(16) And Abraham circumcised his son on the eighth day : he was the first that was circumcised according to the covenant which is ordained for ever.

(14) And he went in unto her, and she conceived and bare him a son, and he called his name Ishmael, in the r^ a.m. fifth year of this week ; and this was the eighty-sixth year in the life of Abram. The Feast of First-fruits. Circumcision in- stituted. The Promise of Isaac's Birth. Circumcision ordained for all Israel (xv. -; cf. Gen. xvii.).

(3) Thereupon the queen gave the babe the name of Moses, with etymological propriety, from his being drawn out of "the water," - for the Egyptians call water "mou," - in which he had been exposed to die. For they call Moses one who "who breathed [on being taken] from the water." It is clear that previously the parents gave a name to the child on his circumcision; and he was called Joachim.

(15) And the child on the eighth day ye will circumcise, every male throughout your generations, him that is born in the house, or whom ye have bought with money from any stranger, whom ye have acquired who is not of thy seed.

(15) And on the selfsame day1 was Abraham circumcised, and all the men of his house, (and those born in the house), and all those, whom he had bought with money from the children of the stranger, were circumcised with, him.

(48) And at that hour that Son of Man was named In the presence of the Lord of Spirits, And his name before the Head of Days.

(15) And the uncir- cumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin on the eighth day,* that soul will be cut . off from his people, for he hath broken My covenant." I5.a And God said unto Abraham : "As for Sarai thy wife, her name will no more be called Sarai, but Sarah will be her name.

(53) His disciples said to Him, "Is circumcision beneficial or not?" He said to them, "If it were beneficial, their father would beget them already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit has become completely profitable."

(34) It continued a long Time in the Covenant of Circumcision (in the Life and Light of the Father) with the Shadows and Types of the Incarnation of the Son; but these could not reach the Earnestness of the Coming again of the Body out of the Grave; but the Word must become Man, if Man must rise again out of the Grave. It [the Covenant] ransomed the Soul indeed, so. that it could stand before the Father (in the Gate of the Corruptibility) in the Fire of the Sharpness, but not in the pleasant Joy, before the Light of the holy Trinity; and besides, it could not bring the new Body forth out of the Element, for it was defiled too much with Sin.

(16) And we returned in the seventh month, and found Sarah with child before us] and we blessed him, and we announced to him all the things which had been decreed concerning him, thathe should not die till he should beget six sons more, and should see (them) before he died ; but (that) in Isaac should his name and seed be called : •

The apostles who came before us used the names Isous nazraios messias, which means “Jesus the Nazorean, the Christ.” The last name is “Christ,” the first name is “Jesus,” the middle name is “the Nazarene.” Messias has two meanings, “Christ” and “measured.” In Hebrew “Jesus” means “redemption.” Nazara means “truth,” and so “the Nazarene” means “truth.” “Christ” has been “measured,” thus “the Nazarene” and “Jesus” have been measured out.

(28) And the Lord was gracious to Rachel, and opened her womb, and she conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Joseph, on the new moon of the fourth month, in the

(3) And for this reason the com- mandment is written on the heavenly tables6 in regard to her that giveth birth : " if she beareth a male, she shall remain in her uncleanness seven days accord- ing to the first week of days, and thirty and three days shall she remain in the blood of her purifying, and she shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor enter into the sanctuary, until she accomplished these days which (are enjoined) in the case of a male child. ii. But in the case of a female child she shall remain in her uncleanness two weeks of days, according to the first two weeks, and sixty-six days in the blood of her purification, and they will be in all eighty days."

(135) For his circumference, conception or chief mother, was the Son of God, and there he stood as a king or prince of God.

(28) And he went in again unto her, and she conceived, and bare him a second son, and Leah called his name Asher, on the second of the eleventh month, in the ffifthf year of the fourth week.

(15) He that is born in thy house will surely be circum- cised, and those whom thou hast bought with money will be circumcised, and My covenant will be in your flesh for an eternal ordinance.

(25) Stories like the foregoing represent the incrustations that have attached themselves to the body of Christianity during the centuries. The popular mind itself has been the self-appointed guardian and perpetuator of these legends, bitterly opposing every effort to divest the faith of these questionable accumulations. While popular tradition often contains certain basic elements of truth, these elements are usually distorted out of all proportion. Thus, while the generalities of the story may be fundamentally true, the details are hopelessly erroneous. Of truth as of beauty it may be said that it is most adorned when unadorned. Through the mist of fantastic accounts which obscure the true foundation of the Christian faith is faintly visible to the discerning few a great and noble doctrine communicated to the world by a great and noble soul. Joseph and Mary, two devout and holy-minded souls, consecrated to the service of God and dreaming of the coming of a Messiah to serve Israel, obeyed the injunctions of the high priest of the Essenes to prepare a body for the coming of a great soul. Thus of an immaculate conception Jesus was born. By immaculate is meant clean, rather than supernatural.

(15) This law is for all the generations for ever, and there is no circumcision of the days, and no omission of one day out of the eight days;* for it is an eternal ordinance, ordained and written on the heavenly tables.

(6) Then he draws down to the child's right ear and says milk, honey, and ghee and feeds [his son] out of a gold [spoon] which is not placed within [the mouth], saying: e I place in you Bhur \ I place in you Bhuvas \ I place in you Svar! Bhur, BhuvaS) Svar — everything 2 I place in you I 2,6. Then he gives him a name, saying i You are Veda. 3 So this becomes his secret name. 27, Then he presents him to the mother and offers the breast, saying: — 'Thy breast which is unfailing and refreshing, Wealth-bearer, treasure-finder, rich bestower. With which thou nourishest all things esteemed — Give it here, 0 SarasvatI, to suck from/

(15) And He left off speaking with him, and God went up from Abraham. 23.* And Abraham did according as God had said unto him, and he took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and whom he had bought with his money, every male in his house, and circumcised the flesh of their fore- skin.