περιτέμνω

Luke 1:59 περιτεμεῖν to circumcise

On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah.

Luke 2:21 περιτεμεῖν to circumcise

When the eight days before His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He was conceived.

Here: Literally 'to cut around'. It is the covenant sign given to Abraham's descendants. Jesus receives it as an ordinary Jewish boy under the Law.

John 7:22 περιτέμνετε you circumcise

But because Moses gave you circumcision, you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath (not that it is from Moses, but from the patriarchs.)

Here: Present tense, 'you circumcise.' This is what they regularly do, without a second thought. The 'you' is plural: Jesus' critics themselves.

Acts 7:8 περιέτεμεν circumcised

Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

Here: 'He circumcised.' Literally 'cut around.' This repeats Genesis 21:4: Abraham did exactly what the covenant required.

Acts 15:1 περιτμηθῆτε you shall become circumcised

Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Here: 'You get circumcised.' The aorist tense and passive voice point to a single act done to them: undergoing the cut that marked a man as a member of Israel's covenant people.

Acts 15:5 περιτέμνειν to circumcise

But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”

Acts 16:3 περιέτεμεν he circumcised

Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Here: Literally "cut around." This is the physical mark of belonging to Israel, done here to a grown man. Greek can credit an act to the person who ordered it, so this may mean Paul did it himself or had it done.

Acts 21:21 περιτέμνειν to circumcise

But they are under the impression that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our customs.

1 Corinthians 7:18 Περιτετμημένος περιτεμνέσθω. circumcised, he should d be circumcise.

Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man still uncircumcised when called? He should not be circumcised.

Here: A perfect passive participle: 'in the state of having been circumcised.' The perfect stresses a lasting condition, not a past event. Placed first for emphasis, it stands for being a Jew (or a full convert to Judaism).

Galatians 2:3 περιτμηθῆναι· to be circumcised;

Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

Here: "To be circumcised", to have the foreskin cut away, as a single act done to him. For a grown Gentile man this was a painful operation and the decisive step of becoming a Jew, not merely a religious add-on.

Galatians 5:2 περιτέμνησθε, you shall become circumcised,

Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.

Here: Present subjunctive, a form that can be read as 'have yourselves circumcised' or 'be circumcised'. Paul means adult Gentile men undergoing the rite that made a man part of Israel's covenant people (Gen 17). The present tense presents it as a step they are considering, or possibly already starting to take.

Galatians 5:3 περιτεμνομένῳ being circumcised

Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

Here: A present-tense participle in the middle or passive form, so "who has himself circumcised" or "who is getting circumcised". The present tense points at men who are taking this step now, or are about to. It does not refer to Jews circumcised as babies.

Galatians 6:12 περιτέμνεσθαι, to be circumcised,

Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ.

Here: The covenant sign of Genesis 17, required of a gentile man who wanted to become a full member of Israel. The present form looks at the act as something they are being urged to undergo: "to get yourselves circumcised".

Galatians 6:13 περιτεμνόμενοι περιτέμνεσθαι, being circumcised, to be circumcised,

For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

Here: Present participle, middle or passive. It can mean 'those who are circumcised', 'those getting themselves circumcised', or 'those who promote circumcision'. Most scholars take it as the agitators who were campaigning for circumcision in Galatia (see debates).

Colossians 2:11 περιετμήθητε you were circumcised

In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.

Here: Aorist passive, "you were circumcised": a finished past event that was done to them, with God (or Christ) as the unstated actor. Said to non-Jewish believers who had never been physically circumcised (v.13), it is deliberately startling.