History

Volumn 9, Issue 3, 1997, Pages 560-578

  Cohen, Shaye J D ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0347803739     PISSN: 09535233     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/1468-0424.00076     Document Type: Review

References (88)

1. See the fine discussion by Joel Marcus, 'The Circumcision and the Uncircumcision in Rome', New Testament Studies, 35 (1989), pp. 67-81. It is likely that Ephesians is not by Paul but by a later writer.
2. For gender-sensitive analyses of Jewish circumcision, see Howard Eilberg Schwartz, The Savage in Judaism (Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1990), pp. 141-76, and Lawrence Hoffman, Covenant of Blood, Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic Judaism (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1995), neither of which deals with the questions and texts I am treating here. For rabbinic views of circumcision, see Sacha Stern, Jewish Identity in Early Rabbinic Writings (Brill, Leiden, 1994), pp. 63-7 and pp. 229-32, and David Kraemer, Reading the Rabbis (New York, Oxford University Press, 1996), pp. 109-23 ('The Problem with Foreskin: Circumcision, Gender, Impurity, and Death').
3. For gender-sensitive analyses of Jewish circumcision, see Howard Eilberg Schwartz, The Savage in Judaism (Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1990), pp. 141-76, and Lawrence Hoffman, Covenant of Blood, Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic Judaism (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1995), neither of which deals with the questions and texts I am treating here. For rabbinic views of circumcision, see Sacha Stern, Jewish Identity in Early Rabbinic Writings (Brill, Leiden, 1994), pp. 63-7 and pp. 229-32, and David Kraemer, Reading the Rabbis (New York, Oxford University Press, 1996), pp. 109-23 ('The Problem with Foreskin: Circumcision, Gender, Impurity, and Death').
4. For gender-sensitive analyses of Jewish circumcision, see Howard Eilberg Schwartz, The Savage in Judaism (Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1990), pp. 141-76, and Lawrence Hoffman, Covenant of Blood, Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic Judaism (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1995), neither of which deals with the questions and texts I am treating here. For rabbinic views of circumcision, see Sacha Stern, Jewish Identity in Early Rabbinic Writings (Brill, Leiden, 1994), pp. 63-7 and pp. 229-32, and David Kraemer, Reading the Rabbis (New York, Oxford University Press, 1996), pp. 109-23 ('The Problem with Foreskin: Circumcision, Gender, Impurity, and Death').
5. For gender-sensitive analyses of Jewish circumcision, see Howard Eilberg Schwartz, The Savage in Judaism (Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1990), pp. 141-76, and Lawrence Hoffman, Covenant of Blood, Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic Judaism (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1995), neither of which deals with the questions and texts I am treating here. For rabbinic views of circumcision, see Sacha Stern, Jewish Identity in Early Rabbinic Writings (Brill, Leiden, 1994), pp. 63-7 and pp. 229-32, and David Kraemer, Reading the Rabbis (New York, Oxford University Press, 1996), pp. 109-23 ('The Problem with Foreskin: Circumcision, Gender, Impurity, and Death').
6. Since I am a male, this essay too is a male construction.
7. The fullest survey of (and sharpest polemic against) contemporary practice is Fran Hosken, The Hosken Report, Genital and Sexual Mutilation of Females, 4th edn (Women's Information Network, Lexington, MA, 1993). On the connection with Islam, see Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. 4, pp. 913-14, s.v. khafd.
8. The fullest survey of (and sharpest polemic against) contemporary practice is Fran Hosken, The Hosken Report, Genital and Sexual Mutilation of Females, 4th edn (Women's Information Network, Lexington, MA, 1993). On the connection with Islam, see Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. 4, pp. 913-14, s.v. khafd.
9. On circumcision in the ancient Near East, see Robert G. Hall, 'Circumcision', The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday, New York, 1992), vol. 1, pp. 1025-31 (introduction and part A, with good bibliography). On the persistence of circumcision in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, see Shaye J. D. Cohen, "Those Who Say They Are Jews And Are Not": How Do You Know a Jew in Antiquity When You See One?', Diasporas in Antiquity, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen and Ernest Frerichs (Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies, Atlanta, GA, 1993), pp. 1-45, at pp. 18-20. Circumcision of males in Old Kingdom Egypt: Frans Jonckheere, 'La circoncision des anciens Egyptiens', Centaurus, 1 (1951), pp. 212-34; Constant de Wit, 'La circoncision chez les anciens Egyptiens', Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 99 (1972), pp. 41-48; Rosalind M. and Jac J. Janssen, Growing Up in Ancient Egypt (Rubicon Press, London, 1990), pp. 90-8. Circumcision (excision) of females is nowhere mentioned in Gay Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993), or Barbara Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt (St Martin's Press, New York, 1991) or Sarah Pomeroy, Women in Hellenistic Egypt (Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Ml, 1990).
