Revelation 7:3

7:3 “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put a seal on the foreheads of the servants ¹  of our God.”

Exodus 13:9

13:9 ²  It ³  will be a sign ⁴  for you on your hand and a memorial ⁵  on your forehead, ⁶  so that the law of the Lord may be ⁷  in your mouth, ⁸  for ⁹  with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 6:8

6:8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm ¹⁰  and fasten them as symbols ¹¹  on your forehead.

Deuteronomy 11:18

11:18 Fix these words of mine into your mind and being, ¹²  and tie them as a reminder on your hands and let them be symbols ¹³  on your forehead.

Ezekiel 9:4

9:4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem ¹⁴  and put a mark ¹⁵  on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”

Ezekiel 9:2

9:2 Next, I noticed ¹⁶  six men ¹⁷  coming from the direction of the upper gate ¹⁸  which faces north, each with his war club in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing kit ¹⁹  at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.

Ezekiel 3:8

3:8 “I have made your face adamant ²⁰  to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads.

[7:3]  ¹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[13:9]  ² sn This passage has, of course, been taken literally by many devout Jews, and portions of the text have been encased in phylacteries and bound on the arm and forehead. B. Jacob (Exodus, 368), weighing the pros and cons of the literal or the figurative meaning, says that those who took it literally should not be looked down on for their symbolic work. In many cases, he continues, it is the spirit that kills and the letter makes alive – because people who argue against a literal usage do so to excuse lack of action. This is a rather interesting twist in the discussion. The point of the teaching was obviously meant to keep the Law of Yahweh in the minds of the people, to remind them of their duties.

[13:9]  ³ tn That is, this ceremony.

[13:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “for a sign.”

[13:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “for a memorial.”

[13:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “between your eyes” (KJV and ASV both similar); the same expression occurs in v. 16.

[13:9]  ⁷ tn The purpose of using this ceremony as a sign and a memorial is that the Law might be in their mouth. The imperfect tense, then, receives the classification of final imperfect in the purpose clause.

[13:9]  ⁸ sn “Mouth” is a metonymy of cause; the point is that they should be ever talking about the Law as their guide as they go about their duties (see Deut 6:7; 11:19; Josh 1:8).

[13:9]  ⁹ tn This causal clause gives the reason for what has just been instructed. Because Yahweh delivered them from bondage, he has the strongest claims on their life.

[6:8]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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).

[11:18]  ¹² tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.

[11:18]  ¹³ tn On the Hebrew term טוֹטָפֹת (totafot, “reminders”), cf. Deut 6:4-9.

[9:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem.”

[9:4]  ¹⁵ tn The word translated “mark” is in Hebrew the letter ת (tav). Outside this context the only other occurrence of the word is in Job 31:35. In ancient Hebrew script this letter was written like the letter X.

[9:2]  ¹⁶ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[9:2]  ¹⁷ sn The six men plus the scribe would equal seven, which was believed by the Babylonians to be the number of planetary deities.

[9:2]  ¹⁸ sn The upper gate was built by Jotham (2 Kgs 15:35).

[9:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “a scribe’s inkhorn.” The Hebrew term occurs in the OT only in Ezek 9 and is believed to be an Egyptian loanword.

[3:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “strong, resolute.”