Tefillin

Jews used tefillin during prayer: a tradition that still exists today. Jesus is also likely to have used tefillin.

What are Tefillin?

A remarkable phenomenon in Jewish prayer are the tefillin (sometimes called phylacteries). They are leather straps with leather boxes attached. In the boxes there are rolled up pieces of parchment with the following texts written on them:

Exodus 13:1-16;
Deuteronomy 5;
Deuteronomy 6:4-9;
Deuteronomy 11:13-21.

The straps are worn during prayer, around the left arm and the forehead. In this way the commandment in Exodus 13:9 and Deuteronomy 6:8 were kept.

In which Time Period were Tefillin Used?

According to literary sources, tefillin were used by certain groups of Jews in the period of the second Temple in Jerusalem. Tefillin were found in the caves at Khirbet Qumran. It is highly likely that Jesus would have used tefillin.

What is the Discussion in Matthew 23:5 about?

Matthew 23:5 says,

“They do everything so that people will see them. Look at the straps with scripture verses on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they are! Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks!”

Here Jesus is talking about the scribes and the Pharisees. He is not talking about the use of tefillin in general, but about a particular use of them.
In the time of Matthew, a new group of Jewish leaders emerged: the rabbi. The criticism in Matthew is aimed at the tefillin of these new leaders. Jesus probably used a different type of tefillin, more like those from Qumran, with smaller boxes.