The Star of David

Synagogue wall in Capernaum

Recently some friends told us that they had “found out” that the Magen David, the Star of David was originally a cult or pagan symbol. This post is for them.

The Magen David (shield of David, or as it is more commonly known, the Star of David) is a universally recognized symbol of Judaism today, but it is actually thought to be a relatively new Jewish symbol.

Here are some meanings and origins:

1. It is the shape of King David's shield. Its association with King David comes mostly from Jewish legend. For instance, there is a midrash which says that when David was a teen he fought the enemy King Nimrod. David's shield was composed of two interlocking triangles attached to the back of a round shield and at one point the battle became so intense that that the two triangles were fused together. David won the battle and the two triangles were henceforth known as the Shield of David.

2. It is a picture of David’s name. If you look at the ancient Hebrew which was the Paleo-Hebrew you can then see what the Shield of David really means. David's name in Hebrew is spelled Dalet-Vav-Dalet. Take the Vav out and then you got 2 Dalet's. Now in the Paleo-Hebrew the Dalet is a triangle so basicly the Shield of David is a Dalet intertwined with a Dalet which makes of David's name in Hebrew.

3. It represents God’s sovereignty. The middle letter "Vav" means six - The six pointed star. The six-points symbolize that God rules over the universe and protects us from all six directions: North, South, East, West, Up and Down. King David used this symbol in the battlefield on his shield as a symbol of God’s sovereignty.

4. It is (David’s) a nickname for God. In the Babylonian Talmud the Star of David is used as a nickname of God: "Bless you (Baruch Ata) the Star of David." (see Psalms 3:3, 28:7, 33:20, 59:11)

5. It’s Gematria: The Gematria (numerical value) of the word "Magen" has the number 93 ("Mem" = 40, "Gimel" = 3 and "Nun" = 50). In Gematria you can add the digits of a number and the sum of those numbers can have significance. So it is in this case. If you take the number 93 and view it as 9 plus 3, it equals 12, like the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The word "David" has the number 14 ("Dalet" = 4, "Vav" = 6 and "Dalet" = 4). If you take the number 14 and view it as 1 plus 4, it equals 5. The five is the number for the fifth letter in Hebrew, which is "Hey," the letter for Adonai (God).

6. It signifies the number seven. According to Judaic sources, the Star or Shield of David with its six points plus the center.

7. It is a Messianic symbol. "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17)] is about King David.

8. God and the Jews: The two overlapping triangles, God reaching down and the Jews reaching up.

9. The Twelve Tribes: There are twelve sides on the star.

Here is some of its chronology:

The Star of David symbol first appeared on a Jewish seal dating from 700 B.C. found in the ancient city of Sidon (a port city in Lebanon).
On a wall of a room, Megiddo 9 BCE
On a seal belonging to Joshua b. Asayahu, Sidon, 7 BCE
On jar handles found by archeologist Sukenik, Israel, 1 BCE
In a synagogue, Capernaum, 3 CE
On a Jewish tombstone, Taranto, 3 CE
On a rock excavated at a synagogue, Eshtamoa, 3 CE
The phrase "Magen David" was first mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud. The great Rabbi Bar-Shila said: The tefillah (prayer) grows a horn of salvation, the Haftarah - Magen David.
The Star of David is pictured in the oldest surviving complete copy of the Masoretic text, the Leningrad Codex, dated 1008.
The earliest known Jewish text to directly mention the symbol is Eshkol Ha-Kofer by the Karaite Judah Hadassi, in the mid-12th century CE.
In the 17th century, it became a popular practice to put Magen Davids on the outside of synagogues, to identify them as Jewish houses of worship in much the same way that a cross identified a Christian house of worship.

The Magen David gained popularity as a symbol of Judaism when it was adopted as the emblem of the Zionist movement in 1897.

Because of its legendary connection with David, ancestor of the Messiah, it was regarded as a messianic symbol by German Jews. On Sabbath Eve they would light a star-shaped brass oil lamp called a Judenstern (Jewish star), emblematic of the idea that Shabbat was a foretaste of the Messianic Age.

Today, the Magen David appears on the flag of the state of Israel, and the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross is known as the Magen David Adom.

Now all of the above is interesting, but I’ve left out the most significant reason that proves this symbol is not occultic or pagan, but prophetical and profound.

A "Messianic Seal" from Jerusalem has been rediscovered after 2,000 years. This ancient symbol was found on Mount Zion.

It is believed to have been created and used by the Jewish believers who called themselves Nazarenes. Three companies -- Olim Creative Products of Tiberias, News About Israel (NAI) of Jerusalem, and Christian Floral Delivery of Colorado -- jointly announced the discovery of this ancient symbol, which has been copyrighted by NAI. It consists of three separate but integrated symbols: a menorah at the top, a Star of David in the middle, and a fish at the bottom. In each of the renditions of the three-part symbol the star is created by interlacing the stand of the menorah with the tail of the fish. The Messianic Seal was found etched or inscribed on eight ancient artifacts. The artifacts were presented to Ludwig Schneider, editor in chief of NAI's magazine Israel Today, in 1990. They came from Tech Otecus, an elderly monk who lived as a hermit in the Old City of Jerusalem. Otecus said that in the 1960's he had personally excavated about 40 artifacts bearing the Messianic Seal from an ancient grotto located in the immediate vicinity of the Upper Room on Mount Zion. What was once the main entrance to the grotto is now covered with a jail-like heavy wire mesh enclosure. Its door, leading down into the ancient mikveh, is tightly secured with a heavy chain and lock. According to Schneider, the last remaining entry to the grotto was sealed shortly after he excitedly told the priests at the local monastery about the discovery of the Messianic Seal. Schneider photographed eight artifacts which were given to him by Otecus, and showed the pictures to the curator of the Israel Museum. "When he had carefully studied my pictures," Schneider recalled, "the curator immediately promised me that these artifacts and their unique symbol were an important find. He told me that the museum already had seen other artifacts bearing the same three-part symbol from some other sources he did not specify."

According to Bob Fischer, president of Olim Creative Products and co-author with local historian and artist Reuven Schmalz of their book, The Messianic Seal of the Jerusalem Church, the ancient three-part symbol has, since 135 AD, been suppressed by various Israeli groups or agencies, such as the Israel Museum and Orthodox rabbis in the Old City of Jerusalem. According to Fischer, at least two of the eight artifacts were obviously ceremonial pieces which may well have been used by James the Just, the brother of Jesus, who is said to be the first bishop of the church, or perhaps even by one or more of the Twelve Apostles.

One of the eight artifacts is a brick-sized block of well-worn local marble. This piece bears an etched version of the Messianic Seal with a Tav (the last letter in the Paleo-Hebrew alefbeit that looks exactly like a sign of the cross) in the eye of the fish symbol, as well as the ancient Aramaic lettering proclaiming the use of this artifact as a stand to hold a vial of anointing oil. The ancient Aramaic is transliterated as, "La Shemen Ruehon" (For the Oil of the Spirit). Another of the eight artifacts is a small, almost intact, vial which could well have sat on top of the marble stand.

Sources:
http://www.starofdavid.co.il/article.php?id=6&title=StarofDavidSecret-TheSecretofYourStarofDavid
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/star.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_David
http://judaism.about.com/od/judaismbasics/a/starofdavid.htm
http://star-of-david.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html
http://www.menorah.org/starofdavid.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_Star_of_David
http://www.ka-gold-jewelry.com/p-articles/star-of-david.php
http://www.threemacs.org/themes/jewish/answers.htm
http://www.flyingchariotministries.com/thestarofdavid.htm