17:11 token. As the rainbow encircling the whole earth was a token of God’s covenant with all men (Genesis 9:17), so circumcision, encircling the channel by which the human seed is preserved and transmitted, especially the promised Seed in the line of Abraham, is the token of God’s covenant with His chosen nation. It was not a sign to be seen of all men, as was the rainbow, but a sign to be seen only by a man’s parents and his wife, reminding them of their faith commitment to the God of Abraham, and His promise to them.