Genesis 17:11 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

A token of the covenant, &c.— Here circumcision is called a token, as before it was called the covenant; so the Paschal Lamb is called the Passover of the Lord, Exodus 11:10 of which it was only a memorial: so the bread and wine are called the Body and Blood of Christ, of which they are only memorials, Matthew 26:26. &c. It is evident that circumcision was instituted solely as a token of that covenant which God entered into with Abraham, not as any peculiar mark of distinction: and like all other signs and tokens, it had no intrinsic excellence in itself, but as it became productive of that true circumcision of the heart, which alone is acceptable to God. See Romans 2:25-29. Deuteronomy 10:16.