the star of david (hebrew:מָגֵן דָּוִד, or māġēn dāwīd, pronounced [] in ancient hebrew, and [] in modern hebrew) is a jewish symbol. it is named after king david of israel and it is very famous. the star consists of a triangle, overlapped by another, "upside-down" triangle. it is unknown how this came to be a symbol of judaism, but it was first used in the middle ages. it is used on the flag of israel, and was used by german national socialists to identify jews.