10. On circumcision in the ancient Near East, see Robert G. Hall, 'Circumcision', The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday, New York, 1992), vol. 1, pp. 1025-31 (introduction and part A, with good bibliography). On the persistence of circumcision in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, see Shaye J. D. Cohen, "Those Who Say They Are Jews And Are Not": How Do You Know a Jew in Antiquity When You See One?', Diasporas in Antiquity, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen and Ernest Frerichs (Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies, Atlanta, GA, 1993), pp. 1-45, at pp. 18-20. Circumcision of males in Old Kingdom Egypt: Frans Jonckheere, 'La circoncision des anciens Egyptiens', Centaurus, 1 (1951), pp. 212-34; Constant de Wit, 'La circoncision chez les anciens Egyptiens', Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 99 (1972), pp. 41-48; Rosalind M. and Jac J. Janssen, Growing Up in Ancient Egypt (Rubicon Press, London, 1990), pp. 90-8. Circumcision (excision) of females is nowhere mentioned in Gay Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993), or Barbara Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt (St Martin's Press, New York, 1991) or Sarah Pomeroy, Women in Hellenistic Egypt (Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Ml, 1990).
11. On circumcision in the ancient Near East, see Robert G. Hall, 'Circumcision', The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday, New York, 1992), vol. 1, pp. 1025-31 (introduction and part A, with good bibliography). On the persistence of circumcision in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, see Shaye J. D. Cohen, "Those Who Say They Are Jews And Are Not": How Do You Know a Jew in Antiquity When You See One?', Diasporas in Antiquity, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen and Ernest Frerichs (Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies, Atlanta, GA, 1993), pp. 1-45, at pp. 18-20. Circumcision of males in Old Kingdom Egypt: Frans Jonckheere, 'La circoncision des anciens Egyptiens', Centaurus, 1 (1951), pp. 212-34; Constant de Wit, 'La circoncision chez les anciens Egyptiens', Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 99 (1972), pp. 41-48; Rosalind M. and Jac J. Janssen, Growing Up in Ancient Egypt (Rubicon Press, London, 1990), pp. 90-8. Circumcision (excision) of females is nowhere mentioned in Gay Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993), or Barbara Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt (St Martin's Press, New York, 1991) or Sarah Pomeroy, Women in Hellenistic Egypt (Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Ml, 1990).
12. On circumcision in the ancient Near East, see Robert G. Hall, 'Circumcision', The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday, New York, 1992), vol. 1, pp. 1025-31 (introduction and part A, with good bibliography). On the persistence of circumcision in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, see Shaye J. D. Cohen, "Those Who Say They Are Jews And Are Not": How Do You Know a Jew in Antiquity When You See One?', Diasporas in Antiquity, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen and Ernest Frerichs (Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies, Atlanta, GA, 1993), pp. 1-45, at pp. 18-20. Circumcision of males in Old Kingdom Egypt: Frans Jonckheere, 'La circoncision des anciens Egyptiens', Centaurus, 1 (1951), pp. 212-34; Constant de Wit, 'La circoncision chez les anciens Egyptiens', Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 99 (1972), pp. 41-48; Rosalind M. and Jac J. Janssen, Growing Up in Ancient Egypt (Rubicon Press, London, 1990), pp. 90-8. Circumcision (excision) of females is nowhere mentioned in Gay Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993), or Barbara Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt (St Martin's Press, New York, 1991) or Sarah Pomeroy, Women in Hellenistic Egypt (Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Ml, 1990).
13. On circumcision in the ancient Near East, see Robert G. Hall, 'Circumcision', The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday, New York, 1992), vol. 1, pp. 1025-31 (introduction and part A, with good bibliography). On the persistence of circumcision in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, see Shaye J. D. Cohen, "Those Who Say They Are Jews And Are Not": How Do You Know a Jew in Antiquity When You See One?', Diasporas in Antiquity, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen and Ernest Frerichs (Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies, Atlanta, GA, 1993), pp. 1-45, at pp. 18-20. Circumcision of males in Old Kingdom Egypt: Frans Jonckheere, 'La circoncision des anciens Egyptiens', Centaurus, 1 (1951), pp. 212-34; Constant de Wit, 'La circoncision chez les anciens Egyptiens', Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 99 (1972), pp. 41-48; Rosalind M. and Jac J. Janssen, Growing Up in Ancient Egypt (Rubicon Press, London, 1990), pp. 90-8. Circumcision (excision) of females is nowhere mentioned in Gay Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993), or Barbara Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt (St Martin's Press, New York, 1991) or Sarah Pomeroy, Women in Hellenistic Egypt (Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Ml, 1990).
