📖 Biblical Definition
Magen (מָגֵן) is the Hebrew word for shield — specifically the small round shield carried in personal combat, distinct from the large rectangular body-shield (tsinnah). It is used repeatedly and metaphorically of YHWH as the defender of His people: "But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head" (Psalm 3:3); "The LORD is my strength and my shield" (Psalm 28:7); "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward" (Genesis 15:1). The Star of David is called Magen David — the shield of David — because David’s psalms repeatedly name YHWH as his shield. The Christian fights covered, not exposed.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Hebrew "shield" — YHWH as personal defense.
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The Hebrew word for the small round shield carried in personal combat. Used extensively as metaphor for YHWH's defense of His people. The phrase magen David ("the shield of David") gives the modern Star of David its name — rooted in David's repeated declaration in the Psalms that YHWH was his shield.
📖 Key Scripture
Genesis 15:1 — "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."
Psalm 28:7 — "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped."
Psalm 84:11 — "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern usage of "shield" is mostly metaphorical and generic; the specific personal-combat image and the YHWH-as-shield identification have thinned.
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When you say "shield" today, you might think credit-card protection or sun-shield. The biblical image is the small round shield carried close to the body in personal combat. YHWH is that shield — not distant protection, but in-the-fight defense.
Recover the personal closeness: magen is at-hand defense, not policy or insurance. The LORD is my shield — right here, right now, between me and the blow.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew magen.
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['Hebrew', 'H4043', 'magen', 'shield']
['Hebrew', 'H1732', 'David', 'David']
Usage
"Magen is at-hand personal defense."
"The LORD is my shield — in the fight."
"Magen David: the Shield of David."