The connection between tefillin and amulets calls for investigation, not least because both objects were worn on the body, and are frequently juxtaposed in early rabbinic sources.[10] In the first known use of the Hebrew word tefillah (singular of tefillin) to refer to a physical object, it refers to (silver) amulets.[11] In addition, early Christian sources characterize tefillin as phylakteria, a Greek word for protective amulets. Some of these sources (the Gospel of Matthew 23:5 and Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho 46:5) predate the Mishnah, which contains the first mention of the word tefillin as referring to our ritual. There is also a well-established connection between recited verses and ancient amulets,[12] so that the presence in tefillin of verses recited by Jews as part of the Shema prayer is also suggestive.