There Shall Step Forth a Star Out of Ya’akov

There Shall Step Forth a Star Out of Ya’akov
By
James Scott Trimm

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near.
There shall step forth a star out of Ya’akov,
and a scepter shall rise out of Yisra’el,
and shall smite through the corners of Mo’av,
and break down all the sons of Shet.
(Num. 24:17)

There have been many attacks in recent years on the so-called "Star of David" or Mogen David (literally "Shield of David").  While it is true that in the Middle Ages the Star of David was hijacked by Gentile Occultists and incorporated into Gentile Hermetic Cabbala and Gentile witchcraft, the Star of David was originally the ancient ensign for Israel.
Recently two inscriptions have been found proving that the Mogen David (which some call "Star of David") was the seal of state of ancient Israel.

The first is a bas relief sculpture of King Jehu with his men behind him, paying homage to the King of Assyria who has conquered him. The relief shows the seal of state of Assyria over the head of the King of Assyria (the winged solar disk). King Jehu has the seal of state of Ancient Israel over his head, a six pointed star:

Although the six pointed star does not appear as two interlocking triangles, it must be understood that the artist was an Assyrian not a Hebrew who may also have worked from second hand accounts.  Thus he may not have realized that the six pointed star should be made of two interlocking triangles.

The second inscription is much older, this inscription was found in Gibeon and dates to the time of the Judges.  Inscribed in the center of the Mogen David is "YAH" in Siniatic Hebrew Script.

Above Photo from Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, Vol. 2, 1975 by James B. Pritchard
Illustration 28
The Mogen David has seven internal areas, six are alike, representing the six workdays, and the seventh represents the Sabbath. The outside of the Star has 12 sides representing the 12 tribes of Israel. The Star is made from two intertwined Paleo-Hebrew Dalets, with which David's name was spelled.
The Star of David also forms the central part of the Nazarene Seal.  The Nazarene Seal is a seal that was found on several artifacts found in the ancient Essene Quarter of Jerusalem in a grotto adjacent to the upper room, which is directly astride the ancient location of the ancient Nazarene Synagogue on Mt. Zion. This is a synagogue which was built after 70 CE with stones from the recently destroyed Temple carried over from the adjacent ridge of the Temple Mount. The artifacts are widely regarded as being of Nazarene origin and dating to the early second century.

The artifacts in question are some shards of pottery, an oil lamp and a "stand" labeled in a first century Aramaic script "for the anointing oil" which appears to be a stand for a flask of anointing oil. Remains of a matching flask, also containing the seal were found nearby.

The seal is made up of three parts. The center of the seal is the Mogen David (Star of David, or literally "Shield of David"). The top "point" of the Mogen David serves as the triangular shaped base for a seven branched menorah. The bottom "point" of the Mogen David is part of the lower, more
controversial symbol.

This lower symbol has been mistaken by some as a "Christian Fish" and redrawn by many so as to more closely resemble a Christian fish. In fact an image of a fish would have violated the Torah commandment against religious images of “…anything… that is in the water under the earth…” (Ex. 20:4).

Many re-drawings of the seal have altered the "snout" of the supposed fish, making it pointed, as it is in the Christian fish. I have examined photographs of all eight of the "seal" artifacts, and in only one is the "snout" pointed, and that is one in which the entire seal is drawn with straight lines, so that the bottom symbol is diamond shaped. In the seven remaining artifacts the "snout" is missing from five, and rounded in the remaining two.

The next question is the "eye" of the "fish". The eye portion is missing from four artifacts. In three others the "eye" appears to be a dot, in two of these the dot is off centered and could an "eye", while in one of them it is nearly centered. In the remaining artifact the "eye" is a "+".
This symbol is not a "fish" but the Hebrew letter ALEF as drawn in the Essene "Cryptic Script" used in 4Q298. The "eye" was originally a TAV as written in the ancient Paleo Hebrew Script (which also closely resembles the TAV used in the Essene "Cryptic Script" of 4Q298. This TAV is written dead center. It appears to have later been replaced in time by a "dot" which eventually evolved into the "eye" of a "Christian Fish". The original bottom portion of the seal was a representation of "The Alef and the Tav".
Some have wrongly alleged that the the Star of David is the Star of Molech mentioned in Amos:
26 So shall you take up Sikkut, your king, and Kiyun; your images; the star of your god
which you made to yourselves.
27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Dammesek, says He, whose
Name is YHWH Elohim Tzva’ot.
(Amos 5:26-27)
The Septuagint renders "your king" (Melek)  as Moloch, perhaps from a scribal error, whence the verse appears:

You have lifted up the shrine of Molech
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.

And as Stephen (who was a Hellenist Jew) quotes that reading:

But you have carried the tabernacle of Molekh, and the star of the god of Reifan,
images that you made, to worship. I will remove you beyond Bavel.
(Acts 7:43)
There is no evidence to connect the Star of David to this pagan "star".  In fact the down pointed five pointed star of Leviathon is a much more likely candidate for the "star" of Amos 5:26-27.

Clearly the Star of David is not the "star" mentioned in Amos 5.  The Star of David was used as a symbol by Hebrews in connection with worshiping YAH as early as the time of the Judges.
The Star of David is almost certainly the ensign of the Hebrews referenced repeatedly in Scripture:
26 And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the
end of the earth: and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly.
(Is. 5:26)

10 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Root of Yishai that stands for an ensign
of the peoples, unto Him shall the nations seek: and His resting place shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that YHWH will set His hand again, the
second time, to recover the remnant of His people that shall remain: from Assyria, and
from Egypt, and from Patros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from
Hamat, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the dispersed of
Yisra’el, and gather together the scattered of Y’hudah from the four corners of the earth.
(Is. 11:10-12)

All you inhabitants of the world, and you dwellers on the earth, when an ensign is
lifted up on the mountains, see you: and when the horn is blown, hear you.
(Is. 18:3)

One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five, shall you flee: till
you be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill.
(Is. 30:17)

8 Then shall Assyria fall with the sword--not of man--and the sword not of men, shall
devour him: and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become tributary.
9 And his rock shall pass away by reason of terror, and his princes shall be dismayed at
the ensign, says YHWH, whose fire is in Tziyon, and His furnace in Yerushalayim.
(Is. 31:9)
This is almost certainly the Star out of Ya'akov:
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. There shall step forth a star out of
Ya’akov, and a scepter shall rise out of Yisra’el, and shall smite through the corners of
Mo’av, and break down all the sons of Shet.
(Num. 24:17)
It is no surprise that the princes of Assyria are dismayed at the ensign, the Star of David.