Lexical Summary epispaomai: To draw over, to pull over, to cover Original Word: ἐπισπάομαι Strong's Exhaustive Concordance become uncircumcised. From epi and spao; to draw over, i.e. (with akrobustia implied) efface the mark of circumcision (by recovering with the foreskin) -- become uncircumcised. see GREEK epi see GREEK spao see GREEK akrobustia Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 1986: ἐπισπάωἐπισπάω, ἐπίσπω: from Aeschylus down; to draw on: μή ἐπισπάσθω, namely, ἀκροβυστίαν, let him not draw on his foreskin (Hesychius μή ἐπισπάσθω. Μή ἑλκυέτω τό δέρμα) (A. V. let him not become uncircumcised), 1 Corinthians 7:18. From the days of Antiochus Epiphanes ( STRONGS NT 1986a: ἐπισπείρωἐπισπείρω: 1 aorist ἐπεσπειρα; to sow above or besides: Matthew 13:25 L T Tr WH. (Herodotus, Theophrastus, (others).) The verb appears once, in 1 Corinthians 7:18. “Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not seek to reverse his circumcision. Was a man still uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised.” (Berean Standard Bible) Historical Setting of Circumcision Reversal In the Hellenistic and Roman worlds, public gymnasia and baths demanded full nudity. Circumcision, a visible covenant mark for Jews, became a source of scorn among Gentiles who prized an intact foreskin as a symbol of cultural refinement. Jewish men often resorted to a painful surgical procedure—documented by 1 Maccabees 1:15 and by medical writers such as Celsus—to stretch remaining skin and appear uncircumcised. By the first century the practice was common enough that Paul could refer to it matter-of-factly when writing to the believers in Corinth, a bustling port city steeped in Greco-Roman values. Paul’s Pastoral Concern in 1 Corinthians 1 Corinthians addresses believers wrestling with their place in Christ while living amid social pressures regarding marriage, servitude, and ethnic identity. By prohibiting circumcision reversal, Paul does not re-enthrone the ritual itself; rather, he confronts the heart-level motive to seek human approval through bodily alteration. His counsel fits the wider passage’s call to “remain in the situation” in which God’s grace found each believer (1 Corinthians 7:20), trusting that status before God depends on the cross, not on conformity to cultural expectations. Theological Emphases 1. Grace over ritual: Justification rests on faith, not on the surgical presence or absence of foreskin (Galatians 5:6). Ministry and Discipleship Applications • Equip believers to withstand cultural demands that require altering God-given physical traits for acceptance. Related Biblical Themes and References Romans 2:28-29; Acts 15:1-11; Galatians 2:3-5; Galatians 5:1-12; Ephesians 2:11-18; Colossians 2:11-13; Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4; Philippians 3:2-3. Summary Strong’s Greek 1986 captures a moment when the early church confronted intense social pressure to reshape bodies in pursuit of cultural prestige. Paul’s single use of the verb stands as a timeless reminder that believers’ identity is secured by Christ, not by surgical modification or ritual observance. The gospel liberates from both the compulsion to acquire religious marks and the urge to erase them, calling every follower of Jesus to find contentment and unity in the unchanging grace of God. Englishman's Concordance 1 Corinthians 7:18 V-PMM/P-3SGRK: ἐκλήθη μὴ ἐπισπάσθω ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ NAS: [when he was already] circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone KJV: not become uncircumcised. Is INT: was called not let him be uncircumcised in uncircumcision |
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