Scripture-Containing Case, or Phylactery

A phylactery is a small leather case containing strips of parchment on which four passages of Scripture are written, namely, Ex 13:1-10, 11-16; De 6:4-9; 11:13-21. Some time after the Jews returned from exile in Babylon, the custom arose for males to wear Scripture-containing cases during morning prayer, except on festival days and the Sabbath. The photo shows an actual phylactery dating from the first century C.E. It was found in one of the Qumran caves. The drawing shows what such a phylactery may have looked like when new.