Paul, who did not author the books of the New Testament in which these genealogies are found, understood the problems they present. Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews , book 17, chap. Josephus, Wars of the Jews , book 5, chap. This is the meaning of fringe in the original New Testament Greek. The same word is used when Jesus upbraids the Pharicees for their self-aggrandizement .
Phylacteries are boxes containing Torah passages.
And you shall bind them for a sign upon your arm, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. The Torah consists of 613 commands, of which the Ten Commandments are only a part. An allusion to the Messiah, who will be a descendant of King David. Rashi ad loc. Ibn Ezra, Abarbanel ad loc.