Second Encounter With YAHWEH At The Oak Of Mamre

The Covenant had been proclaimed at Hebron beneath the Oak of Mamre. Soon afterwards it was confirmed under the same set apart tree. What is the reason for these repetitions? Should they be regarded as textual doublets, belonging to different cycles, one to the Priestly, the other to the Yahwistic? Not necessarily.

It should not be forgotten that YAHWEH was dealing with a Bedouin. It could hardly be expected that on the strength of one command received in a awesome manner this shepherd should suddenly and entirely be transform. Although at the first summons Abram responded with faith, it remains true, nonetheless, that these successive confirmations need not be regarded as useless repetitions.

The Four Points Laid Down By YAHWEH At The Second Encounter At The Oak Of Mamre (Bereshith 17)

First Point

YAHWEH recalls the terms of the contract which he had drawn up of his own accord. From Abram will come forth peoples and also kings. To Abram's descendants will be given the land in which he is living at the time, that is, the land of Canaan. They will own it in perpetuity.

Second Point

YAHWEH changes the names of Abram and his wife. 'You shall no longer be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham. As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah.' Hebrew scholars who have examined the linguistic problem are quite clear on the point: Abram and Abraham mean the same thing, 'He is great by reason of his father', that is, 'He is of noble descent'. The same applies to Sarai: both Sarai and Sarah are linguistic variants meaning the same thing, namely, 'princess'. In these circumstances what was the reason for this twofold change of name which, in actual fact, is not a change at all?

It should be said in the first place that in the Near East, and especially in ancient times, a person's name is not, as it is in the West, a mere social label intended to distinguish among themselves the members of a family. A name possessed a power of its own, bestowing on the individual who received it special moral and physical qualities. That is why at a turning-point in his life a man could be led to adopt another name, whether he chose it himself or it was imposed on him by a supernatural power. It was a change which marked and indicated his new destiny, and can be compared with the change of name by a kohen or a layman on entering certain orders they belonged to, or the adoption of a new name. We see this also in a wife take on the husbands name and become one.

Thus for the Semite the name expresses something of the inner nature. As a result knowledge of the name of an individual meant knowing his underlying nature and being able to exercise a certain hold over him. Therefore to give a name was, in the first place, to reveal the knowledge one possessed of the nature of a man, an animal or even a thing (for example, Adam gave the animals their names); then, too, it meant also taking possession of this being or thing in some way and exercising over it a certain authority.

The change of name effected in this case by YAHWEH means therefore that YAHWEH knew Abram and Sarai (which is obvious), but also that he took possession of them, that henceforward the couple belonged to HIM in a very special way; that was the effect of the Covenant.

Third Point: Circumcision

Now this is MY Covenant which you are to maintain between MYSELF and you, and your descendants after you: all your males must be circumcised. You shall circumcise your foreskin, and this shall be the sign of the Covenant between MYSELF and you. MY Covenant shall be marked on your bodies as a Covenant in perpetuity (Bereshith 17:10-11,13).

Circumcision is a very complicated question. To be understood it must be seen in the context of the Near East in ancient times. Very probably it originated among the central races of Africa; it seems to have been adopted quite early by the Nubian tribes of the Upper Nile, and subsequently by the Egyptians at a very distant period. Proof is provided by some paintings in the hypogea dating from the earlier dynasties (2400 B.C.) and also by the mummies of the same period. For long historians believed that in Egypt circumcision was confined to soldiers, priests and men of learning. This is untrue and it is known nowadays that the practice extended to all social classes.

The African rite had thus penetrated to the country of the Nile, then it spread to certain parts of the Near East. Although it was unknown among the Babylonians and Assyrians, it was practiced among most of the neighbours of Yisrael (Canaanites, Phoenicians, Edomites, Ammonites and Midianites). The Egyptian custom was adopted by a great proportion of the Semites and through them it spread to many countries in the Levant.

The practice of circumcision is to be found among many peoples of the Near East professing different religions, a proof that the rite had no theological significance. It seems to have belonged rather to the sphere of sexual magic; it was an initiatory act of social character.

