703. Many cultures in the world today practice circumcision for hygienic reasons. Some primitive tribes perform the operation on infants and young boys, while others wait until the boys reach puberty or are ready for marriage. These traditions have remained unchanged for centuries. For the Israelites, circumcision signified that the infant was being taken into the covenant community. This ritual remains a hallmark of Judaism today. Flint knives were used until New Testament times when they were finally replaced by metal. Jewish boys are circumcised on the eighth day.
704. Recent studies have confirmed that the safest time to perform circumcision is on the eighth day of life. Vitamin K, which causes blood to coagulate, is not produced in sufficient amounts until the fifth to seventh day. On the eighth day the body contains 10 percent more prothrombin than normal; prothrombin is also important in the clotting of blood.
705. Since all firstborns are God's possession, it was necessary for the Israelite family to redeem, or buy back, the firstborn infant from God. The redemption price was five shekels of silver, given to the priests when the child was one month old-possibly an amount of time to be certain the child would live (Num.18:15-16). Scripture doesn't tell us about the redemption ceremony itself.
706. By rabbinic times the redemption ceremony took place in the child's home with a priest and other guests present. The rite began when the father presented the child to the priest. The priest would then ask the father, "Do you wish to redeem the child or do you want to leave him with me?" The father answered that he would redeem the child and handed the priest five silver coins. The priest would than declare, "Your son is redeemed!" After the priest pronounced a blessing on the child, he joined the invited guests at a banquet table.
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