Phylacteries (Hebrew tefillin) were two small leather boxes bound with blackened straps, one on the arm, one on the forehead, each holding four Scripture passages (Ex 13:1–10 and 11–16; Deut 6:4–9 and 11:13–21), taking literally the command to bind God’s words “for a sign upon thy hand, and… frontlets between thine eyes” (Deut 6:8). The Mishnah treats their text with exactness: of the four portions, “even one letter can invalidate the whole.” “They make broad their phylacteries” (Matt 23:5), worn conspicuously large, “to be seen of men.”
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Phylacteries (tefillin)
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- Deuteronomy 6:8bsb
Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
- Matthew 23:5bsb
All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
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