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And on the eighth day the flesh of the boy’s foreskin is to be circumcised.
Leviticus 12:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB In the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
  • KJV And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
  • NKJV And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
  • NASB Then on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
  • NLT On the eighth day the boy’s foreskin must be circumcised.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

On the eighth day the boy is circumcised. This marks the covenant sign given to Abraham, now embedded in the law.

Overview

The eighth day brings circumcision of the male child, the covenant sign first given to Abraham (Genesis 17:12). This rite marked the boy's membership in God's covenant people. Circumcision pointed beyond the flesh to the needed circumcision of the heart, accomplished in Christ for all who belong to Him (Colossians 2:11).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Luke 2:21When the eight days until His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He had been conceived.
  • Luke 1:59On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah.
  • John 7:22–23But because Moses gave you circumcision, you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath (not that it is from Moses, but from the patriarchs.)
  • Gen 17:11–12You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
  • Phil 3:5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
  • Col 2:11In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.
  • Gal 5:3Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
  • Gal 3:17What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise.
  • Rom 3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
  • Rom 4:11–12And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
  • Deut 30:6The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Leviticus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Leviticus 12:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LeviticusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.

How Leviticus 12:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.