14. On circumcision in the ancient Near East, see Robert G. Hall, 'Circumcision', The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday, New York, 1992), vol. 1, pp. 1025-31 (introduction and part A, with good bibliography). On the persistence of circumcision in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, see Shaye J. D. Cohen, "Those Who Say They Are Jews And Are Not": How Do You Know a Jew in Antiquity When You See One?', Diasporas in Antiquity, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen and Ernest Frerichs (Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies, Atlanta, GA, 1993), pp. 1-45, at pp. 18-20. Circumcision of males in Old Kingdom Egypt: Frans Jonckheere, 'La circoncision des anciens Egyptiens', Centaurus, 1 (1951), pp. 212-34; Constant de Wit, 'La circoncision chez les anciens Egyptiens', Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 99 (1972), pp. 41-48; Rosalind M. and Jac J. Janssen, Growing Up in Ancient Egypt (Rubicon Press, London, 1990), pp. 90-8. Circumcision (excision) of females is nowhere mentioned in Gay Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993), or Barbara Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt (St Martin's Press, New York, 1991) or Sarah Pomeroy, Women in Hellenistic Egypt (Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Ml, 1990).
15. On circumcision in the ancient Near East, see Robert G. Hall, 'Circumcision', The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday, New York, 1992), vol. 1, pp. 1025-31 (introduction and part A, with good bibliography). On the persistence of circumcision in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, see Shaye J. D. Cohen, "Those Who Say They Are Jews And Are Not": How Do You Know a Jew in Antiquity When You See One?', Diasporas in Antiquity, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen and Ernest Frerichs (Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies, Atlanta, GA, 1993), pp. 1-45, at pp. 18-20. Circumcision of males in Old Kingdom Egypt: Frans Jonckheere, 'La circoncision des anciens Egyptiens', Centaurus, 1 (1951), pp. 212-34; Constant de Wit, 'La circoncision chez les anciens Egyptiens', Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 99 (1972), pp. 41-48; Rosalind M. and Jac J. Janssen, Growing Up in Ancient Egypt (Rubicon Press, London, 1990), pp. 90-8. Circumcision (excision) of females is nowhere mentioned in Gay Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993), or Barbara Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt (St Martin's Press, New York, 1991) or Sarah Pomeroy, Women in Hellenistic Egypt (Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Ml, 1990).
16. On circumcision in the ancient Near East, see Robert G. Hall, 'Circumcision', The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday, New York, 1992), vol. 1, pp. 1025-31 (introduction and part A, with good bibliography). On the persistence of circumcision in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, see Shaye J. D. Cohen, "Those Who Say They Are Jews And Are Not": How Do You Know a Jew in Antiquity When You See One?', Diasporas in Antiquity, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen and Ernest Frerichs (Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies, Atlanta, GA, 1993), pp. 1-45, at pp. 18-20. Circumcision of males in Old Kingdom Egypt: Frans Jonckheere, 'La circoncision des anciens Egyptiens', Centaurus, 1 (1951), pp. 212-34; Constant de Wit, 'La circoncision chez les anciens Egyptiens', Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 99 (1972), pp. 41-48; Rosalind M. and Jac J. Janssen, Growing Up in Ancient Egypt (Rubicon Press, London, 1990), pp. 90-8. Circumcision (excision) of females is nowhere mentioned in Gay Robins, Women in Ancient Egypt (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993), or Barbara Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt (St Martin's Press, New York, 1991) or Sarah Pomeroy, Women in Hellenistic Egypt (Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Ml, 1990).
17. Greek Papyri of the British Museum, vol. I, ed. F. G. Kenyon (British Museum, London, 1893), no. XXIV, pp. 31-3; the text is re-edited in Ulrich Wilcken, Urkunden der Ptolemäerzeit (Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 1927) vol. 1, pp. 116-19, no. 2. I cite lines 11-13.
18. Greek Papyri of the British Museum, vol. I, ed. F. G. Kenyon (British Museum, London, 1893), no. XXIV, pp. 31-3; the text is re-edited in Ulrich Wilcken, Urkunden der Ptolemäerzeit (Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 1927) vol. 1, pp. 116-19, no. 2. I cite lines 11-13.
19. That female circumcision is a relatively late importation into Egypt is suggested by Dominic Montserrat, 'Mallocouria and Therapeuteria: Rituals of Transition in a Mixed Society?', Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists ,28 (1991), pp. 43-9, at pp. 47-8. (At p. 48, n. 19 he quotes Xanthus of Lydia as claiming that the Lydians were the first to 'circumcise' their women, but this translation is probably not correct; Xanthus uses the verb eunuchizein, 'to make into a eunuch', which should mean sterilization, not circumcision. Indeed, the context in Athenaeus 12.515d-e demands sterilization, and the word is properly translated in the Loeb edition.)
20. Strabo 17.2.5 p. 824 = Menahem Stern, Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism (3 vols; Israel Academy of Sciences, Jerusalem, 1974-84), no. 124.
21. Strabo 17.2.5 p. 824 = Stern, Authors, no. 124; Strabo 16.2.37 p. 761 = Stern, Authors, no. 115.
22. Strabo 16.4.9 p. 771 = Stern, Authors, no. 118.
23. Strabo 16.4.17 p. 776.
24. Contrast Diodorus of Sicily 3.32.4 (cited in the Loeb edition of Strabo at 16.4.10) who clearly implies that more skin is removed from one who is kolobos than from one who is merely circumcised (the opposite of Strabo): Koloboi 'have all the part that is merely circumcised by the others cut off with razors in infancy'.
