<P> The hexagram does appear occasionally in Jewish contexts since antiquity, apparently as a decorative motif . For example, in Israel, there is a stone bearing a hexagram from the arch of a 3rd--4th century synagogue in the Galilee . Originally, the hexagram may have been employed as an architectural ornament on synagogues, as it is, for example, on the cathedrals of Brandenburg and Stendal, and on the Marktkirche at Hanover . A hexagram in this form is found on the ancient synagogue at Tell Hum . In the synagogues, perhaps, it was associated with the mezuzah . </P> <P> The use of the hexagram in a Jewish context as a possibly meaningful symbol may occur as early as the 11th century, in the decoration of the carpet page of the famous Tanakh manuscript, the Leningrad Codex dated 1008 . Similarly, the symbol illuminates a medieval Tanakh manuscript dated 1307 belonging to Rabbi Yosef bar Yehuda ben Marvas from Toledo, Spain . A Siddur dated 1512 from Prague displays a large hexagram on the cover with the phrase, "He will merit to bestow a bountiful gift on anyone who grasps the Shield of David ." </P> <P> A hexagram has been noted on a Jewish tombstone in Taranto, Apulia in Southern Italy, which may date as early as the third century CE . The Jews of Apulia were noted for their scholarship in Kabbalah, which has been connected to the use of the Star of David . </P> <P> Medieval Kabbalistic grimoires show hexagrams among the tables of segulot, but without identifying them as "Shield of David". </P>

Where does the star of david come from