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The shield of David is not mentioned in rabbinic literature. Notably, not a single archeological proof exists as yet concerning the use of this symbol in the Holy Land in ancient times, even after King David. A David's shield has recently been noted on a Jewish tombstone at Tarentum, in southern Italy, which may date as early as the third century of the common era. The earliest Jewish literary source which mentions it, the Eshkol ha-Kofer of the Karaite Judah Hadassi (middle of the 12th cent.), says, in ch. 242: "Seven names of angels precede the mezuzah: Michael, Gabriel, etc.... Tetragrammaton protect thee! And likewise the sign called 'David's shield' is placed beside the name of each angel." It was, therefore, at this time a sign on amulets.
In magic papyri of antiquity, pentagrams, together with stars and other signs, are frequently found on amulets bearing the Jewish names of God, and used to guard against fever and other diseases. Curiously enough, only the pentacle appears, not the hexagram. In the great magic papyrus at Paris and London there are twenty-two signs side by side, and a circle with twelve signs, but neither a pentacle nor a hexagram. The syncretism of Hellenistic, Jewish, and Coptic influences probably did not, therefore, originate the symbol. It is possible that it was the Kabbalah that derived the symbol from the Templars. Kabbalah makes use of this sign, arranging the Ten Sephiroth, or spheres, in it, and placing it on amulets.
In the synagogues, perhaps, it took the place of the mezuzah, and the name "shield of David" may have been given it in virtue of its presumed protective powers. The hexagram may have been employed originally also as an architectural ornament on synagogues, as it is, for example, on the cathedrals of Brandenburg and Stendal, and on the Marktkirche at Hanover. A pentacle in this form is found on the ancient synagogue at Tell Hum. Charles IV. prescribed for the Jews of Prague, in 1354, a red flag with both David's shield and Solomon's seal, while the red flag with which the Jews met King Matthias of Hungary in the fifteenth century showed two pentacles with two golden stars (Schwandtner, "Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum," ii. 148). The pentacle, therefore, may also have been used among the Jews. It occurs in a manuscript as early as the year 1073 (facsimile in M. Friedmann, "Seder Eliyahu Rabbah ve-Seder Eliyahu Ztṭa," Vienna, 1901).
Jewish lore links the symbol to the " Seal of SolomonIn Medieval Jewish, Islamic and Christian legends, the Seal of Solomon was a magical signet ring said to have been possessed by King Solomon (or Sulayman in the Islamic version), which variously gave him the power to command demons (or jinni), or to speak", the magical signet ring used by King Solomon to control demons and spirits. Jewish lore also links the symbol to a magic shield owned by King David that protected him from enemies. Following Jewish emancipation after the French revolution, Jewish communities chose the Star of David to represent themselves, comparable to the cross used by most ChristianChristian is: a follower of the faith of Christianity a popular first name and surname, especially in Northern Europe According to the New Testament, those who followed Jesus as his disciples were first called Christians by those who did not share their fs. The star is found on the flag of Israel.
The shape of the star is an example of the hexagramA hexagram is any of the sixty-four sets of solid and broken lines used in the Chinese classic text I Ching''. Each of these consists of two trigrams, and may be referred to either by its own name and number or as one trigram over another. A hexagram (als, a symbol which has significance for other belief systems. The hexagram pre-dates its use by Jews. Its most prevalent usage outside of Judaism was and is the occultFor other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). The word occult comes from Latin occultus (hidden), referring to the knowledge of the secret' or 'knowledge of the hidden' and often meaning 'knowledge of the supernatural', as opposed to 'knowledg.
Some Orthodox JewishOrthodox Judaism is one of the three major Jewish denominations. Orthodoxy can roughly be classified into Modern Orthodox Judaism and Haredi Judaism ( Hasidic Judaism is a subgroup within Haredi Judaism). It is characterized by: Strict adherence to Halakh groups reject the use of the hexagram because of its association with "magic" and the "occult". Yet the Star of David remains an important symbol within legitimate Jewish mysticism and the KabbalaKabbala may refer to; Kabbala Village, in the Karnataka State of India Kabbalah, is a religious philosophical system claiming an insight into divine nature.. Some Haredi groups, such as Neturei Karta, reject it because of its association with Zionism. Many Modern Orthodox synagogues, and many synagogues of other Jewish movements, have the Israeli flag with the Star of David prominently displayed at the front of the synagogues near the Ark containing the Torah scrolls. The Star of David can also be found on the tombstones of religious Jews going back hundreds of years in Europe as it is became accepted as the universal symbol of the Jewish people.
Some researchers have theorized that the Star of David represents the astrological chart at the time of David's birth or anointing as king. The Star of David is also known as the "King's Star" in astrological circles, and was undoubtedly an important astrological symbol in Zoroastrianism.