25. 'Falasha circumcision takes place on the eighth day, and since the Falashas also practise female excision it is virtually certain that their circumcision rites are part of the general Ethiopian heritage and not the result of any separate Jewish inspiration', writes Edward Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible (British Academy/Oxford University Press, London, 1968), p. 108. Female excision by Falashas is also mentioned by A. Z. Aescoly, Sefer ha Falashim (R. Mass, Jerusalem, 1943), p. 39, as cited by Daniel Sperber, Minhagê Yisrael, vol. 4 (Mossad Harav Kook, Jerusalem, 1995), p. 9 (Hebrew), and by Wolf Leslau, Falasha Anthology (Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1951), p. xvii.
26. 'Falasha circumcision takes place on the eighth day, and since the Falashas also practise female excision it is virtually certain that their circumcision rites are part of the general Ethiopian heritage and not the result of any separate Jewish inspiration', writes Edward Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible (British Academy/Oxford University Press, London, 1968), p. 108. Female excision by Falashas is also mentioned by A. Z. Aescoly, Sefer ha Falashim (R. Mass, Jerusalem, 1943), p. 39, as cited by Daniel Sperber, Minhagê Yisrael, vol. 4 (Mossad Harav Kook, Jerusalem, 1995), p. 9 (Hebrew), and by Wolf Leslau, Falasha Anthology (Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1951), p. xvii.
27. 'Falasha circumcision takes place on the eighth day, and since the Falashas also practise female excision it is virtually certain that their circumcision rites are part of the general Ethiopian heritage and not the result of any separate Jewish inspiration', writes Edward Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible (British Academy/Oxford University Press, London, 1968), p. 108. Female excision by Falashas is also mentioned by A. Z. Aescoly, Sefer ha Falashim (R. Mass, Jerusalem, 1943), p. 39, as cited by Daniel Sperber, Minhagê Yisrael, vol. 4 (Mossad Harav Kook, Jerusalem, 1995), p. 9 (Hebrew), and by Wolf Leslau, Falasha Anthology (Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1951), p. xvii.
28. 'Falasha circumcision takes place on the eighth day, and since the Falashas also practise female excision it is virtually certain that their circumcision rites are part of the general Ethiopian heritage and not the result of any separate Jewish inspiration', writes Edward Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible (British Academy/Oxford University Press, London, 1968), p. 108. Female excision by Falashas is also mentioned by A. Z. Aescoly, Sefer ha Falashim (R. Mass, Jerusalem, 1943), p. 39, as cited by Daniel Sperber, Minhagê Yisrael, vol. 4 (Mossad Harav Kook, Jerusalem, 1995), p. 9 (Hebrew), and by Wolf Leslau, Falasha Anthology (Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1951), p. xvii.
29. Lieu, 'Circumcision', p. 360, and Lawrence Schiffman, Who was a Jew? (Ktav, New York, 1985), p. 84, n. 35, simply dismiss Strabo as erroneous.
30. Lieu, 'Circumcision', p. 360, and Lawrence Schiffman, Who was a Jew? (Ktav, New York, 1985), p. 84, n. 35, simply dismiss Strabo as erroneous.
31. S. D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Society, vol. III: The Family (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1978), p. 233: 'Female circumcision, practiced among Copts, is unknown in Judaism/ In a note to his translation of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol. 5 (printed by the Kamashastra Society for the Burton Club, Benares, 1885; frequently reprinted), p. 279, Richard F. Burton argues that 'Female circumcision ... is I believe the rule amongst some outlying tribes of Jews'. Burton has no evidence whatsoever for this assertion beyond his own prurient and overactive imagination.
32. S. D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Society, vol. III: The Family (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1978), p. 233: 'Female circumcision, practiced among Copts, is unknown in Judaism/ In a note to his translation of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol. 5 (printed by the Kamashastra Society for the Burton Club, Benares, 1885; frequently reprinted), p. 279, Richard F. Burton argues that 'Female circumcision ... is I believe the rule amongst some outlying tribes of Jews'. Burton has no evidence whatsoever for this assertion beyond his own prurient and overactive imagination.
33. Aetios of Amida (sixth century CE), Gynaecology, ch. ciii, as translated by James V. Ricci (Blakiston, Philadelphia, 1950), p. 107; substantially the same information is imparted by Paulus of Aigenta (quoted by Ricci in his note on p. 163). Both are probably drawing on Soranus (whose relevant chapter has been lost); see Owsei Temkin, Soranus' Gynecology (1956; Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, 1991), p. 200. On clitoridectomy as a standard medical procedure in nineteenth-century Europe and America, see Thomas Laqueur, 'Amor Veneris, vel Dulcedo Appeletur', Zone: Fragments for a History of the Human Body, ed. Michel Feher et al., part 3 (Urzone, New York, 1989), pp. 90-131, esp. pp. 113-120 ('The Clitoris as a Social Problem'); and the chapter on clitoridectomy in Edward Wallerstein, Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy (Springer, New York, 1980).
