The word "Mezuzah" was originally used as a reference to the doorpost.
The earliest Mezuzah was a parchment scroll containing a short quotation from the Old Testament, (Deut 6:4-9) popularly referred to as the "Shema"  by virtue of the opening words, "Shema Yisrael". Painstakingly written by a scribe, originally the text was simply placed in a cavity chiseled into the door frame. Today, the name Mezuzah most often refers to the scroll now placed within a case of some kind that is attached to the doorframe at the entrance to a Jewish home...
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