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φυλακτήριον

phylaktḗrion

G5440 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A container or small case worn on the body containing written texts for protective or ritual purposes; specifically, in Hellenistic and Roman Judean practice, a small leather box containing passages from the Torah, worn during prayer. The word primarily indicates an amulet or charm intended to guard the wearer, and in some contexts refers specifically to the ritual items later known from Rabbinic literature as 'tefillin.' Secondarily, it denotes any object used for protective purposes, including amulets not of Israelite or Judean origin.

Semantic Range

object used for protection, amulet, charm, talisman; protective case containing texts, especially scriptural passages; ritual box worn during prayer (phylactery/tefillin)

Root / Etymology

From the verb φυλάσσω ('to guard, protect') with the derivative -τήριον suffix forming a noun that denotes an instrument or means of guarding; thus, 'means of protection, a thing that protects.' No borrowing from Hebrew or Aramaic is evident; the term is a Greek formation.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, φυλακτήριον referred broadly to a safeguard, protective amulet, or charm, not specifically to ritual items associated with the Hebrew Bible. During the Second Temple period and in the New Testament (see Matthew 23:5), the term comes to refer particularly to boxes or cases containing scriptural texts worn by Judeans (known in Rabbinic literature as tefillin). The Greek designation likely reflects Hellenistic perspectives on ritual objects; the Jewish designation 'tefillin' is not a direct etymological source. The Septuagint does not use φυλακτήριον for the Hebrew תּוֹטָפֹת (totafot), but the New Testament uses it in critique of religious display. In contemporary English Bibles, 'phylactery' is a transliteration, but the original term also had amuletic or magical associations in wider Greco-Roman context. In magical papyri and inscriptions, φυλακτήρια refers generically to protective amulets (cf. Acts 19:12 for general usage of protective items, though not called φυλακτήρια). Thus, its meaning is broader than just the specific ritual item of later Judaism.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

neuter of a derivative of φυλάσσω; a guard-case, i.e. "phylactery" for wearing slips of Scripture texts:-- phylactery.

Root Family

φυλακτήριον (phylaktērion) — means of guarding, protective object, amulet, ritual guard-case

Root φυλακ- to guard, to protect

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G5440-01 φυλακτήρια phulakteria N ACC N PL phylacteries protective amulets phylacteries 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G5440-01 Matthew 23:5 φυλακτήρια phulakteria N ACC N PL phylacteries protective amulets phylacteries
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