34. Aetios of Amida (sixth century CE), Gynaecology, ch. ciii, as translated by James V. Ricci (Blakiston, Philadelphia, 1950), p. 107; substantially the same information is imparted by Paulus of Aigenta (quoted by Ricci in his note on p. 163). Both are probably drawing on Soranus (whose relevant chapter has been lost); see Owsei Temkin, Soranus' Gynecology (1956; Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, 1991), p. 200. On clitoridectomy as a standard medical procedure in nineteenth-century Europe and America, see Thomas Laqueur, 'Amor Veneris, vel Dulcedo Appeletur', Zone: Fragments for a History of the Human Body, ed. Michel Feher et al., part 3 (Urzone, New York, 1989), pp. 90-131, esp. pp. 113-120 ('The Clitoris as a Social Problem'); and the chapter on clitoridectomy in Edward Wallerstein, Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy (Springer, New York, 1980).
35. Aetios of Amida (sixth century CE), Gynaecology, ch. ciii, as translated by James V. Ricci (Blakiston, Philadelphia, 1950), p. 107; substantially the same information is imparted by Paulus of Aigenta (quoted by Ricci in his note on p. 163). Both are probably drawing on Soranus (whose relevant chapter has been lost); see Owsei Temkin, Soranus' Gynecology (1956; Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, 1991), p. 200. On clitoridectomy as a standard medical procedure in nineteenth-century Europe and America, see Thomas Laqueur, 'Amor Veneris, vel Dulcedo Appeletur', Zone: Fragments for a History of the Human Body, ed. Michel Feher et al., part 3 (Urzone, New York, 1989), pp. 90-131, esp. pp. 113-120 ('The Clitoris as a Social Problem'); and the chapter on clitoridectomy in Edward Wallerstein, Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy (Springer, New York, 1980).
36. Philo, Questions and Answers on Genesis 3.47, tr. Ralph Marcus in the Loeb Classical Library edition of Philo, supplement volume 1, pp. 241-42. Circumcision is the topic of Questions and Answers on Genesis 3.46-52.
37. Philo, Questions and Answers on Genesis 3.47, tr. Ralph Marcus in the Loeb Classical Library edition of Philo, supplement volume 1, pp. 241-42. Circumcision is the topic of Questions and Answers on Genesis 3.46-52.
38. Similarly, in his other major discussion of circumcision (On the Special Laws 1.1-11), Philo compares and contrasts Egyptian with Jewish circumcision; see Richard D. Hecht, 'The Exegetical Contexts of Philo's Interpretation of Circumcision', in Nourished with Peace: Studies in Hellenisic Judaism, ed. F. Greenspahn et al. (Scholars Press, Chico, CA, 1984), pp. 51-79.
39. In addition to the passage cited above, see Strabo apud Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 14.118 = Stern, Authors, no. 105.
40. Philo follows the common Greek view that menstrual fluid is the stuff out of which the fetus is created; see Marcus' note 'c' on p. 242. On this view see Lesley A. Dean-Jones, Women's Bodies in Classical Greek Science (Oxford: Clarendon, 1994), pp. 200-9.
41. Philo, On the Special Laws 1.9-10 (trans. Colson, Loeb Classical Library edition of Philo, vol. 7); cf. Questions on Genesis 3.48 (pp. 245-6, trans. Marcus). See too On the Migration of Abraham 92.
42. Philo, On the Special Laws 1.9-10 (trans. Colson, Loeb Classical Library edition of Philo, vol. 7); cf. Questions on Genesis 3.48 (pp. 245-6, trans. Marcus). See too On the Migration of Abraham 92.
43. Philo, On the Special Laws 1.9-10 (trans. Colson, Loeb Classical Library edition of Philo, vol. 7); cf. Questions on Genesis 3.48 (pp. 245-6, trans. Marcus). See too On the Migration of Abraham 92.
44. Dorothy Sly, Philo's Perception of Women, Brown Judaic Studies no. 209 (Scholars Press, Atlanta, GA, 1990).
45. The only Philonic passage that associates circumcision with the election of Israel is Questions on Genesis 3.49 (p. 249, trans. Marcus); this association is not typical of Philo's thought. See Ellen Birnbaum, The Place of Judaism in Philo's Thought: Israel, Jews, and Proselytes, Brown Judaic Studies no. 290 (Scholars Press, Atlanta, GA, 1996), pp. 125-6, 155-6 and 158. In Questions on Exodus 2.2, a passage often cited by modern scholars, Philo says that the 'proselyte' is the one 'who circumcises not his uncircumcision but his desires and sensual pleasures' (trans. Marcus); the intent of this remark is not clear and is widely debated. See Birnbaum, Place of Judaism, p. 200.
