Deuteronomy 6:8

6:8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm ¹  and fasten them as symbols ²  on your forehead.

Proverbs 3:3

3:3 Do not let truth and mercy ³  leave you;

bind them around your neck,

write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁴ 

Proverbs 6:21-23

6:21 Bind them ⁵  on your heart continually;

fasten them around your neck.

6:22 When you walk about, ⁶  they ⁷  will guide you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

when you wake up, ⁸  they will talk ⁹  to you.

6:23 For the commandments ¹⁰  are like ¹¹  a lamp, ¹² 

instruction is like a light,

and rebukes of discipline are like ¹³  the road leading to life, ¹⁴ 

[6:8]  ¹ sn Tie them as a sign on your forearm. Later Jewish tradition referred to the little leather containers tied to the forearms and foreheads as tefillin. They were to contain the following passages from the Torah: Exod 13:1-10, 11-16; Deut 6:5-9; 11:13-21. The purpose was to serve as a “sign” of covenant relationship and obedience.

[6:8]  ² sn Fasten them as symbols on your forehead. These were also known later as tefillin (see previous note) or phylacteries (from the Greek term). These box-like containers, like those on the forearms, held the same scraps of the Torah. It was the hypocritical practice of wearing these without heartfelt sincerity that caused Jesus to speak scathingly about them (cf. Matt 23:5).

[3:3]  ³ tn The two words חֶסֶד וֶאֶמֶת (khesed ve’emet, “mercy and truth”) form a nominal hendiadys, the second word becoming an adjective: “faithful covenant love” or “loyal [covenant] love and faithfulness.”

[3:3]  ⁴ sn This involves two implied comparisons (hypocatastasis). One is a comparison of living out the duties and responsibilities taught with binding a chain around the neck, and the other is a comparison of the inward appropriation of the teachings with writing them on a tablet. So the teachings are not only to become the lifestyle of the disciple but his very nature.

[6:21]  ⁵ sn The figures used here are hypocatastases (implied comparisons). There may also be an allusion to Deut 6 where the people were told to bind the law on their foreheads and arms. The point here is that the disciple will never be without these instructions. See further, P. W. Skehan, Studies in Israelite Poetry and Wisdom (CBQMS), 1-8.

[6:22]  ⁶ tn The verbal form is the Hitpael infinitive construct with a preposition and a suffixed subjective genitive to form a temporal clause. The term הָלַךְ (halakh) in this verbal stem means “to go about; to go to and fro.” The use of these terms in v. 22 also alludes to Deut 6:7.

[6:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “it will guide you.” The verb is singular and the instruction is the subject.

[6:22]  ⁸ tn In both of the preceding cola an infinitive construct was used for the temporal clauses; now the construction uses a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. The verb would then be equivalent to an imperfect tense, but subordinated as a temporal clause here.

[6:22]  ⁹ sn The Hebrew verb means “talk” in the sense of “to muse; to complain; to meditate”; cf. TEV, NLT “advise you.” Instruction bound to the heart will speak to the disciple on awaking.

[6:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the commandment” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[6:23]  ¹¹ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[6:23]  ¹² sn The terms “lamp,” “light,” and “way” are all metaphors. The positive teachings and commandments will illumine or reveal to the disciple the way to life; the disciplinary correctives will provide guidance into fullness of life.

[6:23]  ¹³ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[6:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the way of life” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NLT “the way to life.” The noun “life” is a genitive following the construct “way.” It could be an attributive genitive modifying the kind of way/course of life that instruction provides, but it could also be objective in that the course of life followed would produce and lead to life.