noun · feminine
peritomas
Strong’sG4061
circumcision
stem peritom-36 times in the New Testamentin 9 of 27 books4 of 10 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
Circumcision — the cutting of the foreskin, referring most literally to the rite of circumcision itself 1234.
By extension the word describes the resulting condition or state of being circumcised, as opposed to the act itself 12.
It is also used by extension for the group of people who are circumcised, i.e. the circumcised as a body, often meaning Jews, or in some contexts Jewish Christians 12.
The word is also used figuratively, of a spiritual reality rather than the physical rite 12.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
† περι-τομή, -ῆς, ἡ
(< περιτέμνω), [in LXX: Ge 17:13, Ex 4:25, 26 (מוּל ni., מוּלָה), Je 11:16*;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4061 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidper-it-om-ay'
circumcision (the rite, the condition or the people, literally or figuratively)
Fromfrom G4059;
King JamesX circumcised, circumcision.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
circumcision, LXX+2nd c.BC+
II section of a machine, ἡ κάτω π. Refs 2nd c.AD+
III circular incision, Refs 1st c.AD+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | peritomas9×περιτομή | peritomais |
| object accusative | peritoman7×περιτομὴν | peritomain |
| direct address vocative | peritomar | peritomair |
| of, belonging to genitive | peritomau15×περιτομῆς | peritomaiu |
| to, for dative | peritoma5×περιτομῇ | peritomai |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
peritoma is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
36 occurrences, every one of them listed
peritomas“circumcision”subjectnominative singular9×
Romans 2:25Peritomas men gar ōfelatō ean nomon prassaseiō; …Circumcision has value if you observe the …
Romans 2:25… ean de parabatos nomou aseiō, tas peritomas su akrobustias genatē.… if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
Romans 2:28… tas en te fanere en sarka peritomas;… he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical.
Romans 2:29… tos en te krupte Ioudaios, kai peritomas kardiau en pneume ouk gramme, hou …… because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart …
1 Corinthians 7:19tas peritomas oudenem atō, kai tas akrobustias oudenem …Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing …
Galatians 5:6en gar Christo Iēso oute peritomas tinem ischuatō oute akrobustias, alla pistias …For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What …
Galatians 6:15oute gar peritomas tinem atō oute akrobustias, alla kainas …For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts …
Philippians 3:3nis gar anō tas peritomas, tois pneume theou latreuarōntois kai kauchorōntois …… it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit …
Colossians 3:11hopou ouk eniatō Hellēnos kai Ioudaios, peritomas kai akrobustias, barbaros, Skuthos, doulos, eleutheros, …… there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or …
peritoman“circumcision”objectaccusative singular7×
John 7:22dia houtem Mōusos dōatē vi tan peritoman ouk hoti ek tou Mōusou atō …But because Moses gave you circumcision, you circumcise a boy on the …
John 7:23“circumcision”ei peritoman labatō anthrōpos en sabbate hina mē …If a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken …
Romans 2:26… fulassateiō, ouk tas akrobustias autou eis peritoman logiziti?… not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
Romans 3:30eiper henos tos theos, hos dikaiati peritoman ek pistiau kai akrobustian dia tau …… one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through …
Romans 4:9Tos makarismos oun houtos epi tan peritoman ē kai epi tan akrobustian? leganō …Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We …
Galatians 2:9… teim ethneim, autois de eis tan peritoman;… the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
Galatians 5:11mis de, adelfoir, ei peritoman ēti kērussamō, tinem ēti diōkomō? ara …… brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted …
peritomau“circumcision”of, belonging togenitive singular15×
Acts 7:8kai dōata auto diathēkan peritomau; kai houtōs gennata ton Isaak kai …… God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of …
Acts 10:45kai ekstēala tois ek peritomau pistois hosois sunerchala to Petro, hoti …All the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were …
Acts 11:2“circumcision”… Ierousalēm, diakrinole pros auton tois ek peritomau… up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him
Romans 2:27… telarōntas sin ton dia grammeu kai peritomau parabaton nomou.… you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
Romans 3:1… Ioudaiou, ē tinas tas ōfeleias tau peritomau?… Or what is the value of circumcision?
Romans 4:11kai sēmem labata peritomau, sfragidan tau dikaiosunau tau pistiau tau …And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness …
Romans 4:12kai patron peritomau toi ouk ek peritomau monem alla …… is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but …
Romans 4:12kai patron peritomau toi ouk ek peritomau monem alla kai toi stoicharōntoi tei …… the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the …
Romans 15:8“circumcision”legamō gar Christon diakonon genorē peritomau huper alētheiau theou, eis tem bebaiara …For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises …
Galatians 2:7… euangeliem tau akrobustiau kathōs Petros tau peritomau,… as Peter had been to the circumcised.
Galatians 2:8… gar energarantos Petro eis apostolan tau peritomau energata kai mi eis teim ethneim,… work in Peter’s apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in my …
Galatians 2:12… kai aforizate heauton, foborōntos toin ek peritomau.… for fear of those in the circumcision group.
Ephesians 2:11… tois legorōntois akrobustias hupo tau legorōntau peritomau en sarka cheiropoiētau,… and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by …
Colossians 4:11“circumcision”… tos legorōntos Ioustos, tois arōntois ek peritomau, houtois monois sunergois eis tan basileian …… who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and …
Titus 1:10… kai frenapatois, malista tois ek tau peritomau,… and deception, especially those of the circumcision,
peritoma“circumcised”to, fordative singular5×
Romans 4:10“circumcised”pōs oun logizita? en peritoma arōnto ē en akrobustia? ouk en …… was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before.
Romans 4:10“circumcised”… arōnto ē en akrobustia? ouk en peritoma alla en akrobustia;… it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before.
Philippians 3:5peritoma oktaēmeros, ek geneu Israēl, fulau Beniamin, …circumcised on the eighth day, of the …
Colossians 2:11“circumcision”en ho kai peritemiva peritoma acheiropoiēta en ta apekdusia teu sōmeu …In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and …
Colossians 2:11… teu sōmeu tau sarkau, en ta peritoma tou Christou,… of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by …