What king is the Star of David named after?

Answer 1

Answer 1

The Star of David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism. It is named after King David of ancient Israel; and its earliest known communal usage began in the Middle Ages, alongside the more ancient symbol of the menorah. In Hebrew its name is Magen David, meaning Shield of David. That term is a euphemism for God in the Jewish prayer book because God shielded the Biblical David in battle and during his flight from Saul.

Answer 2

In ancient Hebrew, the letters of the alphabet looked much different looking than today. In fact, the letter 'D' (Dalet) closely resembled a triangle. Tradition states that the Star of David was formed by combining the first and last letters of David's name (which in ancient Hebrew were two triangles) . Because the ancient Hebrew letter for 'D' was a triangle, the resulting image of two letter 'D's placed together (with one of them upside down) would be the Star of David. This can be seen as follows:

1. First Ancient Hebrew Letter 'D' in David's Name- an upward-pointing triangle
2. Last Ancient Hebrew Letter 'D' in David's Name- a downward-pointing triangle
3. The Star of David- two ancient Hebrew letters for 'D', which looked almost exactly like triangles, with one of them drawn upside down to signify the last letter.

Numerous online sources concur with this explanation, although no one will ever know for sure. Here is a list of sources:

The Letters of David's Name

Notice that the first and the last letters of the name David is the 4th Hebrew letter 'dalet' and could be described as having the appearance of a triangle...

It is most probable that the Israelites would have chosen to use the Star of David, which is composed of the first and last letters of King David's name. Notice how the symbol might have appeared if the second 'dalet' would be inverted and then combined into one common symbol. Since David had such a great reputation; his mark would certainly have been an effective symbol.

- The Star of David, by Larry Perino, Rivkah Ministries

The "six pointed star" is made up of two inverted superimposed paleo-Hebrew "daleths" (delets), the beginning and ending letter in King David's name.

- The Star of David - Defending the Shield, Flying Chariot Ministries

The combination triangles of the Star of David, (sometimes called the "Shield of David") goes back David himself, the formation of the triangles having been taking from the ancient Hebraic signature of King David. The 3 letters of his name, Daled, Waw, Daled, by extension compose a double triangle. Thus it is representative of Messiah. In the modem Hebrew aleph-bet (alphabet), the 'd' sound is represented by the dalet, which looks like a backward 'r'. In the ancient Hebrew alephbet, the dalet looked like a triangle.

The Star of David (also called the Shield of David) was made up of these two triangular dalets.

- Anoint the Magen David, Tom Campbell, AngelFire

One theory, of the origin of the Star of David, is that it was a family crest of the House of David. The crest was supposedly created by the way the name, David, would have been spelled with Hebrew letters specifically using the letter which is called Dalet. (Hebrew Alphabet).

- Star of David - Creation Star, BreadStixDesigns

Israeli Researcher Uri Ofir mentions a theory which is found in the literature, that King David adopted this form as his emblem because of its special form which fitted his name. In ancient Hebrew (Daatz writing) the letter "d" (dalet) was written in the form of a triangle and in the name David there are two triangles (two characters of d)...

- Phoenician alphabet, by Zeevveez, Star-of-david at Blogspot

Answer 2

King David, second King of Israel after Saul and the one who conquered Jerusalem and established it as the eternal capital of Israel. His family line, the House of David, was also established as the Royal family of both Judea and all of Israel- meaning David's descendants were given the sole right to be King (and rule over the 12 tribes of Israel). According to tradition, the six-pointed star, the hexagram, was chosen by David as his Royal Emblem, and eventually as the Royal Coat of Arms for his family (the House of David), thus resulting in today's name for the symbol- Star of David.

The Book of Ruth is dedicated solely to the story of his great-grandmother Ruth who converted to the Israelite faith and married an Israelite man from the Tribe of Judah. David is mentioned a little over a thousand times in The Bible, more so than literally every other Biblical character. He is considered by both Jews and Christians to have been the greatest King of Ancient Israel. He is believed to be the author of the Book of Psalms. Here is a list of 1023 Biblical references to 'David'-

Old Testament (967)

Ruth (3) 1 Samuel (238) 2 Samuel (235) 1 Kings (74) 2 Kings (18) 1 Chronicles (163) 2 Chronicles (66) Ezra (3) Nehemiah (7) Psalm (86) Proverbs (1) Ecclesiastes (1) Song of Solomon (1) Isaiah (11) Jeremiah (17) Ezekiel (4) Hosea (1) Amos (2) Zechariah (5) (31) Tobit (1) Sirach (8) 1 Maccabees (6) 2 Maccabees (1) 1 Esdras (7) Psalm 151 (1) 2 Esdras (3) 4 Maccabees (4)

New Testament (56)

Matthew (16) Mark (7) Luke (12) John (1) Acts (11) Romans (3) 2 Timothy (1) Hebrews (2) Revelation (3)