The Star of David Pendant

When one thinks of Israel or today’s modern Jewish community across the globe, the famous “Star of David” symbol comes to mind as a solid representative of this ancient culture. What my surprise some is the origins of the name, “Star of David”. The name “David” is reference to King David who was King of the ancient Kingdom of Israel at around 1000 B.C. According the Jewish Encyclopedia, the earliest writings referencing the symbol date back only as far as the twelfth century A.D. So what connection does the King David of the Bible really have to the world-recognized symbol of Jewish culture? In most areas of Judiasm, the name “Star of David” was regarded as strict symbolism until the pentagram came to represent the general Jewish faith in the 17th century A.D.

In Hebrew the name translates to “Shield of David” referring firstly to the shield of God over the Jewish people and secondly to the mighty shield of David during his reign. Up to the 11th century, this name was used completely independent of the symbol. The hexagram itself has been noted in use by Kabbalists in Italy as far back as the 3rd century B.C. but wasn’t called the “Star of David” until the 1920s when Rabbi Isaac Luria looked at the sedar plate used for the Jewish holiday of Passover, and saw in its shape the already well know hexagram.

Over time the triangle-on-triangle design became closer to Jews through the use of flags and other symbols. During the 17th century, Italians used the “Star of David” to clearly separate the Jewish quarter of Vienna, and then it was of course used for the same purpose by the Nazis. The “Shield of David” has become a permanent symbol of today’s Jews, and a classic piece of Jewish Jewelry.