One can find a myriad of information regarding the Star of David on the website with some people making bold assertions that it is an occult symbol. Much is based upon the false claim that it originates from the “Seal of Solomon” or some other pagan source rather than viewing it as a counterfeit of the original Star of David that the army of King David had emblazoned upon their shields. The difference between the two is that the occult hexagram is encircled whereas the Magen David is not. Throughout the ages, Satan has attempted to counterfeit everything created by God.
Sadly, many who suggest that the Star of David is evil and occult distort things further to claim that this makes the Jews an evil people and Israel an evil nation. Contrary to this, as one scholar has pointed out: “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….” (Andrew Gabriel Roth) When we analyse the facts and information from a biblical perspective through a Hebrew lens rather than a Greek linear lens things become very clear.
The exact origins of the symbol’s relation to Jewish identity are unknown, but what we do know is that the Star of David comprises two of the three letters in the name David. Its Hebrew spelling, (Dalet, Vav, Dalet ) contains only three characters, two of which carry a “D” sound. In the ancient Paleo-Hebrew (pre-586BC) where the alphabet was conveyed as a pictogram, this letter resembled a triangle, similar to the Greek letter Delta.
For the Jewish people, the six points of the Star of David symbolise God’s rule over the universe in all six directions: north, south, east, west, up and down. This point is reinforced in some of the biblical feasts such as Tabernacles (Sukkot).
“Revelation 22:16 I, Yeshua, 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.” According to Andrew Gabriel Roth, the above verse in the NT is the oldest source that harmonise the two ideas. As he says, “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?” And later… “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.”
He continues: (In Numbers 24: 17 we read) – “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.”
He concludes by saying, “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.”
Raphael ben Levi
