The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David (Hebrew מָגֵן דָּוִד; Biblical Hebrew Māḡēn Dāwīḏ, Tiberian, Modern Hebrew, Ashkenazi Hebrew and Yiddish Mogein Dovid or Mogen Dovid) is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles. The hexagram has been in use as a symbol of Judaism since the 17th century, with precedents in the 14th to 16th centuries in Central Europe, where the Shield of David was partly used in conjunction with the Seal of Solomon (the hexagram) on Jewish flags. Its use probably derives from medieval (11th to 13th century) Jewish protective amulets (segulot).
The term "Shield of David" is also used in the Siddur (Jewish prayer book) as a title of the God of Israel.
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Famous quotes containing the words star of, star and/or david:
“The flame from the angel’s sword in the garden of Eden has been catalysed into the atom bomb; God’s thunderbolt became blunted, so man’s dunderbolt has become the steel star of destruction.”
—Sean O’Casey (1884–1964)
“To love someone is to isolate him from the world, wipe out every trace of him, dispossess him of his shadow, drag him into a murderous future. It is to circle around the other like a dead star and absorb him into a black light.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“Old deeds for old people, and new deeds for new.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)