The Star Of David

The origin of the Star of David remains obscure. Any good reason for linking it with the true “Hope of Israel” (The Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour) is equally hard to find. A much more conclusive case could be made in support of “The Cross” which is disliked because of its adoption by “the Churches”.

And yet many brethren and sisters happily wear this emblem of the military nation of Israel. Bro. H. C. Lee (South Adelaide) has sent the following authoritative extracts which reveal the history of the Star of David as a symbol for pagan or political organisations. Some religious people also adopted it as a symbol of their belief in the doctrine of the Trinity.

We are neither pagan, nor Trinitarian, and we profess to “take no part in politics”. Therefore, the Star of David is a totally unsuitable emblem for us and, as we would expect, it is completely lacking any scriptural basis for its acceptance. To wear it — the centre piece of the Israeli flag ­is to provide a target for the P.L.O. or any of Israel’s enemies. If they cause us futile and unnecessary suffering or death, they must be excused on the grounds of mistaken identity. For we who claim to be spiritual Jews will have wrongly labelled ourselves as natural Jews.

The six-pointed star has not been used in Jewish circles alone. It figures equally as an ancient pagan symbol, and Christian communities displayed it in the architecture and ornamentation of their churches and cathedrals. It could be found in the old town hall of Vienna, as a German boundary mark and a Swiss tavern sign.

The symbol’s name itself is of comparatively recent origin, documented for the first time only in the twelfth century. It occurs then in the writings of Judah Hadassi, who mentions seven Shields of David as being associated with the names of angels.

It was inevitable that by its very description people were led — erroneously — to link the Shield of David with King David himself both as a weapon he used and an expression he coined.

Signs Of Zoroaster

It is not beyond the range of possibility that the Shield of David owes its existence to a spiritual battle and was created in the sixth century B.C., during the Babylonian exile, in opposition to the teachings of Zoroaster.

Today only professed by a small minority in India, at that time Zoroastrianism had spread from its source in Persia to become a powerful force which captured the imagination of people far and wide. In its philosophy of dualism, it taught that not one God but two powers ruled the universe. Ethically speaking they were good and evil, whilst cosmologically they were expressed by light and darkness. Each one had its own symbol: separate triangles with the apex pointing upward or down­ward. Man had to choose which power he was to serve.

 

 

 

 

Such teaching was totally inconsistent with the Jewish conception of life and God. It was a threat to the pure monotheistic faith inherited from Abraham which taught that there was one God only, Who was the author of all things. Jewish prophecy raised its voice against the dangerous new doctrine. The Bible contains a telling passage which, unmistakably, was written in direct opposition to Zoroastrian influence. (Isaiah 45; 5-8).

I am the Lord, and there is none else; there is no God beside Me . . .

That they may know from the rising sun, and from the west, that there is none beside Me.

I am the Lord, and there is none else.

I form the light, and create darkness:

I make peace, and create evil:

I the Lord do all these things.

To the forceful voice of prophetic protest was added an even more powerful symbol. It united the two separate Persian signs, representing the forces of light and darkness, into one insoluble unity — the Star of David. Its very shape in the combination of the two triangles denied the belief in two co-existent forces and proclaimed the indivisible unity of God, Who was the creator of light and darkness, good and evil.

 

 

 

 

It is a fascinating interpretation. Yet it accounts for the symbol’s shape alone and not its name. It is here that another theory suggests a remarkable explanation.

Sign Of David

In the memory of the Jewish people there was no greater hero than King David. The people could choose no finer symbol than David’s name, so full of happy memories and glorious anticipation. To fight under his sign, certainly, would mean victory.

Several problems presented themselves. The symbol was addressed not to the Jews, but to their foes who, without difficulty and instantaneously, had to understand its meaning. The space of a shield was limited. Conciseness was essential. How could David’s name be shortened in a way that simul­taneously presented a definite message and a memorable sign?

Each difficulty was overcome in turn. As Hebrew was unknown to the enemy, his own language, Greek, was chosen. David’s name began and ended with the identical letter, the ‘delta’ which consisted of a triangle. Therefore, instead of the king’s full name being used, this was substituted by a com­bination of two deltas, which — to save further space — were not placed next to each other but interlocked. The result was the Shield of David which, embossed on the shields of the fighters, soon was recognised as the Jews’ symbol.

The way in which trinitarians use triangular shapes to represent the trinity is demonstrated by these extracts from an article called “Christian Symbolism”.

Symbol Of The Trinity

Perhaps the most commonly used symbol of the Holy Trinity is an equilateral triangle (see Figure DI) It reminds us that the three Persons are “co­equal”, as stated in the Athanasian Creed. A beautiful variant of the triangle is shown in Figure D9. It is based on Isaiah 6; 3. An ambivalent symbol, used for the Trinity, is the double triangle (see Figure D2). In Christian usage, it is merely an elaboration of Figure D1. In Jewish usage, this symbol is nearly always found in the decoration of modern temples, and is variously called “the Star of David”, “the Shield of David”, and “Solomon’s Seal”. It is used on the Zionist flag in Palestine and elsewhere. According to tradition, David’s shield was of this shape, and Solomon is said to have worked miracles with a hexagram. Nothing is certainly known of its origin as a Jewish symbol, and it was not used as such prior to the third century A.D. No reference is made to it in the Old Testament. There is reason for believing that it had its origin in primitive veneration of the generative principle in nature, the oppositely placed triangles representing male and female. Figure D3 shows the equilateral triangle enclosed within a circle, and Figure 04 is a more elaborate variant of these two symbols in combination, the circle signifying the eternal duration of the Trinity.

Figure D5 is known as the trefoil, which is a familiar emblem of the Trinity in Modern Christian churches. It is really a modification of the three circles of equal size, with the overlapping parts cut out (see Figure D10). In Figure D5 the three lobes are of equal size and sometimes this device is modified, as in Figure D8, by inserting three angles between the three lobes. Figure D6 is called a triquetra and is one of the most beautiful and most satisfying of the symbols of the Holy Trinity. The three equal arcs of the circle denote equality of. the three Persons of the Godhead. The lines run continuously and therefore express their eternal existence. They are interwoven, which expresses their unity.

Editorial Conclusion

Various triangular shapes are claimed by both pagan and religious creeds as symbols of special significance. A distinctive “logo” is a very useful “badge” but it is difficult to design one that fills all desirable needs and has no disadvantages. Recently the A.C.C. has recommended to Australian affiliated ecclesias that the A.L.S. Bible-In-Hand symbol be used on all our advertising and literature as an instantly recognised logo. ‘It is not perfect — for example, it has no identification — but it seems the best in current use and already has world-wide circulation.