Defending the star of David

Correcting propaganda regarding the Star of David – From a post on social media

Correcting propaganda regarding the Star of David

1. AMOS 5:26 and ACTS 7:43 are mistranslated, misunderstood and misquoted.

In Amos 5:26 Moloch means king. Read/look at all of the different translations i.e ASV version reads “Yea, ye have borne the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.” Moloch here has nothing to do with the god moloch – it means King. Old Testament (Hebrew) for “Moloch” מֶלֶךְ = meleḵ = king, royal.

See also

–  youtube.com/watch?v=zhgXuI… from 28th minute

and

– biblehub.com/commentaries/a… (copy of relevant sections from these commentaries in attached screenshots)

And the word star in this verse is kō·w·ḵāḇ which when used in other instances in the bible has been referring to a person, not always an actual star – i.e Numbers 24:17 

“I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
    a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
    the skulls of all the people of Sheth”

During the times of the Old Testament most, if not all, religions would talk about gods as stars and stars were gods. Including Yahshua who He himself said was one.  See biblical usage – “of Messiah, brothers, youth, numerous progeny, personification, God’s omniscience” from blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3556/… And Strongs meaning can be “figuratively a prince” kingjamesbibledictionary.com/StrongsNo/H355…

This is also seen in Revelation 22:16 – “I Yahshua have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” Yahshua is a star, and He is man and God. YAHSHUA – the man and God is a star – He is not a triangle/shape or pictogram. This verse in Revelation uses the greek word astér and is the same word Stephen uses in Acts 7:43. Idols were made in the shape of people or animals as figures/statues not shapes. Yes,  they had star engravings which represented the word god or meant god (just like a sceptre drawing represented the word king or meant king) but they did not have star statues/idols they worshipped. It would have been an idol of a person/god. 

Whether the star was a person or an actual star in the heavens seen as a god – the Amos verse clearly was not saying a six pointed star shape, and any suggestion that it was comes from outside of God’s Word and people generally referring to witchcraft texts for their information. And it is purely conjecture that it was Saturn/Moloch and corresponding stars with that god (all cultures in those times drew stars to represent “god” and would differ within cultures too how it was drawn – sometimes 4 or 5 or 6 or 8 points – a star was just a star). And they weren’t worshiping an actual star symbol as an idol. Yes gods were spoken of as stars (just as Yahshua is) and they had star symbols to signify “god” – but those symbols themselves were not idols.  They are just symbols. The star is not evil. A star symbol or drawing is not evil. God created the stars. Stars in themselves are not evil. Yahshua Himself said He is a star. Any star associated with the false god was the same as any other star used for all the gods – as well as Yahshua. No star was worshiped/evil, just the false gods were.

“By the star we have to picture to ourselves not a star formed by human hand as a representation of the god, nor an image of a god with the figure of a star upon its head, like those found upon the Ninevite sculptures. For if this had been what Amos meant, he would have repeated the particle ואת before כּוכב. The thought is therefore the following: the king whose booth, and the images whose stand they carried, were a star which they had made their god, i.e., a star-deity (אשׁר refers to אלהיכם, not to כּוכב). This star-god, which they worshipped as their king, they had embodied in tselâmı̄m. The booth and the stand were the things used for protecting and carrying the images of the star-god. And lastly, by the circumstance that the idea of there being any allusion in the words to the worship of Moloch or Saturn is altogether irreconcilable with the Hebrew text, and cannot be historically sustained”.

“Furthermore it was not the Star of David (figuratively or pictorially) because they were aware that the coming Messiah was also talked about as a star”

“There is also a clear reproach in Amos 5:8-9 to Israel.  All who received this communication from Amos would have been well aware that the true Star of God was the coming Messiah (Num.24:17), the One they were not looking to during the Exodus and still not looking to during Amos’ day, but turning instead to pagan “stars” instead of to the true Star of God (2Pet.1:19; Rev.22:16; cf. Num.24:17; Is.9:1-2; 42:6; 49:6; Matt.2:2; 2:9; 4:16; Lk.2:30-32; Jn.1:4-5; 8:12; 9:5)”

“Stars also refer to glory (cf. 1Cor.15:40-44), so that with these words Amos tells the Israelites that they had exchanged their true glory, the Lord, for the false glory of the idol (exactly what Paul says at Rom.1:23);”

“Stephen’s use of the Septuagint quotation which has “Moloch” instead of “king” (again, both words employ the same consonants in Hebrew) and “Rephan” instead of “pedestal” serves to make the connection with idolatry much more clear than a straight translation of the Hebrew would have done. We may consider this a sanctified interpretation of the original verse that brings the point home through the ministry of the Spirit with even more force than it otherwise would have had.”
(Quotes from – ichthys.com/mail-star%20of… )