46. The only Philonic passage that associates circumcision with the election of Israel is Questions on Genesis 3.49 (p. 249, trans. Marcus); this association is not typical of Philo's thought. See Ellen Birnbaum, The Place of Judaism in Philo's Thought: Israel, Jews, and Proselytes, Brown Judaic Studies no. 290 (Scholars Press, Atlanta, GA, 1996), pp. 125-6, 155-6 and 158. In Questions on Exodus 2.2, a passage often cited by modern scholars, Philo says that the 'proselyte' is the one 'who circumcises not his uncircumcision but his desires and sensual pleasures' (trans. Marcus); the intent of this remark is not clear and is widely debated. See Birnbaum, Place of Judaism, p. 200.
47. The only Philonic passage that associates circumcision with the election of Israel is Questions on Genesis 3.49 (p. 249, trans. Marcus); this association is not typical of Philo's thought. See Ellen Birnbaum, The Place of Judaism in Philo's Thought: Israel, Jews, and Proselytes, Brown Judaic Studies no. 290 (Scholars Press, Atlanta, GA, 1996), pp. 125-6, 155-6 and 158. In Questions on Exodus 2.2, a passage often cited by modern scholars, Philo says that the 'proselyte' is the one 'who circumcises not his uncircumcision but his desires and sensual pleasures' (trans. Marcus); the intent of this remark is not clear and is widely debated. See Birnbaum, Place of Judaism, p. 200.
48. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 1.192; Philo, On the Migration of Abraham 92; Robert G. Hall, 'Epispasm and the Dating of Ancient Jewish Writings', Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 2 (1988), pp. 71-86. Epispasm is the drawing down or stretching of penile skin so as to give the appearance of a foreskin.
49. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 1.192; Philo, On the Migration of Abraham 92; Robert G. Hall, 'Epispasm and the Dating of Ancient Jewish Writings', Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 2 (1988), pp. 71-86. Epispasm is the drawing down or stretching of penile skin so as to give the appearance of a foreskin.
50. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 1.192; Philo, On the Migration of Abraham 92; Robert G. Hall, 'Epispasm and the Dating of Ancient Jewish Writings', Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 2 (1988), pp. 71-86. Epispasm is the drawing down or stretching of penile skin so as to give the appearance of a foreskin.
51. For a good introductory discussion of these passages see Hall, Anchor Bible Dictionary, s.v. Circumcision, part C, and Otto Betz, Theologische Realenzyklopädie, 5 (1980), pp. 719-22, s.v. Beschneidung. It is likely that Colossians, like Ephesians, is not by Paul but by a later writer.
52. For a good introductory discussion of these passages see Hall, Anchor Bible Dictionary, s.v. Circumcision, part C, and Otto Betz, Theologische Realenzyklopädie, 5 (1980), pp. 719-22, s.v. Beschneidung. It is likely that Colossians, like Ephesians, is not by Paul but by a later writer.
53. This point is the centerpiece of Daniel Boyarin, A Radical Jew: Paul and the Politics of Identity (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1994).
54. See Lieu, 'Circumcision', pp. 368-9, for a good critique of some modern scholars who see Paul as a crusader for women's equality.
55. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 23.5, as translated by Thomas Falls, Writings of Saint Justin Martyr (Christian Heritage, New York, 1948), p. 183 (except that I have substituted 'righteousness' for 'justification'). Justin's arguments against circumcision appear chiefly in sections 16-24; see also 29, 41, 46.
56. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 23.5, as translated by Thomas Falls, Writings of Saint Justin Martyr (Christian Heritage, New York, 1948), p. 183 (except that I have substituted 'righteousness' for 'justification'). Justin's arguments against circumcision appear chiefly in sections 16-24; see also 29, 41, 46.
57. For Justin's connections with Hellenistic Judaism and Philo, see David T. Runia, Philo in Early Christian Literature: A Survey (Van Gorcum, Assen, 1993), pp. 97-105.
58. For surveys of Christian polemic against Judaism (including circumcision), see A. Lukyn Williams, Adversus Judaeos (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1935), and Heinz Schreckenberg, Die Christlichen Adversus-Judaeos-Texte (3 vols; Peter Lang, Frankfurt, 1982-94). Lieu, 'Circumcision', p. 359, notes the absence of this argument from subsequent Christian thinking about the Law.
59. For surveys of Christian polemic against Judaism (including circumcision), see A. Lukyn Williams, Adversus Judaeos (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1935), and Heinz Schreckenberg, Die Christlichen Adversus-Judaeos-Texte (3 vols; Peter Lang, Frankfurt, 1982-94). Lieu, 'Circumcision', p. 359, notes the absence of this argument from subsequent Christian thinking about the Law.
60. For surveys of Christian polemic against Judaism (including circumcision), see A. Lukyn Williams, Adversus Judaeos (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1935), and Heinz Schreckenberg, Die Christlichen Adversus-Judaeos-Texte (3 vols; Peter Lang, Frankfurt, 1982-94). Lieu, 'Circumcision', p. 359, notes the absence of this argument from subsequent Christian thinking about the Law.
