Origin of the Star of David

Every once in awhile, you'll hear someone suggest that the Star of David is an evil, occultic thing which therefore makes the Jews an evil people and Israel an evil nation. We provide the following as food for thought for anyone who wishes to become informed with the TRUTH from a Hebrew, as opposed to a Greek viewpoint:

The exact origins of the symbol's relation to Jewish identity are unknown, but the bottom line is: the Star of David comprises two of the three letters in the name David. In its Hebrew spelling, it contains only three characters, two of which are "D" (or "Dalet", in Hebrew). In ancient times, this letter was written in a form much like a triangle, similar to the Greek letter Delta, with which it shares a sound and the same (4th) position in their respective alphabets, as it does with English. The symbol may have been a simple family crest formed by flipping and juxtaposing the two most prominent letters in the name.

"The Jews" as many allege, never set out to use an occultic symbol to represent their nation. Originally, the Hebrew name Magen David ("Shield of David") poetically referred to God. It acknowledged that the Jewish military hero, King David, did not win by his own might, but by the support of the Almighty. Their intent was never to worship Moloch, Chiun or Remphan, the names for the star god, Saturn, whose symbol is a six pointed star formed by two triangles worshipped by the Chaldeans. This allegation is completely man-made and fabricated and the bottom line is, it's just another attack against the Jewish people....

The long and often difficult history of the Jews shows that their only hope was to place their trust in Yahweh and so, to a Jewish person, the six points of the Star of David symbolize God's rule over the universe in all six directions: north, south, east, west, up and down.

Author Andrew Gabriel Roth provides further explanation:

Revelation 22: 16 I, Y'shua, have sent My messenger to testify to you these things for the assemblies. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.

To my knowledge, this verse in the NT is the oldest possible mention of the Maagen David, or at least the oldest source that might put the two ideas together. If Y'shua is the morning star and the offspring of David, just like with Ya'akov reference in Numbers 24, how much more of a stretch is needed to see how that developed later? I'm baffled by the fact that many "Christians" are so ready to make this whole occult connection. If they view the NT as authoritative, and Y'shua's words presumably moreso, then they have no right to criticize us Jews. In fact, if Y'shua allowed himself to be identified as a Jew, then why wear a cross, the symbol of his execution, in its place? He never said "I am the execution stake, whoever comes to me, will...." The fact is, many people are way too willing to follow the "occultic Star of David" idea, and that worries me, although I realize it's just par for the course. Those who truly know God and the Bible won't bother to entertain any "worldly" thoughts.

Numbers 24: 17 - "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A STAR will come out of Ya'akov; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.

If a star comes out of Ya'akov, is it too much of a stretch to suggest the STAR applies to Ya'akov's descendant, David?

Isaiah 11: 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of YHWH will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of YHWH-- 3 and he will delight in the fear of YHWH.

Revelation 3: 1 - "To the messenger of the assembly in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the SEVEN SPIRITS OF ELOHIM and the SEVEN STARS (can anyone say MENORAH???). I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

Seven spirits--right? Or perhaps this is easier:

Spirit 1) YHWH (Himself in totality/unity), sometimes implied as KETER or ETARAH (crown/will)--see Isaiah 28:5. Spirit 2) Spiritual Wisdom (chokhmah). Spirit 3) Earthly Understanding (binah). Spirit 4) Counsel (et-sah) Spirit 5) Power (gevurah) Spirit 6) Knowledge of YHWH (da'at) Spirit 7). "Fear" (i.e. respect, seeing the need to prostrate before the power) of YHWH (yirah).

How does this relate to the MAGEN David you ask? Simple: It has six points and the seventh is the HOLE in the middle that is the TIFERET, the harmony of YHWH.

One more thing: In Acts 7, Stephen was addressing the council and quoted Amos 5:25-27 - and the star of Rem'phan (or Rephan) was mentioned. What is that, exactly? Well, it's NOT the "Star of David!"

Rephan is another name for Molech or Baal, this time coming more from the Amorite, as opposed to Canaanite or Babylonian versions of this popular false god. Many, as you know, burned their children alive to this deity, earning the outrage of prophets like Amos. Rephan also refers to a celestial body that was called a star but which we now refer to as a planet. On the other hand the word "planet" is from Greek "planete" which is in turn a shortened form of "planes aster"--moving star, so in the ancient minds stars and planets were kind of the same.

Notice also how the rebuke is for worshipping the stars as gods which is also associated with the time Israel was in the wilderness. This was absolutely the worst kind of idolatry imaginable, way worse than the sensuous sins of the Greeks and Romans, and yet Israel participated in it with the nations around her. Any wonder both Amos and Stephen were so angry?

One final thing to chew on: If someone feels the Star of David is pagan, then snowflakes and salt crystals must also be pagan...since the Magen appears naturally in these! In Scripture, on one of the Sheva Minim (The Seven Special Species of Israel -Deut. 8:8) the Magen appears naturally on the bottom of every Pomegranate where the flower is. There were over 200 Pomegranates on the upper design columns of the first Temple, 72 on the Meil (Garment) Hem of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) and one on almost every staff carried by men of the time.