Frontlet

A translation of a Hebrew word referring to anything bound on the forehead (Exodus 13:16; Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18). The phylacteries (leather boxes) of Jesus’s day (Matthew 23:5) were worn daily at morning prayer by every male Israelite over the age of 13. They consisted of four Scripture passages (Exodus 13:1–10; 13:11–16; Deuteronomy 6:4–9; 11:13–21) written on parchment and placed in small leather boxes tied to the forehead and the left arm. The phylacteries may have been the parchments or the leather boxes. There is no proof to suggest that the Israelites made phylacteries during the time of Moses. The commands were probably not literal. They aimed to show the memorial value of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Law's importance in the people's lives. For the Pharisees, visibly obeying the Law had replaced the need to apply God's Word to the heart (Matthew 23:5).