Doctrine of Faith # 51
51. Since the Philistines represented people whose faith is divorced from charity, they were for that reason called uncircumcised, meaning people lacking any spiritual love and so motivated only by some natural love. Charity is a spiritual love.
The Philistines were called uncircumcised because the circumcised mean people possessing a spiritual love. To be shown that the Philistines were called uncircumcised, 1 Samuel 17:26, 36, 2 Samuel 1:20, and elsewhere.
1 Samuel 17:26
26
David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, "What shall be done to the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
