HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H2903
טוֹטָפוֹת
to.pha.phah — phylacteries
bands, phylacteries, frontlets, marks
3 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
Phylacteries
Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H3704
כֶּ֫סֶת
ke.set — amulet
1) band, fillet, covered amulets, false phylacteries 1a) used by false prophetesses in Israel to support their demonic fortune-telling schemes
0 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →Historical dictionary entry
(Gr. phulakteria; i.e., “defences” or “protections”), called by modern Jews tephillin (i.e., “prayers”) are mentioned only in Matt. 23:5. They consisted of strips of parchment on which were inscribed these four texts: (1.) Ex. 13:1-10; (2.) 11-16; (3.) Deut. 6:4-9; (4.) 11:18-21, and which were enclosed in a square leather case, on one side of which was inscribed the Hebrew letter shin, to which the rabbis attached some significance. This case was fastened by certain straps to the forehead just between the eyes. The “making broad the phylacteries” refers to the enlarging of the case so as to make it conspicuous. (See FRONTLETS.) Another form of the phylactery consisted of two rolls of parchment, on which the same texts were written, enclosed in a case of black calfskin. This was worn on the left arm near the elbow, to which it was bound by a thong. It was called the “Tephillah on the arm.”
Scripture references
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.