61. Cyprian, Ad Quirinum 1.8, in Sancti Cypriani Episcopi Opera (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 3,1), ed. R. Weber and M. Bévenot (Brepols, Turnholt, 1972), p. 12. The Latin is tunc quod illudsignaculum feminis non proficit, signo autem Domini omnes signantur; some testimonia read not feminis but seminis, which would yield: 'That sign [that is, the sign of physical circumcision] is of no use to the seed [that is, the infant].' If this is the correct reading, I do not understand Cyprian's argument. owe my knowledge of this text to Lieu, 'Circumcision', p. 359, n. 5 (even if her citation is inaccurate).
62. Cyprian, Ad Quirinum 1.8, in Sancti Cypriani Episcopi Opera (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 3,1), ed. R. Weber and M. Bévenot (Brepols, Turnholt, 1972), p. 12. The Latin is tunc quod illudsignaculum feminis non proficit, signo autem Domini omnes signantur; some testimonia read not feminis but seminis, which would yield: 'That sign [that is, the sign of physical circumcision] is of no use to the seed [that is, the infant].' If this is the correct reading, I do not understand Cyprian's argument. owe my knowledge of this text to Lieu, 'Circumcision', p. 359, n. 5 (even if her citation is inaccurate).
63. De Altercatione Ecclesiae et Synagogae: text in J.-P. Migne (ed.) Patrologia Latina 42.1131-1140; our excerpt is on 1134. On this text see Jean Juster, Les juifs dans l'empire romain (P. Geuthner, Paris, 1914), vol. 1, pp. 73-4; Williams, Adversus Judaeos, pp. 321-38 (our excerpt is paraphrased on p. 329); Bernhard Blumenkranz, Les auteurs chrétiens latins du moyen age sur les juifs et le judaïsme (Mouton, Paris, 1963), pp. 39-42; Schreckenberg, Adversus-Judaeos-Texte, vol. 1, p. 354; S. Krauss and W. Horbury, The Jewish Christian Controversy, vol. I: History (Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen, 1995), pp. 49-50.
64. De Altercatione Ecclesiae et Synagogae: text in J.-P. Migne (ed.) Patrologia Latina 42.1131-1140; our excerpt is on 1134. On this text see Jean Juster, Les juifs dans l'empire romain (P. Geuthner, Paris, 1914), vol. 1, pp. 73-4; Williams, Adversus Judaeos, pp. 321-38 (our excerpt is paraphrased on p. 329); Bernhard Blumenkranz, Les auteurs chrétiens latins du moyen age sur les juifs et le judaïsme (Mouton, Paris, 1963), pp. 39-42; Schreckenberg, Adversus-Judaeos-Texte, vol. 1, p. 354; S. Krauss and W. Horbury, The Jewish Christian Controversy, vol. I: History (Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen, 1995), pp. 49-50.
65. De Altercatione Ecclesiae et Synagogae: text in J.-P. Migne (ed.) Patrologia Latina 42.1131-1140; our excerpt is on 1134. On this text see Jean Juster, Les juifs dans l'empire romain (P. Geuthner, Paris, 1914), vol. 1, pp. 73-4; Williams, Adversus Judaeos, pp. 321-38 (our excerpt is paraphrased on p. 329); Bernhard Blumenkranz, Les auteurs chrétiens latins du moyen age sur les juifs et le judaïsme (Mouton, Paris, 1963), pp. 39-42; Schreckenberg, Adversus-Judaeos-Texte, vol. 1, p. 354; S. Krauss and W. Horbury, The Jewish Christian Controversy, vol. I: History (Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen, 1995), pp. 49-50.
66. De Altercatione Ecclesiae et Synagogae: text in J.-P. Migne (ed.) Patrologia Latina 42.1131-1140; our excerpt is on 1134. On this text see Jean Juster, Les juifs dans l'empire romain (P. Geuthner, Paris, 1914), vol. 1, pp. 73-4; Williams, Adversus Judaeos, pp. 321-38 (our excerpt is paraphrased on p. 329); Bernhard Blumenkranz, Les auteurs chrétiens latins du moyen age sur les juifs et le judaïsme (Mouton, Paris, 1963), pp. 39-42; Schreckenberg, Adversus-Judaeos-Texte, vol. 1, p. 354; S. Krauss and W. Horbury, The Jewish Christian Controversy, vol. I: History (Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen, 1995), pp. 49-50.
67. De Altercatione Ecclesiae et Synagogae: text in J.-P. Migne (ed.) Patrologia Latina 42.1131-1140; our excerpt is on 1134. On this text see Jean Juster, Les juifs dans l'empire romain (P. Geuthner, Paris, 1914), vol. 1, pp. 73-4; Williams, Adversus Judaeos, pp. 321-38 (our excerpt is paraphrased on p. 329); Bernhard Blumenkranz, Les auteurs chrétiens latins du moyen age sur les juifs et le judaïsme (Mouton, Paris, 1963), pp. 39-42; Schreckenberg, Adversus-Judaeos-Texte, vol. 1, p. 354; S. Krauss and W. Horbury, The Jewish Christian Controversy, vol. I: History (Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen, 1995), pp. 49-50.
