Star of David

The Star of David

The Flag of Israel, showing the Magen Dawid

The Star of David (Hebrew:מָגֵן דָּוִד, or Māġēn Dāwīd, pronounced ['mɔ.gen dɔ.vid] in ancient Hebrew, and ['mɑː.gen dɑːvɪd] in Modern Hebrew) is a Jewish symbol. It is named after King David of Israel, which is very famous. The star consists of a triangle, overlapped by another, "upside-down" triangle. It is unknown how this came to be a symbol of Judaism, but was first used in the Middle Ages.

Star Of David Media

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  The Star of David featured in the oldest complete copy of the Masoretic Text, the Leningrad Codex, dated 1008.

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  Star of David at the Oshki Monastery, dated CE 973. The monastery is located in Tao, modern-day Turkey.

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  Page of segulot in a medieval Kabbalistic grimoire (Sefer Raziel HaMalakh, 13th century)

• Historical flag of the Jewish community in Prague

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  Herzl's proposed flag, as sketched in his diaries. Although he drew a Star of David, he did not describe it as such

• Max Bodenheimer's (top left) and Herzl's (top right) 1897 drafts of the Zionist flag, compared to the final version used at the 1897 First Zionist Congress (bottom)

• Yellow badge Star of David called "Judenstern". Part of the exhibition in the Jewish Museum Westphalia, Dorsten, Germany. The wording is the German word for Jew (Jude), written in mock-Hebrew script.

• Flag of Israel. Shows a Magen David (“Shield of David”) between two stripes. The Shield of David is a traditional Jewish symbol. The stripes symbolize a Jewish prayer shawl (tallit).

• Béla Guttmann, footballer for Hakoah Vienna