Editing Tefillin (section)

== Etymology ==
[[File:Asiatic captive depicted in Tomb of Horemheb in Saqqara.png|thumb|[[Levant]]ine man wearing arm wrappings and headband similar to tefillin (c. 1300 BCE, [[Tomb of Horemheb in Saqqara]])]] 
In the Bible, ''tefillin'' are referred to as {{lang|he|טֹוטָפֹת}} {{Transliteration|he|ṭoṭaphoth}}, the plural of טוֹטֶפֶת ''ṭoṭepheth'', meaning "headband, frontlet". [[Jeffrey H. Tigay]] argued that the word טוֹטֶפֶת ''ṭoṭepheth'' originally meant "headband", as ornamental bands encircling the head were common among Levantine populations in the biblical period. The scholarly consensus is that טוֹטֶפֶת ''ṭoṭepheth'' is derived from a reduplicated root ''ṭ-p-ṭ-p'' meaning "to encircle" (related to Arabic ''ṭāfa'' "go around, encircle, encompass") with the feminine suffix -''t.''<ref>Jeffrey H. Tigay, "On the Meaning of Ṭ(W)ṬPT", ''Journal of Biblical Literature'', Vol. 101, No. 3 (Sep., 1982), pp. 321-331

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3260347</ref>

Interestingly, [[Rabbi Akiva]]<ref>Sanhedrin 4b</ref> argued the word טוֹטֶפֶת ''ṭoṭepheth'' to be a combination of two foreign words: {{lang|mis|Tot}} meant "two" in the [[Coptic language|Coptic]]{{Efn|Variant: Gadpi}} language and {{lang|mis|Fot}} meant "two" in the "Afriki" language,<ref>The [[Targum]] often substitutes the word ''Afriki'' for [[Tarshish]], see [[Books of Kings|Kings I]] 10:22;</ref> hence, {{lang|mis|tot}} and {{lang|mis|fot}} means "two and two", corresponding to the four compartments of the head-tefillin.<ref>[[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 13:16, s.v. ''U'letotafot bein ei'neicha''</ref> This would appear to be an early attempt at etymology. [[Menahem ben Saruq]] explains that the word is derived from the Hebrew {{Transliteration|he|Ve'hateif}} and {{Transliteration|he|Tatifoo}}, both expressions meaning "speech", "for when one sees the tefillin it causes him to remember and speak about the Exodus from Egypt".<ref>[[Rashi]] to [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 13:16, s.v. ''U'letotafot bein ei'neicha''</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Saruq|first=Mĕnaḥem ben|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EV5MAQAAMAAJ&pg=PT3|title=Maḥberet Menaḥem|date=1854|publisher=Ḥoveret Yeshanim|language=he}}</ref>

The first texts to use the word תְּפִלִּין‎ ''tefillin'' are the [[Targum]]im and [[Peshitta]]<ref name="JewishEncyclopedia">[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=290&letter=P Phylacteries], ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' (1906).</ref> and it is also used in subsequent Talmudic literature.<ref name="JewishEncyclopedia" /> תְּפִלִּין‎ ''tefillin'' is the [[Mishnaic Hebrew]] plural of תְּפִלָּה ''tefillah'', used in rabbinic literature to individuate a single phylactary. Jastrow connects תְּפִלִּין‎ ''tefillin'' with Syriac תפלתא "attachment, hangings", in which case ''tefillin'' would represent the Aramaic equivalent of טוֹטֶפֶת ''ṭoṭepheth.'' Its resemblance to Hebrew {{Transliteration|he|[[tefillah]]}} "prayer" is wholly coincidental.

The English word "[[wikt:phylactery|phylactery]]" ("phylacteries" in the plural) derives from [[Ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc-x-biblical|φυλακτήριον}} {{Transliteration|grc|phylaktērion}} ({{lang|grc-x-biblical|φυλακτήρια}} {{Transliteration|grc|phylaktēria}} in the plural), meaning "guarded post, safeguard, security", and in later Greek, "amulet" or "charm".<ref name="The Cambridge Bible for schools and colleges">{{cite book|title=The Cambridge Bible for schools and colleges|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rs4LAQAAIAAJ|access-date=30 June 2011|year=1908|publisher=University press|page=175}}</ref><ref>{{LSJ|fulakth/rion|φυλακτήριον|shortref}}.</ref> The word "phylactery" occurs once (in <small>[[Accusative case|ACC]] [[Plural|PL]]</small>) in the Greek [[New Testament]],<ref>[[Woes of the Pharisees]], {{bibleverse||Matthew|23:5|131}}</ref> whence it has passed into the languages of Europe.<ref name="JewishEncyclopedia"/> But neither [[Aquila of Sinope|Aquila]] nor [[Symmachus the Ebionite|Symmachus]] uses "phylacteries" in their translations.<ref name="JewishEncyclopedia"/>