Phylacteries are the boxes Israel bound on hand and forehead,
so the word of God would not be forgotten.
Bind them as a sign on your hand,
and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
You shall teach them diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house.
They do all their deeds to be seen by others.
They make their phylacteries broad.
The command is in the Shema and beside the law of the firstborn. The words God has given are to be on the heart, taught to the children, talked of on the road, and bound as a sign on the hand and between the eyes. Israel later made that binding a small leather box, with texts inside, worn at prayer. Frontlets is the older word. Phylacteries is the later name. The point of the command is memory. The word goes with the hand that works and the eye that looks.
- God ties the sign to redemption. It is because the Lord brought them out of Egypt with a strong hand. The box, if it is used, is supposed to preach the Exodus, not the wearer.
- Doorposts get the same words. Hand, forehead, and house are three places a family cannot ignore.
- Jesus does not cancel the command to remember. He rebukes men who broaden the boxes to be seen. Wide leather is not the same as a word on the heart.
The sign was meant to keep the greatest commandment in front of a people who forget. It becomes a problem when the sign is the show. Broad phylacteries and long fringes can sit on a life that devours widows’ houses. The word still belongs on the hand and between the eyes. The heart is where Jesus says the failure was.
Bind the word where the hand works
and the eye looks.
A broader box does not make a truer heart.
- Frontlets come first. Phylacteries are the later form of the sign.
- The command is memory and teaching, not display.
- Hand and forehead match work and attention. The word is for both.
- The same words go on the doorposts. The house is included.
- Jesus’ rebuke is the motive. They make them broad to be seen.
- He does not say the Shema was a mistake. He says the show replaced the weightier matters.
- A sign that does not reach the heart is the old danger of every holy object.
- The Word – Bind them as a sign; frontlets between the eyes.
- The Places – Hand, forehead, doorposts, gates.
- The Reason – A strong hand brought them out of Egypt.
- The Teaching – Diligently to the children; talk of them on the way.
- The Box – Leather cases with the texts, worn at prayer.
- The Rebuke – Broad phylacteries, deeds done to be seen.
- The Weight – Justice, mercy, and faithfulness outweigh the width of the strap.
- Deuteronomy 6:6-8 – “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children… You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”
- Deuteronomy 6:9 – “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
- Exodus 13:9 – “And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.”
- Exodus 13:16 – “It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
- Deuteronomy 11:18 – “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”
- Matthew 23:5 – “They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.”
- Matthew 23:23 – “You tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.”
These words shall be on your heart. Bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
Teach them diligently to your children, and talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way.
It shall be a sign on your hand and a memorial between your eyes, for with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.
They do all their deeds to be seen by others. They make their phylacteries broad.
You have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.
Put the word where the hand works and the eye looks. Teach it in the house. Do not widen the strap to be seen. A broad box cannot carry justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Those live on the heart.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.