is associated in other cultures. What did circumcision in Israel stand for? To judge from the distribution in biblical and extra-biblical texts, as well as in ancient artistic representations, the significance of circumcision is not to be defined along ethnic lines. See De Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions, 46–47. While the practice of infant circumcision, as the distinctive mark of the male who belonged to Israel and to Yahweh, came at last to prevail in Judaism, our story in 5:2–9