* sharp knives. or, knives of flints.
Before the use of iron was common, all the nations of the
earth had their edge tools made of stones, flints, etc. Our
ancestors had their arrows and spearheads made of flint; which
are frequently turned up by the plough. And even when iron
became more common, stone knives seem to have been preferred
for making incisions in the human body. The Egyptians used
such to open the bodies for embalming; and the tribe of
Alnajab in Ethiopia, who follow the Mosaic institution,
perform the rite of circumcision, according to Ludolf,
{cultris lapidibus,} with knives made of stone.
* circumcise.
Ge 17:10-14 De 10:16 30:6 Ro 2:29 4:11 Col 2:11
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