So circumcision was of African origin, was very old, was to be found almost everywhere throughout the Near East and was derived from tribal rather than religious concerns. In these circumstances it seems difficult to explain why YAHWEH should have chosen as the sign of the Covenant with his people this 'mark' of such little originality and one adopted already for centuries past, even thousands of years, by so many idolatrous religions of the region.

By the Covenant established by YAHWEH under the Oak of Mamre circumcision was soon destined to become, in the spiritual history of Yisrael, the symbol of spiritual and moral initiation. Ritual mutilation should not be compared with the external mark made upon a sheep or a goat. Hebrew circumcision is rather a sign, marked on the body, and intended as a constant reminder to man that there is in him something to be given up, to be cast aside: that is, his evil inclinations, the impurity of his thoughts, the corruption of his ruach. Mosheh was the first to teach the deeper significance of circumcision. Circumcise your heart then and be obstinate no longer (Deut. 10:16). Further on he made this comment: YAHWEH your Sovereign will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, until you love YAHWEH your ABBA with all your heart and soul (Deut. 30:6). Spiritual circumcision meant rejection of all that proved an obstacle to the love of YAHWEH and observance of the Law.

Ritual mutilation was certainly faithfully observed at the time of the patriarchs. There are numerous examples to show that it was practiced at the nomadic pastoral period, but after that, when the Hebrews were settled in Egypt at first as voluntary immigrants and subsequently as slaves, and subjected to forced labour in large-scale building operations, it appears that gradually they forgot this custom and that it fell into abeyance. Mosheh himself was uncircumcised and so remained. But when the Chosen People, finally freed from the yoke of the Pharaohs, were able to return to Canaan, Yahshua Ben Nun, Mosheh' successor, and the leader of the Hebrews, required the circumcision of all males, whatever their age, directly they entered the Promised Land. From that time the ritual custom, a real reminder in the body of YAHWEH's faithful follower of the ceremony of the Covenant, was practiced continuously among the Hebrews and then among the orthodox Jews.

Fourth Point

YAHWEH announced to Abraham the impending birth of a son who would be his heir. Without accepting the figures given by the scribe for the ages of Abraham and Sarah it must be admitted that both he and his wife were already advanced in age. Hence Abraham's very human reaction to YAHWEH's unexpected statement: I will bless her, HE said, and moreover, give you a son by her. I will bless her and nations shall come out of her; kings of peoples shall descend from her (Bereshith 17:16). Abraham considered the material impossibility of such an event taking place; he bowed to the ground to show his deference, but he could not help laughing to himself; for he was too old, much too old to hope for a son, and Sarah, too, had long passed the age of child-bearing.

Abraham imagined that YAHWEH was alluding to Ishmael, the son of the Egyptian servant Hagar, the patriarch's heir who, by the Babylonian legal fiction, could be regarded as Sarah's own son. And yet YAHWEH had spoken in the future tense: 'I will give you a son !' Abraham, in oriental fashion, endeavoured to obtain clarification and somewhat cunningly answered YAHWEH, 'Oh! let Ishmael live in your presence!' But it appeared that it was nothing to do with Ishmael. He had been blessed. He was to beget twelve sons and be the father of a great nation. (We may remember that the Arabs regard him as the ancestor of their race.) He can be left to his destiny.

And now YAHWEH stated, clearly this time, that HE meant indeed a son according to the flesh for Abraham and Sarah. His name was to be Yitschaq (meaning 'May YAHWEH Smile'), an allusion to Abraham's laughter which expressed both his disbelief at hearing this humanly unrealizable promise and his joy at the idea of such great and unexpected happiness. YAHWEH went on: 'With him I will establish MY Covenant a Covenant in perpetuity.'

Finally, therefore, under the Oak of Mamre, in the very place where the Covenant had been drawn up between YAHWEH and HIS faithful follower, four points were now clearly established: the confirmation of the Covenant; the change in the names of the patriarch and his wife; the introduction of circumcision among the Hebrew clan; the promise of the birth of Yitschaq.

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