metonymically for a whole people precisely because it characterized a people’s whole existence, a complete way of life.”4 Romans 2:25 and Galatians 5:3 confirm that Paul linked circumcision to law observance. He writes in Romans 2:25—“Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision” (NRSV). In Galatians 5:3, Paul makes the same point in more explicit language—“Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised