What is the origin of the Star of David and what does it represent?

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No records are known that allow us to specify the place and date of appearance of the hexagram – as the mystics call the six-pointed star.

It is known that it was already known in India around 4000 BC Despite being more popular as a symbol of Judaism, it was never, therefore, exclusively used by that religion – and can also be seen in Muslim art and in the decoration of many Christian cathedrals of the Middle Ages.

Symbology

“The hexagram has always been, for various peoples, a symbol of protection, representing the union of Heaven and Earth”, says philosopher Mário Sérgio Cortella, from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP).

The name Star of David comes from the Hebrew Magen Davi, literally «Shield of David». According to Jewish tradition, the soldiers of King David – one of the main characters of the Old Testament – ​​carried the hexagram on their shield to attract divine protection.

Already in the 17th century, the Star of David was consecrated as an official symbol of the Jewish community in Prague, in the current Czech Republic. Two centuries later, it also came to represent Judaism in the same way that the cross symbolizes Christianity. Therefore, the star appears not only in synagogues and tombs, but in the center of the flag of Israel.

The symbol also marked a tragic episode of the 20th century: German Nazism, which forced Jews to wear a band with a yellow Star of David on their arm, in order to be recognized by Hitler’s soldiers.