9. it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, &c.--There
is no reason to believe that the Oriental tattooing--the custom of
staining the hands with the powder of Hennah, as Eastern females now
do--is here referred to. Nor is it probable that either this practice
or the phylacteries of the Pharisees--parchment scrolls, which were
worn on their wrists and foreheads--had so early an existence. The
words are to be considered only as a figurative mode of expression.
that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth, &c.--that is, that it
may be the subject of frequent conversation and familiar knowledge
among the people.
JFB.
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