φυλακτήριον

Forms

φῠλᾰκτήρῐον (phulaktḗrion) n (genitive φῠλᾰκτηρῐ́ου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek φυλάσσω (phulássō, “to guard”) + -τήριον (-tḗrion), a noun of place and means.^[1][2] BDAG relates it also to φύλαξ (phúlax, “guard”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Herodotus and Thucydides are the first to use it, for a guarded post or fort; in Thucydides it is an outpost linked to fortifications.^[3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Xenophon also uses it of outposts, and Aristotle has the plural for guardrooms.^[3] From the guarded place the word passed to what guards: Plato and Demosthenes use it for a safeguard against exploitation or danger,^[3][4] and Plutarch for the goodwill of the people as the bulwark of a ruler and for a capsule of poison carried as insurance against capture.^[4]

It also meant an amulet, in Dioscorides, Plutarch and the magical papyri;^[3] the Rosetta decree of the 2nd century BC calls golden emblems of the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt by this name.^[3]

In the New Testament it occurs once, in Matthew 23:5, for the phylacteries of the Jews: small leather cases with passages of the Law, worn on the forehead and the arm during prayer.^[4][2][3] BDAG explains that the word stands for Aramaic tefillin, that the custom rests on instructions in Exodus and Deuteronomy, and that some regarded the cases as amulets against demons.^[2]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of a guarded post or fort.^[3][4][6]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides uses it of outposts.^[3][5][6]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of a safeguard.^[3][4][6]
• 4th century BC – Demosthenes uses it of a protection against danger.^[3][4][6]
• 2nd century BC – The Rosetta decree uses it of golden emblems of the two kingdoms of Egypt.^[3]
• 1st century AD – Dioscorides uses it of an amulet.^[3][6]
• 1st century AD – The Gospel of Matthew uses it of the Jewish prayer cases.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A guarded post, fort, outpost; in the plural, guardrooms.^[3][4]
2. A safeguard, security; a bulwark.^[3][4]
3. An amulet.^[3][2]
4. (New Testament, plural) Phylacteries, the Jewish prayer cases containing passages of the Law.^[4][2][3]

Related words

• φυλάσσω (phulássō)
• φύλαξ (phúlax)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge