Hebrew, “mul” (male), “mulah” (female). Referring to cutting off a part of the foreskin of the penis. Evidence suggests that circumcision was practiced in the Middle East as early as the 4th millennium BC by the Sumerians and the Semites. Circumcision was also done by the Egyptians, possibly as early as 2400–2300 BC. 1 Moses 28 and Genesis 17 describes the circumcision of Abraham and the males in his house. However, 1 Moses 27 implies that what God is actually looking for is the circumcision of the heart. With circumcision being a common practice in his time, Abraham may have misunderstood.
Circumcision is technically forbidden in the Jewish Torah, Leviticus 19:28 which reads in part, “Do not make incisions or cuts in your bodies for the soul…” However, it is a tradition in many parts of Judaism, even at the time of Jesus Christ.
See Circumcision of the heart.