The Shield of David, or Magen David in Hebrew, is a six-pointed star formed by two equilateral triangles with the same center and facing opposite each other, forming a hexagon inside. This figure has been used as an ornament and also as an amulet since the Bronze Age, in places as far away as Mesopotamia, Great Britain, and India. Its use was very common in the Middle East and North Africa. It occasionally appears in Jewish designs, such as a stone relief in the synagogue of Capernaum, dating from the 4th century CE, but it was only an ornamental element. At that time, the closest thing to a symbol representing Judaism was the Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum.

Among the most common talismans people wore were the 5-pointed star and the 6-pointed star. For a long time, both were known by a single name: «Solomon’s Seal» (Jotham Shlomo). But in the 13th century, a legend became popular according to which King David wielded a shield engraved with the «Great Name» (a combination of sacred names that protected him from his enemies). The Great Name on the Shield of David gradually replaced the Seal of Solomon, but in such a way that the stylized lines of its text followed the design of the 6-pointed star. The 5-pointed star continued to be called «Solomon’s Seal,» and the 6-pointed star «Magen David,» the Shield of David.

In 1354, the Jewish community of Prague, with the permission of Emperor Charles IV, was the first to include the Magen David on its official flag. That flag flies to this day at the Altneuschul, Prague’s oldest synagogue. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Jewish communities in Bohemia, Moravia, Austria, and southern Germany used the Star of David as their seal. The symbol appears on tombstones and synagogues, in the same sense that the Church used the cross. At the beginning of the 19th century, its use spread from Central Europe to Poland and Russia.

In the Middle Ages, Jews were required to wear an identifying badge, but the closest thing to the six-pointed star was an asterisk-shaped insignia. In the 19th century, the Star of David was adopted as its symbol by the Zionist movement at its 1897 congress, giving it a presence throughout the Jewish world. In the 20th century, unfortunately, the Star of David became even more entrenched as a symbol of Judaism when the Germans used it as an identifying badge, forcing them to wear the yellow star on their clothing. After the Holocaust, the Star of David became part of the flag of the nascent State of Israel.

The Star of David is the symbol most associated with Judaism today, although, like its symbol, it is relatively new. It supposedly represents the shape of David’s shield, but there is no evidence to prove this. Furthermore, the Star of David is not mentioned at all in the Bible or the Talmud. It is very rare to find it in an illustrated book from ancient times. Scholars have tried to find some religious significance in it, but in reality, it has none.

The Star of David as a design is very old, but, like the quintessential symbol of Judaism, it is relatively recent.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Encyclopaedia Judaica and other sources.