Oldest Jewish Star of David

 Star of David at Mt. Karkom, Israel c. 1200 BCE

Photo by Flickr member Uri Zackhem 

(c)

 2010

Star of David at Mt. Karkom, Israel c. 1200 BCE

Photo by Flickr member Uri Zackhem 

(c)

 2010

A few days ago I sent E-mail to Yair Davidiy, the publisher of Brit-Am newsletter and yesterday I got his answer:

Question and Sources about the Shield of David Question:

Dear Yair,

I read on your website that Professor James R. Harris, mentions in his book THE NAME OF GOD p. 205 a Star of David with YAH written in Hebrew in it from the time of the Judges that was found at Gibeon.

I also read on his web page "The Shield of David represents Yah as the protector of the Twelve Tribes (represented by the twelve points of the star). In addition to the "Shield of David" inscription shown above, we have an enlarged photo of a geoglyph Shield of David on top of one of the Har Karkom platforms".

I understand that these Magen Davids are the oldest Jewish Magen Davids known today. I checked the Internet and almost nobody mentions these finding and their importance.

Why?

Do you have any more info about this?

Answer:

Shalom,

Your blog site http://star-of-david.blogspot.com/ contains some interesting information concerning the Magen David.

You quoted from our article concerning the Magen David

James Trimm is quoted in this article as referring to: "THE NAME OF GOD by James R. Harris p. 205. It dates to the time of the Judges and was found at Gibeon. It is a Mogen David with YAH written in Hebrew in it."

We have not seen this work.

Our support for the Magen David as a symbol is based more on other factors, i.e. it could be seen as a valid short-hand Ancient Hebrew ("Canaanite-Phoenician") letter of writing the name David.

It has become associated with the Jews almost against their will.

There also exists a principle that even something whose origins were pagan is acceptable if the pagans no longer attribute it pagan significance, e.g. if a tree which was once part of a pagan grove and the pagans who worshipped it no longer exist or have changed their religion the tree is no longer considered as attached to idol worship and does not have to be cut down.

You quote from a site describing the Names of God as found in ancient inscriptions. I could not find the author of this site nor discern what (if any) group may be behind it. ALL the information looks reliable though the Karkom Shield of David (near the bottom of the page) looks too explicit and a little too good to be true. Nevertheless chances are that it too is genuine.

As for not being able to find it on the web this does not say much. We sometimes find information that seems to be common knowledge and that we consider to be of great importance assumedly for all concerned to be very difficult to track down not only on the web but even in University libraries. I like academics and even fancy myself sometimes as "almost" one of them but sometimes their presentation to the public of very vital sources can be most disappointing.

Hashomer Hatzair

The emblem of Hashomer Hatzair is very similar to the Star of David found on Sufa ruins, but I'm not sure the members of this youth movement know about it.

 

Picture of the Star of David on the emblem of Hashomer Hatzair   is courtesy of Wikipedia

Christian and or Jewish White Lily

One more proof that Uri Ofir's Theory about the Jewish origin of the Star of David is not famous as it should be is that the WHITE LILY (that was used, according to his theory, as a model for the Star of David shaped candle holder in the Menorah in the Tabernacle right after the Exodus, and which is the symbol of Israel) isn't regarded by the Jewish world as sacred as it is regarded by the Christian world.
That's why Dr. Michelle Zakai of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba is working with her team on speeding up the flowering of the Lilium Candidum, naturally flowering in May, so that it could be sold to Christians before Easter, at the end of March.

Vans Shoes

Picture of Star of David pattern Vans Shoes is courtesy of “malicious maria” who published it on Flickr.
The ADL issued a statement on Monday, May 08, 2006 that they checked out the e-mails-rumor that the makers of the Vans Shoes are anti-Jewish (because the star of David pattern is “stepped upon”) and found out that the rumor was not true; The whole thing started because Vans skateboarding shoes come with a pattern resembling a Star of David on their bottom part.

Jesus' Grave in Shingo Japan

There is a Star of David on a grave in Japan in which according to Japanese local legend, Jesus had been buried.
Jesus, thus tells the legend, came to Japan when he was 21 years old, during the reign of the 11th emperor, Suinin; he studied the Japanese language and stayed for 11 years. Then he returned to Judea and was condemned to death. Jesus succeeded to escape but his brother Isukiri was nailed to the cross and died instead of him. Jesus returned to Japan, married Miyuko, had three daughters, died 106 years old and was buried in Shingo village.
Sajiro Sawaguchi, whose family owns the cemetery, claims to be a direct descendant of Jesus. Sawaguchi's family crest is taken from the Star of David. Ancient kimonos made in the area have a Star of David on them.

Pythagoras

Recently I mentioned that a Star of David can be built inside the tetraktys by connecting the 6 points that surround the central point and by leaving the 3 outer points untouched. Here we have a totally different suggestion: to merge two tetraktyses (ten points arranged in four rows: 1 point in first, 2 in the second etc.) and build from these points two triangles: one that starts from the point at the top and ends in a base made from the four points at the bottom and the other starts from the point at the bottom and ends in a base made from the four points at the top.
These two interpretations strengthen the theory that the Pythagoreans who invented the tetraktys might have influenced this Jewish symbol.

Mixed-Faith Couple

Simon Round from the JC.com brings today an interesting story about a mixed-faith couple, David and Carolin Sommer, who have been married for five years and have two small children. They live in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. In order to avoid the extinction of Judaism in his family David educates his boys to be Jews. On the other hand at Christmas David and Carolin light candles for Chanucah and give presents. They have a turkey and they have a tree with a Star of David on top of it.