4486. 'That every male be circumcised, as they are circumcised' means provided they were introduced by this means into their representatives and meaningful signs, solely into the external observances involved in these. This is clear from the meaning of 'being circumcised' as an external representative - as the sign that they were members of the Church, in this case of the semblance of religion which existed with those descended from Jacob, dealt with in 4462. And because they accepted their kind of religion which consisted solely in external observances, 4281, 4293, 4307, it is therefore said 'as they are circumcised'. From this it is evident 'that every male be circumcised, as they are circumcised' means provided they were introduced by this means into their representatives and meaningful signs, solely into the external observances involved in these. What more is embodied in those words will be clear from what follows below.