68. Bernadette Brooten, Women Leaders in the Ancient Synagogue, Brown Judaic Studies 36 (Scholars Press, Chico, CA, 1982), pp. 57-72. Only three 'mothers of the synagogue' are attested (if we ignore conjectural restorations and the use of 'mother' without 'of the synagogue'), and the epitaphs for all three omit any reference to a husband. I presume that they were widows.
69. The same argument appears in Zeno of Verona, as cited by Lieu, 'Circumcision', pp. 359-60, n. 5.
70. For the anti-Jewish polemic in the Latin Church, see the handbooks of Williams, Blumenkranz and Schreckenberg cited above; on the polemic against circumcision see B. Blumenkranz, Die Judenpredigt Augustins (Helbing & Lichtenhain, Basel, 1946), pp. 145-8.
71. In his rabbinic commentary on Philo's Questions on Genesis, Belkin transcribes 3.47 and offers no parallel from rabbinic sources; see Samuel Belkin, The Midrash of Philo ..., vol. I: Genesis II-XVII, ed. E. Hurvitz (New York, Yeshiva University Press, 1989), p. 280 (Hebrew).
72. Male procreative organ: Tosefta Shabbat 15.9, p. 71, ed. S. Lieberman (Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, 1962) = Genesis Rabbah 46.4, p. 461, ed. J. Theodor and H. Albeck (Itzkowski, Berlin, 1912). The place where an infant is recognized to be male or female: Genesis Rabbah 46.5, p. 463 = Genesis Rabbah 46.13, p. 470.
73. Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot 46a-b. On this passage see Gary Porton, The Stranger within your Gates (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1994), pp. 94-6.
74. Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah 27a.
75. Johann Maier, Jüdische Auseinandersetzung mit dem Christentum in der Antike (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1982).
76. fiunt non nascuntur Christiani: Tertullian, Apology 3.1, 3.3, and esp. 18. de ludaeo ludaeus nascitur: Ambrosiaster ([Augustine]), Quaestiones veteris et novi testamenti 81, ed. A. Souter (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 50), p. 137.
77. M. Qiddushin 4:1; M. Bikkurim 1:4, as analysed by Shaye J. D. Cohen, 'Can a Convert to Judaism say "God of our Fathers"?', Judaism, 40 (1991), pp. 419-28. The tension within rabbinic Judaism between Israel as a descent group and Israel as a 'religion' is a major focus of Porton, Stranger.
78. On classical Athens, see Cynthia B. Patterson, 'Attikai', Helios, 13.2 (1986), pp. 49-67, and Nicole Loraux, The Children of Athena, tr. C. Levine (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1993), pp. 116-23, esp. p. 119 ('there is no such thing as a "female citizen", any more than there is a "female Athenian"'). Similarly the Mishnah regularly refers to an individual Jewish woman as bat yisra'el ('daughter of an Israelite'); see Judith Wegner, Chattel or Person? The Status of Women in the Mishnah (Oxford University Press, New York, 1988), p. 167.
79. On classical Athens, see Cynthia B. Patterson, 'Attikai', Helios, 13.2 (1986), pp. 49-67, and Nicole Loraux, The Children of Athena, tr. C. Levine (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1993), pp. 116-23, esp. p. 119 ('there is no such thing as a "female citizen", any more than there is a "female Athenian"'). Similarly the Mishnah regularly refers to an individual Jewish woman as bat yisra'el ('daughter of an Israelite'); see Judith Wegner, Chattel or Person? The Status of Women in the Mishnah (Oxford University Press, New York, 1988), p. 167.
80. On classical Athens, see Cynthia B. Patterson, 'Attikai', Helios, 13.2 (1986), pp. 49-67, and Nicole Loraux, The Children of Athena, tr. C. Levine (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1993), pp. 116-23, esp. p. 119 ('there is no such thing as a "female citizen", any more than there is a "female Athenian"'). Similarly the Mishnah regularly refers to an individual Jewish woman as bat yisra'el ('daughter of an Israelite'); see Judith Wegner, Chattel or Person? The Status of Women in the Mishnah (Oxford University Press, New York, 1988), p. 167.
81. Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 17a and Sotah 21a.
82. Mishnah, Nedarim 3.11.
83. Mishnah, Yevamot 8.1; Babylonian Talmud, Hulin 4b; and elsewhere.
84. J. P. T. Hunt, 'Colossians 2:11-12, The Circumcision/Baptism Analogy, and Infant Baptism', Tyndale Bulletin 41 (1990), pp. 227-244.
85. See, for example, David Berger (ed.) The Jewish-Christian Debate in the High Middle Ages: The Nizzahon Vetus (Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, PA, 1979), p. 224, no. 237.
86. Anna Sapir Abulafia, Christians and Jews in the Twelfth-Century Renaissance (Routledge, London, 1995), pp. 125-6.
87. Saadia Gaon, The Book of Beliefs and Opinions 3.7, trans. Samuel Rosenblatt (Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 1948), p. 158.
88. In my forthcoming book I hope to study and document this conjecture.