In the general, was a name given by the ancients to all kinds of charms, spells, or characters, which they wore about them, as amulets, to preserve them from dangers or diseases. Phylactery particularly denoted a slip of parchment, wherein was written some text of holy Scripture, particularly of the decalogue, which the more devout people among the Jews wore at the forehead, the breast, or the neck, as a mark of their religion. The primitive christians also gave the name Phylacteries to the cases wherein they enclosed the relics of their dead. Phylacteries are often mentioned in the New Testament, and appear to have been very common among the Pharisees in our Lord's time.
Despite a stated reliance on the plain meaning of the Bible and the dictates of common sense, Buck's Theological Dictionary, first published in London in 1802, seeks to provide a textual basis for the evangelical community. By combining brief essays on orthodox belief and practice with historical entries on various denominations, Buck provided an interpretive lens that allowed antebellum Protestants to see Christianity's almost two millennia as their own history.Wikipedia
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