sb. pl. [Rabb. Heb. t’phillīm, Aramaic t’phillīn, heteroclite pl. of t’phillāk prayer.] A name for Jewish phylacteries, or (quot. 1863) for the texts inscribed on them: see PHYLACTERY 1.
1613. Purchas, Pilgrimage, II. xv. 162. This peece of worke they call Tephillim, to put them in mind of often prayer.
1842. Bonar & M’Cheyne, Miss. to Jews, 1 July (1843), 237. There were about thirty in the synagogue, all wearing the Tallith or shawl with fringes, and the Tephillin or phylacteries, because this was the hour of morning prayer.
1863. Smith’s Dict. Bible, III. 1167/2. (Scribes) Repeating their Tephillim, the texts inscribed on their phylacteries.
