History of the Magen David
Early History
The Magen David has been associated with Judaism for centuries, but we still don't know today where and why it started to be used as a Jewish symbol.
There is a synagogue in Galilee with a stone that has on it, the Magen David. This stone dates back to the 3rd century CE. However, historians have judged that it was used for decoration instead of as a symbol of Judaism.
The Leningrad Codex (1008 CE edition), the oldest complete version of the Hebrew Bible (Note: the Hebrew Bible is sometime referred to as the Tanakh) in current existence, bears the Magen David on its front cover. The term Magen David was used during this time as a name for the God of Israel, or more simply referred to as God. Magen David directly translates to the Shield of David in Hebrew and therefore during this time God was often compared to a shield, representing God's divine protection of King David.
There is a synagogue in Galilee with a stone that has on it, the Magen David. This stone dates back to the 3rd century CE. However, historians have judged that it was used for decoration instead of as a symbol of Judaism.
The Leningrad Codex (1008 CE edition), the oldest complete version of the Hebrew Bible (Note: the Hebrew Bible is sometime referred to as the Tanakh) in current existence, bears the Magen David on its front cover. The term Magen David was used during this time as a name for the God of Israel, or more simply referred to as God. Magen David directly translates to the Shield of David in Hebrew and therefore during this time God was often compared to a shield, representing God's divine protection of King David.
Image of the Leningrad Codex from 1008
Source: https://www.jewishgiftplace.com/Jewish-Star-of-David.html
Coins from the 13th century CE use the Magen David as their dominant symbol.
In modern day Spain, the Magen David was used on a Tanakh manuscript from 1307.
A 1521 Siddur from Prague bears the Magen David on its cover. There is also a phrase on the star that translates to "...He will merit to bestow a bountiful gift on anyone who grasps the Shield of David."
The Magen David has also been used on Jewish synagoge since the 17th century CE, like the one below.
In modern day Spain, the Magen David was used on a Tanakh manuscript from 1307.
A 1521 Siddur from Prague bears the Magen David on its cover. There is also a phrase on the star that translates to "...He will merit to bestow a bountiful gift on anyone who grasps the Shield of David."
The Magen David has also been used on Jewish synagoge since the 17th century CE, like the one below.
Source: https://www.jewishgiftplace.com/Jewish-Star-of-David.html
Modern History
The Magen David only became an official symbol of Judaism in 1897, when the Magen David was chosen to be used the flag to be used for the First Zionist Congress. From then onward it became one of the dominant symbols of Judaism, by Jewish people, Jewish communities and the Zionist movement.
David Wolffsohn designed the flag used at the First Zionist Congress. The flag latter became the national flag of the State of Israel, which was created in 1948 following the aftermath of World War 2.
David wrote about the flag, and its beginnings;
David Wolffsohn designed the flag used at the First Zionist Congress. The flag latter became the national flag of the State of Israel, which was created in 1948 following the aftermath of World War 2.
David wrote about the flag, and its beginnings;
"At the behest of our leader Herzl, I came to Basle to make preparations for the Zionist Congress. Among many other problems that occupied me then was one that contained something of the essence of the Jewish problem. What flag would we hang in the Congress Hall? Then an idea struck me. We have a flag—and it is blue and white. The talith (prayer shawl) with which we wrap ourselves when we pray: that is our symbol. Let us take this Talith from its bag and unroll it before the eyes of Israel and the eyes of all nations. So I ordered a blue and white flag with the Shield of David painted upon it. That is how the national flag, that flew over Congress Hall, came into being." - David Wolffsohn
Above Image: The First Zionist Congress, note the flag bearing the Star of David in the background.
Source: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/94102/120-years-ago-ten-christians-fulfilled-zechariah-823-herzls-first-zionist-congress/
Source: https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/94102/120-years-ago-ten-christians-fulfilled-zechariah-823-herzls-first-zionist-congress/
Nazis and the Magen David
Prior to Hitler's rise to power roughly half a million Jews (by religious definition) lived in Germany (Note: this is from Germany in 1933, which differs to that of the current day Federal Republic of Germany).
For the first six years, the Nazi regime disenfranchised and marginalised the Jewish people and enacted discriminatory legislation. Expelling Jewish people from working full-time, learning a profession, or running a business. Along with this and the Anti-Jewish sentiment from the Nazi regime 300,000 Jewish people left Germany to seek a better life. By 1939 only 16% of Jewish people left in Germany had stable employment.
After the outbreak of World War 2 conditions for Jewish people became worse, mass exterminations and deportations. The Holocaust directly killed about 180,000 Jewish people, and in May 1943 the Nazi regime officially reported that Germany was 'free of Jews' with roughly only 20,000 Jewish people left in the country.
From September 1941 until the end of the war Jewish people were forced to wear a Yellow Star of David, with the word 'Jude' (German for Jew) on their clothing. This was so people and police/army personnel could identify the Jewish people so to carry out the discriminatory legislation and mass deportations. Jewish people who were seen not wearing the star would be punished severely, most instances of which resulted in death.
For the first six years, the Nazi regime disenfranchised and marginalised the Jewish people and enacted discriminatory legislation. Expelling Jewish people from working full-time, learning a profession, or running a business. Along with this and the Anti-Jewish sentiment from the Nazi regime 300,000 Jewish people left Germany to seek a better life. By 1939 only 16% of Jewish people left in Germany had stable employment.
After the outbreak of World War 2 conditions for Jewish people became worse, mass exterminations and deportations. The Holocaust directly killed about 180,000 Jewish people, and in May 1943 the Nazi regime officially reported that Germany was 'free of Jews' with roughly only 20,000 Jewish people left in the country.
From September 1941 until the end of the war Jewish people were forced to wear a Yellow Star of David, with the word 'Jude' (German for Jew) on their clothing. This was so people and police/army personnel could identify the Jewish people so to carry out the discriminatory legislation and mass deportations. Jewish people who were seen not wearing the star would be punished severely, most instances of which resulted in death.
The yellow Star of David, in colour and up-close.
Source: https://www.jewishgiftplace.com/Jewish-Star-of-David.html |
A Jewish couple wearing the yellow star poses on a street in Salonika in 1942 or 1943. (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Flora Carasso Mihael)
Source: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/star-of-david-hot-topic/ |