Festivals & practices
Phylactery
Small scripture-containing boxes worn in Jewish prayer practice.
Also called · tefillin · prayer boxes
What it means
The boxes hold handwritten passages of Scripture and are fastened to the arm and forehead with leather straps. Their Jewish name is tefillin.
Deuteronomy 6 and 11 command Israel to keep God’s words in the heart, teach them to children, and bind them as signs on the hand and between the eyes. Wearing tefillin is connected with these commands.
How it appears in the Bible
In Matthew 23, Jesus says that the scribes and Pharisees broaden their phylacteries and enlarge their clothing’s fringes to be seen by others. His criticism in this scene concerns their desire to display their actions.
Translation note
The selected edition uses phylacteries in Matthew 23:5. Tefillin is the Jewish name for these objects.