One of the most important events in the evolution of the Hebrew race is the circumcision described in Genesis 17. Its importance is emphasized inasmuch that it covers 6 verses and ends with the phrase that any male who is not circumcised shall be ‘cut off from his people’
And God said to Abraham, You shall keep my covenant therefore, you, and your seed after you in their generations: This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you; Every male child among you shall be circumcised: And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you: And he who is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male child in your generations, he who is born in the house, or bought with money from any stranger, who is not of your seed: He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised; and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant: And the uncircumcised male child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant (Gen. 17: 9-14).
In the same chapter God emphasizes that: He will make his covenant with Abraham and Sarah (The names of Abram and Sarai will be changed to Abraham and Sarah); and Sarah will give birth to a son called Isaac, and God will make His covenant with Isaac whose seed will become a great nation; Kings will be born from his seed.
In the text it is emphasized that the circumcision will take place on the ‘eighth day’ and where the number eight, covenant and circumcision are inseparable. Let us look at the number ‘8’ more closely:
In Hebrew ‘8’ is shemoneh שמונה spelled shin-mem-vav-nun-heh שמונה and has the same root as for ‘oil’ shemen, שמן shin-mem-nun which has a gematrical value of 300-40-50 = 390. It is the same value as the word for ‘heaven’, shemayim spelled shin-mem-yod-mem שמים = 300+40+10+50 = 390. So, we see a certain link between 8, oil and heaven.
Moreover, the Hebrew word for ‘soul’ neshamah and ‘breath’ neshimah both come from the same root nesham נשם spelled nun-shin-mem = 50+300+40 = 390, which is the same as heaven. So, again, we see that the circumcision, taking place on the 8th day, is not random, but specifically emphasizes the importance of a covenant between God and the ‘soul of man’ and where it says: I will take you to be your God and you will be my people (Ex. 6:7).
If we look further, the Hebrew word for ‘circumcise’ is mila spelled mem-yod-lamed-heh מילה of which the root letters are mem-yod-lamed מיל = 40-10-30 = 80 which is a decane above 8 and would indicate that the act of circumcision is not only physical but also affecting the consciousness. Similarly, the word for foreskin is orela spelled ayin-vav-resh-lamed-heh עורלה, whereby the root letters are ayin-resh-lamed ערל = 70-200-30 = 300 which is the expanded form (milui)[1] for the Hebrew word for God, Elohim אלהים and signifies the yang; the force of Heaven, male, and has the power of creation. So it is through the circumcision, through the very organ through which our body reproduces itself, that power of Heaven enters into the female co-joining the force of the Earth to produce a human being containing both forces of Heaven and Earth.
However the question arises: why does the circumcision occur in the 8th day? What is special about that day? The 8th day is after the 7th, the Sabbath, which in turn is celebrated after 6 days of work where our consciousness is fixed to this physical plane. The purpose of the 7th day is not only to rest, but more important, to prepare ourselves for the next world, the world of the 8th day, which is a new cycle of consciousness. So, on the Sabbath day we allow our consciousness to transcend the physical needs of this world by placing a gader or fence around our existence for that day so we can realize God.
In this context one can see the form of the word Shabbat, the seventh day, spelled shin-beth-taf ,שבת with the gematrical values of 300-2-400, where 300, as mentioned earlier, represents Heaven, the male force, the Yang and 400 is Earth, the female force, the Yin. So it is that in the Bible we have 3 patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and 4 matriarchs, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah. The beth, ב, in the word Shabbat שבת has the symbol of ‘beit’ meaning home and has a value of 2. So, Shabbat is the union of the spiritual male and the spiritual female in the home.
[1] Milui a form of gematrical analysis when each letter of a word is spelled in its full form. Hence the milui gematria for the name of God, Elohim, אלהים , spelled aleph-lamed-heh-yod-mem is: aleph א spelled: aleph-lamed-peh = 1+30+80=111; lamed ל spelled: lamed-mem-daled = 30+40+4=74; hei ה spelled: hei-yod = 5+10 =15; yod י spelled: yod-vav-daled = 10+6+4=20; mem ם spelled: mem-mem = 40+40=80. Total =111+74+15+20+80 = 300