Who the verse is talking about- which god is simply conjecture only. There is no proof it was the Saturn god/Moloch spoken of in this verse – that is a false reading of the text. Because it is mentioned only as “the king” – “which may have been given to different gods, whom the pagan worshiped as their chief god.” (copy of relevant sections from commentaries in attached screenshots from biblehub.com/commentaries/a… )

Regarding ACTS 7:43 – “St. Stephen merely quotes the Textus Receptus of his day, which was close enough to the original for his argument. The star of your god. These words are in loose apposition with the preceding, and are equivalent to “your star god,” or the star whom ye worship as god [i.e star in the heavens they saw as a god]. Whether some particular star is meant, or whether the sun is the deity signified, cannot be determined, although the universal prevalence of the worship of sun gods in Egypt makes the latter supposition very probable.”

“Stephen, in his address (Acts 7:42-43), has quoted the words of the prophet according to that version, simply because the departure of the Greek translation from the original text was of no consequence, so far as his object was concerned, viz., to prove to the Jews that they had always resisted the Holy Ghost, inasmuch as the Alex. rendering also contains the thought, that their fathers worshipped the στρατιᾶ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ.)”

“Moloch, though sanctioned by the LXX. and St. Stephen (Acts 7:43), is a mistranslation”

(see copy of relevant sections from commentaries in attached screenshots from biblehub.com/commentaries/a… )

It is simply and only bias driven conjecture and propaganda that these verses are referring to a six pointed star, the bible doesn’t say – inference/reading into scripture is not scripture.  No one knows what the “star of your god” looked like, any suggestions or theories is just conjecture. Also see
youtu.be/1wQyzdeiz5Y?si…

2.  Symbols have different meanings for different people/groups/cultures over thousands of years.

Even if in some time in history a six pointed star was used for a false god and or for evil, that does not exclude it from ever being used by anyone else in history for good. The reason why the Star of David was chosen is imperative to what it SIGNIFIES for the Jewish nation and people. Symbols are used throughout history and often signify different meanings depending on when and where and who uses them – all symbols, for thousands of years, in different cultures, places and times.

The reason the Star of David was chosen was because it was known/understood/believed to be the Shield of David (see youtu.be/_tGNWdYLUaY?si… ). Numerous verses in the bible talk about God and Yahshua being a shield and protector. It is a biblical symbol. God said to Abraham I will be your shield, David said God is his shield and protector and Jews view it as the Shield of David. That is God’s protection. “Magdean David” – that is the Shield of David has been mentioned in the Talmud (Passover tractate 107 – second page) in the context of the blessings that are said in the Haftorah based from biblical verses. Also from the period of Ahab – the Megiddo antiques on the wall of a room was found a Magen David (the same one we recognise today). Magen David/Shield of David is one of the names that refers to YHWH and Magen Abraham is shield of Abraham. Being the Shield of David is the first instance and reason why the Star of David was chosen for the flag –

“David Wolffsohn (1856–1914), a businessman prominent in the early Zionist movement, was aware that the nascent Zionist movement had no official flag, and that the design proposed by Theodor Herzl was gaining no significant support, wrote: At the behest of our leader Herzl, I came to Basle to make preparations for the Zionist Congress. Among many other problems that occupied me then was one that contained something of the essence of the Jewish problem. What flag would we hang in the Congress Hall? Then an idea struck me. We have a flag—and it is blue and white. The talith (prayer shawl) with which we wrap ourselves when we pray: that is our symbol. Let us take this Talith from its bag and unroll it before the eyes of Israel and the eyes of all nations. So I ordered a blue and white flag with the Shield of David painted upon it. That is how the national flag, that flew over Congress Hall, came into being.”

The flag came from a prayer shawl with the shield of David on it. Anyone can say the star means whatever they believe it to mean or whatever people used it for in history past, but the fact is – it was chosen for a BIBLICAL reason – prayer and shield. The Israel flag is a BIBLICAL FLAG.

There is also some belief that the Shield was designed as a star because in proto-Hebrew D was written as a triangle and David’s name started with a D (and ended with a d) so was two D’s to represent his name drawn as a star to make a shield, see youtu.be/YM00wJPznZ0?si…

