History Forum / General / General Topics / June 2004

    An amazing new theory asks if praying (kneeling with hands folded)
symbolizes touching God's thigh or circumcision.  The internet url for this
article is http://members.ij.net/rex/praying.html

   Praying with hands together is a posture with an origin that is
virtually unknown. Most people, including members of the Jewish and
Christian religions, do not know that the hands-in-prayer was a Jewish
practice.

   "The book of Jewish Knowledge" by Nathan Ausubel (p. 351) states "It has
also been commonly assumed that folding the hands in prayer is exclusively a
Christian custom. This is not the historical fact at all. As early as the
post-Exilic period, when Jews prayed, they folded their hands, and they
observed this custom for several centuries even after it had been adopted by
Christians."

   The Talmud relates how the Babylonian Sage, Rabba (Abba ben Joseph, C.
280-352), used to pray with his hands folded.

   During the time of Jesus, the Jewish postures for prayer included
folding the hands.  Being Jews, Jesus and his followers did so too.

   The Jewish practice was discontinued by Jews in reaction against their
persecution under the Christian religion in the Holy Roman Empire.   Rabbis
decreed that Jews cease folding their hands in prayer because their
oppressors used folded hands.

   It was a deliberate disassociation according to Ausubel.  And it has
been forgotten by almost everyone.

   The praying-hands mystery leads to an amazing new theory (farther down)
about another forgotten prayer practice in the book of Genesis.  Genesis
contains passages in which a male takes an oath by placing his hand "under
the thigh" of the male to whom he is swearing.   It has sometimes been
interpreted as swearing upon, or touching the testicles.

   The Book of Genesis (Ch. 24, verse 2-4, and also see verse 9) states
"And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all
that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee
swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou
shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among
whom I dwell..."  Abraham's servant swore that he (the man-servant) would
not bring a wife for his son (Abraham's son, Isaac) from the land of Canaan.

   The Book of Genesis (Ch. 47, verse 29) states: "And the time drew nigh
that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If
now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my
thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in
Egypt..."  Israel had his son Joseph swear that he would bury him in the
Holy Land and not in Egypt.

   The Book of Genesis (Ch. 32, verse 25) appears to relate God seizing
Jacob in the same part of the anatomy.

   The Talmud, an encyclopedia of Jewish life, contains numerous stories of
devoted slaves. A model of the devoted slave is the biblical figure of
Abraham's slave, Eliezer. Abraham found Eliezer starving by the road to
Damascus. Eliezer was a runaway slave. After Abraham nursed him back to
health, he told the runaway that he was free to leave, but Eliezer, who was
born to serve, vowed never to leave Abraham, having finally found a worthy
Master. When Abraham asked Eliezer to swear loyalty, he told him to "place
your hand upon my thigh."

   The Hebrew word in some passages is 'yarek,' meaning 'thigh' in the Old
Testament. That ritual might derive from the belief that the thigh is a
center of power, probably because it's near the genitals. Some interpreters
argue that it is a swearing upon the genitals, with "under the thigh" being
a euphemism in Hebrew.

   Dr. Lee Stone, in his book "The Power of a Symbol," said that the "most
ancient way of administering the oath was by placing the hand between the
thighs, on the genitals. These were regarded as the Christian and the Jew
regard the Bible, as being the most sacred of tangible things" (10, pg. 45).

   Dr. P. C. Remondino, in his book "History of Circumcision from the
Earliest Times to the Present" said that "It was partly this custom of
swearing, or of affirming, with the hand under the thigh, by the early
Israelites," which led many to believe that their hand was being placed on
the testicles (11, pg. 35).

   It is likely that the passages above inspired the popular claim that
'testify' derived from 'testicle," but the claim is disputed with
alternative derivations and interpretations.   A popular claim also alleges
that Greeks and Romans would touch their own testicles while swearing,
however there is no evidence in support.   The "testicle" theory argues that
the testicles were used for oaths because they represented virility, power,
and represented the man's future generations, and the source of life.

   The new theory asks whether the "inner thigh" posture (the "yarek oath"
or "yarek prayer") acknowledged the man's circumcision.  In Judaism the
circumcision is the male's covenant with God and is also called the
"Covenant of Abraham," because it began with the Patriarch Abraham.  Two
references to the "inner thigh" oath (above) refer to Abraham, whose
circumcision would have been new and revered.  Abraham would have
circumcised his slaves, who later performed "inner thigh" oaths to Abraham.

   The book of Genesis (at 16:1-3, 15-16, 17, 21:1-2) states: When Abram
was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I
am God Almighty;" walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my
covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous." Then
Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant
with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer
shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made
you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly
fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I
will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you
throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you
and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you, and to your
offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of
Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God."

   God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and
your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant,
which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every
male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your
foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when
he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one
bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both
the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be
circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.
Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin
shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

   Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house
or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and
he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said
to him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the
flesh of his foreskin. And his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he
was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very day Abraham and his
son Ishmael were circumcised; and all the men of his house, slaves born in
the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised
with him. . . .

   The book of Genesis does not state whether the covenant (or contract)
was reciprocal in regard to whether God became circumcised.

   In an earlier example above, Abraham says to his servant "Put, I pray
thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the
God of heaven, and the God of the earth....." thereby making the act also a
prayer to God and a gesture to Abraham's covenant with God (Abraham's
circumcision).

   The biblical references do not state the posture of any male who placed
his hand(s) on the "inner thigh."  Did he kneel?  It is plausible that the
servant/slave kneeled before his master Abraham when swearing such an
important oath.  It is plausible that the son Joseph kneeled before his
father Israel.  They kneeled in prayer to God, in the same manner as a slave
to his master, and a son to his father.

   Was the oath-taker seated?  If so, the oath-giver might kneel and place
his hands in the lap of the oath-taker.  The word "yarek" is sometimes
interpreted as "lap."

   Many religions, including Judaism, used (and some still use) kneeling,
bowing/prostration and genuflection as prayer postures.   Kneeling was
abandoned in Judaism because of persecution under the Christian religion
during the Holy Roman Empire (the same reason that folded hands were
discontinued) according to "The book of Jewish Knowledge" by Nathan Ausubel
(p. 351).

   Although hands folded in prayer is no longer a part of modern Judaism,
there is still some kneeling.  Some also bow in several prayers, who used to
kneel but discontinued the practice.  Often, kneeling is only performed
during Aleinu prayer on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Judaism certainly still
uses terminology in its liturgy that refers to kneeling. Three times on Yom
Kippur there are moments to kneel on saying the word "cor'im" which is a
word meaning "to kneel." Additionally, the word for a blessing or
benediction, "berachah" comes from the word "berech" which means knee.

   The biblical references do not state the form of any male's hand(s)
during the "inner thigh" oaths.  Were the hands folded in the posture of
kneeling to pray?  Folded hands would enable an oath-giver to put both hands
upon both inner thighs of the oath-taker.

   A new theory from the historian and journalist Rex Curry asks if praying
(kneeling with hands folded) is a symbolic re-enactment of Abraham's "inner
thigh" or lap prayer, and/or if praying heavenward symbolizes an oath upon
God's "inner thigh" or lap as an acknowledgment of God's covenant with
Abraham (or as an acknowledgment of God's own circumcision and covenant in
reciprocity).

http://members.ij.net/rex/praying.html

associated unfruitful searches for web research:
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