{"id":72821,"date":"2020-04-05T07:11:54","date_gmt":"2020-04-05T04:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=72821"},"modified":"2020-04-05T07:11:54","modified_gmt":"2020-04-05T04:11:54","slug":"shields-of-david","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/shields-of-david\/","title":{"rendered":"Shields of David"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After many chapters describing the destruction the Babylonians will bring upon Judea and Jerusalem, in chapters 50 and 51 Jeremiah describes the punishment that will soon be delivered to Babylonia as well. They will be conquered by the Persians and Medes, and a prophecy announcing this appears in Jeremiah 51:11 \u2013<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPolish the arrows,<\/span>
\n<\/span>Fill the quivers!<\/span>
\n<\/span>The LORD has roused the spirit of the kings of Media,<\/span>
\n<\/span>For His plan against Babylon is to destroy her.<\/span>
\n<\/span>This is the vengeance of the LORD,<\/span>
\n<\/span>Vengeance for His Temple.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at one of the words in the verse: quivers. Other translations offer a different phrase, such as \u201cprepare the shields.\u201d The Hebrew word here is <\/span>shelatim<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u2013 <\/span>shelet\u00a0<\/span><\/em>in the singular. Rashi\u2019s commentary is the basis for the translation of \u201cquivers\u201d \u2013 this fits the first part of the verse, which mentions arrows. But another medieval commentator, Radak, understands the word as meaning \u201cshields\u201d, and finds support from other verses, such as Song of Songs 4:4, which discusses shields (using the synonym <\/span>magen<\/span><\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The translation of <\/span>shelet<\/span><\/em>\u00a0as \u201cshield\u201d led to a different meaning in modern Hebrew. According to some scholars, the similarity in sound and meaning of the word <\/span>shelet<\/span><\/em>\u00a0to the German \u201cschild\u201d, led to an association of the two among early speakers of modern Hebrew. Schild also means \u201csignboard\u201d in Hebrew, and so <\/span>shelet<\/span><\/em>\u00a0also came to mean \u201csign\u201d or \u201cplacard\u201d \u2013 and in fact that is the primary meaning today.<\/span><\/p>\n

This may also explain why the \u201cStar of David\u201d is known as <\/span>Magen David<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 literally \u201cShield of David\u201d in Hebrew. According to<\/span> this article<\/span><\/a>, the Star of David was used as the emblem on the flag of the Jews of Prague, who likely called it a \u201cschild\u201d \u2013 meaning \u201ccoat of arms.\u201d But since \u201cschild\u201d also meant shield, when that phrase was translated back into Hebrew, they adopted the word <\/span>magen<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 <\/span><\/i>\u201cshield.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Bible, <\/span>shelet<\/span><\/em>\u00a0always appears in contexts related to military matters. Based on this, linguists have made a connection to the root <\/span>shalat<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cto rule.\u201d This root gives us such words in Hebrew as <\/span>shilton<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cauthority, government\u201d, <\/span>shlita<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 \u201ccontrol\u201d, and a much more recent word \u2013 <\/span>shalat<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 – \u201cremote control.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arabic also used this root. From Arabic it entered Turkish – and this is the source of the word \u201csultan\u201d \u2013 \u201ca ruler.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Historical flag of the Jewish Community in Prague, Old-New Synagogue<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":72822,"id":72822,"title":"jer51-star","filename":"jer51-star.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer51-star.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/shields-of-david\/jer51-star\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jer51-star","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":72821,"date":"2020-04-05 04:09:54","modified":"2020-04-05 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