The Messiah-Believing cross symbol which Messiah-Believings have used for thousands of years and wear and use all around the world to this day was originally used by evil men, before Yahshua Messiah was born. Yet Messiah-Believings use it now. Because it was used for evil prior does not mean it cannot be used for good now. Messiah-Believings/good people do not stop using something because sometime in history it was used in an evil way for an evil reason. Everything is God’s first. The cross being used as a witchcraft symbol before Messiah-Believings adopted it does not make the cross evil now. For the Messiah-Believing it represents the death, burial and resurrection of their Lord and Saviour. W.E. Vine states the cross as a Messiah-Believing symbol was taken directly from the pagans. According to W. E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, worshippers of Tammuz in Chaldea and thereabouts used the cross as symbol of that god – as just one of many examples. 
Also see – blueletterbible.org/search/Diction…
“History shows us that the symbol of the cross pre-dated Messiah-Believingity, and variants of it appeared in pagan art and religion all the way back to ancient times. For example, the British museum holds an Assyrian statue of the son of King Samsi-Vul wearing a near-perfect Maltese cross. Greek gods like Diana and Bacchus appeared with crosses, and share much in common with later medieval portrayals of the Virgin Mary” 

Other classic examples of something being used for different purposes are the rainbow and incense. Just because some use a rainbow now to identify their beliefs/agenda does not mean a Messiah-Believing stops drawing it or using it to signify that God keeps His promises. Incense has always been used for good or evil, because one uses it for godly reasons now (i.e in scripture it is used) does not mean it is evil because evil people have used it. The rainbow was God’s first, and incense was His creation, the cross was His and the star.

Also, the five pointed star use to be used by Messiah-Believings for symbolising the wounds of Messiah – and only in more modern times has it become used more by pagans – see
gotquestions.org/pentagram-mean… . “Alison Eldridge explained that “among Messiah-Believings, it has symbolized the five wounds of Messiah — his hands and feet punctured by the Crucifixion and his side pierced by a soldier’s spear — as well as the Star of Bethlehem and Messiah himself.”

The Star of David “in the 19th century, it came to be adopted by European Jews as a symbol to represent Jewish religion or identity in the same manner the Messiah-Believing cross identified that religion’s believers. The symbol became representative of the worldwide Zionist community after it was chosen as the central symbol on a flag at the First Zionist Congress in 1897, due to its usage in some Jewish communities and its lack of specifically religious connotations. It was not considered an exclusively Jewish symbol until after it began to be used on the gravestones of fallen Jewish soldiers in World War I.”

The REASON the Star is used for Israel IS because of the SHIELD OF DAVID, regardless what star/stars may have been used for BEFORE or AFTER by others. Just as the reason Messiah-Believings use a cross is because of Yahshua, despite before or after the reasons others have used it for. Just as some use incense for good despite before or after why some have used it for evil. Just as Messiah-Believings use rainbows to be reminded of God’s promises despite before or after the different reasons others have.
Everything is God’s first. Not the devils. Who are people giving more power to? Why do Messiah-Believings wear a cross? Because witches did hundreds of years ago? Of course not! Because they love Yahshua and it represents His sacrifice. Why is there a Star of David on the Israeli flag? Because of witches/satanism/Saturn worshipers hundreds of years prior or now? Of course not! Because of King David. Why do Messiah-Believings draw artworks with rainbows in it? To represent LGBT? Of course not! Because it reminds them God keeps His promises. The WHY matters. The Jews see it as the SHIELD of David – the WHY matters.

“The star has achieved its status as the most common and universally recognized sign of Judaism and Jewish identity only since 1800. In the 17th century, it became a popular practice to put Magen Davids on the outside of synagogues, to identify them as Jewish houses of worship in much the same way that a cross identified a Messiah-Believing house of worship.”

As an interesting side note, there is also the possibility that the Star of David is also seen in/inspired by the lily flower which was used in the Temple design and on the Menorah. Information summarised from Hebraic Roots Teaching Institute – 

The flower on the menorah design has been translated to lily by some. The rose/lily is a white flower that has a good aroma and six leaves. The Hebrew name of the lily is shoshana and is derived from the Hebrew word for six. The rose is the white lily and it grows naturally in Israel. It is in the shape of the Star of David (see attached picture). Each lamp in the Menorah’s flower was in the shape of a lily which is the shape of the Magen David. In other words each lamp flower was in the form of a Magen David – Star of David. In the description of the Menorah, even though the Menorah consisted of a number of parts, there was a special emphasis on the flower because of the importance of the symbolism of this flower. It is also seen in the gate pillars of the Temple – the hubs on pillars at the front of the temple were in the form of a lily (1 Kings 7:22). Rambam ( a Sephardic rabbi and philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages) wrote about the identify of the flowers on the Menorah and the flowers on the pillars and said “the flowers in the Menorah like the flowers of the pillars” – thus the Menorah flowers were like a lily. And on a marble board that was found in the ruins of Sufa near kibbutz Hatzerim, alongside a Byzantine church, there is a clear big Star of David and in its centre appears a side projection of a white lily (similar to the side projection that appears on the coin from the period of Zerubbabel).
– Reference: Hebraic Roots Teaching Institute

Extra sources

gotquestions.org/star-of-David.…

And

Archaeology for “the Star who will come from Jacob”