Frontlets

"Occurs only in Ex. 13:16; Deut. 6:8, and 11:18. The meaning of" "the injunction to the Israelites, with regard to the statues and" "precepts given them, that they should "bind them for a sign upon" "their hand, and have them as frontlets between their eyes," was" that they should keep them distinctly in view and carefully attend to them. But soon after their return from Babylon they "began to interpret this injunction literally, and had" accordingly portions of the law written out and worn about their "person. These they called tephillin, i.e., "prayers." The" "passages so written out on strips of parchment were these, Ex." "12:2-10; 13:11-21; Deut. 6:4-9; 11:18-21. They were then "rolled" "up in a case of black calfskin, which was attached to a stiffer" "piece of leather, having a thong one finger broad and one cubit" and a half long. Those worn on the forehead were written on four "strips of parchment, and put into four little cells within a" "square case, which had on it the Hebrew letter called shin, the" "three points of which were regarded as an emblem of God." This" case tied around the forehead in a particular way was called the tephillah on the head. (See [222]PHYLACTERY.)