Exo 13:15 | KD | STEP | לשׁלּחנוּ הקשׁה: “he made hard” (sc., his heart, cf. ) “to let us go.” The sanctification of the first-born is enforced in in the same terms as the keeping of the feast of Mazzoth in , with this exception, that instead of לזכרון we have לטוטפת, as in , and Deu 11:18. The word טוטפת signifies neither amulet nor στίγματα, but “binding” or headbands, as is evident from the Chaldee טוטפא armlet ( ), טוטפתּא tiara ( ; , ). This command was interpreted literally by the Talmudists, and the use of tephillim , phylacteries ( ), founded upon it; the Caraites, on the contrary, interpreted it figuratively, as a proverbial expression for constant reflection upon, and fulfilment of, the divine commands. The correctness of the latter is obvious from the words themselves, which do not say that the commands are to be written upon scrolls, but only that they are to be to the Israelites for signs upon the hand, and for bands between the eyes, i.e., they are to be kept in view like memorials upon the forehead and the hand. The expression in , “Thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes,” does not point at all to the symbolizing of the divine commands by an outward sign to be worn upon the hand, or to bands with passages of the law inscribed upon them, to be worn on the forehead between the eyes; nor does the “advance in from heart to word, and from word to hand or act,” necessarily lead to the peculiar notion of Schultz , that “the sleeve and turban were to be used as reminders of the divine commands, the former by being fastened to the hand in a peculiar way, the latter by an end being brought down upon the forehead.” The line of thought referred to merely expresses the idea, that the Israelites were not only to retain the commands of God in their hearts, and to confess them with the mouth, but to fulfil them with the hand, or in act and deed, and thus to show themselves in their whole bearing as the guardians and observers of the law. As the hand is the medium of action, and carrying in the hand represents handling, so the space between the eyes, or the forehead, is that part of the body which is generally visible, and what is worn there is worn to be seen. This figurative interpretation is confirmed and placed beyond doubt by such parallel passages as , “Bind them (the commandments) about thy neck; write them upon the tables of thine heart” (cf. , , ; ; ).

‏ Exodus 13:15

Exo 13:15-16 לשׁלּחנוּ הקשׁה: “he made hard” (sc., his heart, cf. Exo 7:3) “to let us go.” The sanctification of the first-born is enforced in Exo 13:16 in the same terms as the keeping of the feast of Mazzoth in Exo 13:9, with this exception, that instead of לזכרון we have לטוטפת, as in Deu 6:8, and Deu 11:18. The word טוטפת signifies neither amulet nor στίγματα, but “binding” or headbands, as is evident from the Chaldee טוטפא armlet (2Sa 1:10), טוטפתּא tiara (Est 8:15; Eze 24:17, Eze 24:23). This command was interpreted literally by the Talmudists, and the use of tephillim, phylacteries (Mat 23:5), founded upon it; ^{▼▼Possibly these scrolls were originally nothing more than a literal compliance with the figurative expression, or a change of the figure into a symbol, so that the custom did not arise from a pure misunderstanding; though at a later period the symbolical character gave place more and more to the casual misinterpretation. On the phylacteries generally, see my Archäologie and Herzog’s Cycl.} the Caraites, on the contrary, interpreted it figuratively, as a proverbial expression for constant reflection upon, and fulfilment of, the divine commands. The correctness of the latter is obvious from the words themselves, which do not say that the commands are to be written upon scrolls, but only that they are to be to the Israelites for signs upon the hand, and for bands between the eyes, i.e., they are to be kept in view like memorials upon the forehead and the hand. The expression in Deu 6:8, “Thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes,” does not point at all to the symbolizing of the divine commands by an outward sign to be worn upon the hand, or to bands with passages of the law inscribed upon them, to be worn on the forehead between the eyes; nor does the “advance in Deu 6:8 from heart to word, and from word to hand or act,” necessarily lead to the peculiar notion of Schultz, that “the sleeve and turban were to be used as reminders of the divine commands, the former by being fastened to the hand in a peculiar way, the latter by an end being brought down upon the forehead.” The line of thought referred to merely expresses the idea, that the Israelites were not only to retain the commands of God in their hearts, and to confess them with the mouth, but to fulfil them with the hand, or in act and deed, and thus to show themselves in their whole bearing as the guardians and observers of the law. As the hand is the medium of action, and carrying in the hand represents handling, so the space between the eyes, or the forehead, is that part of the body which is generally visible, and what is worn there is worn to be seen. This figurative interpretation is confirmed and placed beyond doubt by such parallel passages as Pro 3:3, “Bind them (the commandments) about thy neck; write them upon the tables of thine heart” (cf. Pro 3:21, Pro 3:22, Exo 4:21; Exo 6:21-22; Exo 7:3).