Max Grunwald

Following are a few IMPORTANT excerpts about the MEANING and the HISTORY of the Star of David from the entry that rabbi and folklorist Max Grunwald wrote on the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia in 1948 (Vol. 9, pp. 506-507).
Researchers would certainly find here a few leads to follow…

1. According to the teachings of the Rosicrucians, it was known to the ancient Egyptians, Hindus, Chinese and Peruvians…
2. in the Jewish catacombs at the Villa Torlonia, near Rome…
3. in an Arabic amulet of the 9th cent.;
4. in Byzantine magic texts;
5. in medieval books of magic (but as a pentagraph);
6. in German folklore;
7. in the relics of the Templars…
8. as the “Order of the Seal of Solomon” in Abyssinia (from 1874 on);
9. in the old town hall of Vienna;
10. on or in churches at Aquileia, Brandenburg, Stendal, Hannover, Lüneburg and Bad Gastein (the latter is the most recent date)…
11. A Hebrew manuscript of 1564 in the Hamburg Stadtbibliothek, has the symbol accompanied by the words, magen david…
12. according to the Cabalistic view… the representation of the Ten Sefiroth as the mathematical figure of the Tree of Life. Mythologically, it designates the emergence of the microcosm (man) from the macrocosm (the universe), of the Zeir Anpin (immediate aspect of God) from the Aba Veumma (hidden aspect of God); according to this analogy, the Messiah David will arise from the “bosom of Abraham,” the foundation stone of the world…
13. The use of the term “shield” points to an astrological and mythical connection, and is reminiscent of the shield of Melkart (Hercules), with which the latter slew the giant Antaeus. Just as this was preserved in the temple at Gadeira, so the shield of David, according to David Reubeni, was preserved in the synagogue at Bologna…
14. As a Messianic symbol, it represented the zodiacal sign of Pisces (February 21 to March 20), the time of the year in which the Messiah was supposed to appear.