Were little rolls of parchment, in which were written certain words of the law, and which were worn by the Jews upon their foreheads, and upon the left arm. The custom was founded on a mistaken interpretation of ,16, *And it shall be for a taken upon thy hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes.*\par Leo of Modena informs us particularly about these rolls. Those worn upon the forehead have been described under the article FRONTLETS, which see. Those that were to be fastened to the arms were two rolls of parchment written in square letters, with ink made on purpose, and with much care. They were rolled up to a point, and enclosed in a sort of case of black calfskin. They then were put upon a square bit of the same leather, whence hung a throng of the same, of about a finger's breadth and a cubit and a half long. These rolls were placed at the bending of the left arm, and after the throng had made a little knot in the form of the letter Yodh, it was wound about the arm in a spiral line, which ended at the top of the middle finger. They were called the Tephila of the hand.\par The phylactery, from a Greek word signifying preservative, was regarded not only as a remembrancer of God's law, but as a protection against demons. It was probably introduced at a late period in the Old Testament history. Our Savior reproaches the pride and hypocrisy of the Pharisees, shown in making their phylacteries broad as a sign of their superior wisdom and piety, . David, on the other hand, says, *Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee,* .\par
Tefillin. Small black leather cubes containing parchment scrolls inscribed with the Shema and other biblical passages, wrapped on the arm and head of adult men during weekday morning prayers. [83 related articles; www.chabad.org]
totaphoth. (See EARRINGS.)
When God told the people of Israel through Moses that they were to bind his laws upon their hands and between their eyes, he was no doubt emphasizing that his people were to live in the constant remembrance of his law. Not only their actions but also their thoughts were to be governed by the law of God (Exo 13:9; Exo 13:16; Deu 6:8; Deu 11:18).
Taking God’s instructions literally, Israelites of later times wrote selected commands of the law on small strips of cloth or parchment, placed these strips in small leather boxes called phylacteries, and bound the phylacteries on to their arms or foreheads. Jesus condemned those Pharisees and scribes who wore extra large phylacteries to try to impress people with their apparent devotion to God (Mat 23:5).
Leather pouches containing scrolls with passages of scripture, used to fulfill the commandment to bind the commandments to our hands and between our eyes. Jews refer to them as tefillin. The Greek term *phylacteries* literally means *amulets* and is offensive to some.
We meet with this word but once in the whole Bible, namely, Matt. 23. 5. Our blessed Lord condemned the Jews for making broad their phylacteries. It should seem that the Jews had a superstition, that by wearing certain amulets or borders with words of Scripture upon them, they would act like so many charms, and preserve them from danger. The word phylacteries, which is derived from the Greek, means to preserve. The Jews, it is said by some, justified this from what was commanded in Scripture. *And it shall be for asign unto thee, upon thine head, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in their mouth. (Exod. 33. 3.) But had the Jews observed the pure sense of this precept, it was their wonderful deliverance from Egypt that was to be the memorial, and not the preservation from future dangers to which this command had respect. It should rather seem, therefore, that that natural proneness the children of Israel had to imitate their idolatrous neighbours, tempted them to do as the heathen did, whose superstition is well known to have been of this kind; though Israel in the midst of their using charms like them, still had respect to words of Scripture. That this was the case, seems highly probable, in that the Lord Jesus reproved them for it. See Frontlets.
things to be especially observed
Phylacteries. See Frontlets.
We meet with this word but once in the whole Bible, namely, Mat 23:5. Our blessed Lord condemned the Jews for making broad their phylacteries. It should seem that the Jews had a superstition, that by wearing certain amulets or borders with words of Scripture upon them, they would act like so many charms, and preserve them from danger. The word phylacteries, which is derived from the Greek, means to preserve. The Jews, it is said by some, justified this from what was commanded in Scripture. *And it shall be for a sign unto thee, upon thine head, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in their mouth.* (Exo 33:3) But had the Jews observed the pure sense of this precept, it was their wonderful deliverance from Egypt that was to be the memorial, and not the preservation from future dangers to which this command had respect. It should rather seem, therefore, that that natural proneness the children of Israel had to imitate their idolatrous neighbours, tempted them to do as the heathen did, whose superstition is well known to have been of this kind; though Israel in the midst of their using charms like them, still had respect to words of Scripture. That this was the case, seems highly probable, in that the Lord Jesus reproved them for it. See Frontlets
called by the Jews תפלין , are little scrolls of parchment, in which are written certain sentences of the law, enclosed in leather cases, and bound with thongs on the forehead and on the left arm. They are called in Greek φυλακτηρια, from φυλαττω, custodio, either because they were supposed to preserve the law in memory, or rather because they were looked upon as a kind of amulets or charms to keep them from danger. The making and wearing these phylacteries, as the Jews still do in their private devotions, is owing to a misinterpretation of those texts, on which they ground the practice, namely, God's commanding them “to bind the law for a sign on their hands, and to let it be as frontlets between their eyes,” &c, Deu 6:8. The command ought doubtless to be understood metaphorically, as a charge to remember it, to meditate upon it, to have it as it were continually before their eyes, and to conduct their lives by it; as when Solomon says, concerning the commandments of God in general, “Bind them about thy neck, write them upon the table of thy heart,” Pro 3:1; Pro 3:3; Pro 6:21. However, the Jews understanding the precept literally, wrote out the several passages wherever it occurs, and to which it seems to refer, and bound them upon their foreheads and upon their arms. It seems the Pharisees used to “make broad their phylacteries.” This some understand of the knots of the thongs by which they were fastened, which were tied very artificially in the form of Hebrew letters; and that the pride of the Pharisees induced them to have these knots larger than ordinary, as a peculiar ornament. The Pharisees are farther said to “enlarge the borders of their garments,” τα κρασπεδα των ιματιων, Mat 23:5. These κρασπεδα were the ציצית , the fringes which the Jews are commanded to wear upon the borders of their garments, Num 15:38-39. The Targum of Onkelos calls them כרוספדין , which has so near an affinity with the Greek word κρασπεδον, that there is no doubt but it signifies the same thing; which is, therefore, an evidence that the κρασπεδα were the ציצית . These were worn by our Saviour, as appears from the following passage: “Behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment,” κρασπεδον του ιματιου, Mat 9:20. Again: the inhabitants of Gennesaret are said to have brought unto him their diseased, and to have “besought him, that they might only touch the hem of his garment,” κρασπεδον του ιματιου, Mat 14:36. Κρασπεδον του ιματιου is, in both these passages, very improperly translated the “hem of his garment.” It should have been rendered “the fringe.” The Pharisees are censured by our Saviour for enlarging these fringes of their garments, which we may suppose they did partly from pride, and partly from hypocrisy, as pretending thereby an extraordinary regard for the precepts of the law. It is reported by Jerom, as quoted by Godwin, that they used to have fringes extravagantly long; sticking thorns in them, that, by pricking their legs as they walked, they might put them in mind of the law. See FRONTLETS.
(pl.) of Phylactery