Pentagrams in Judea

The pentagram or five-pointed star was a popular symbol in the Hellenistic world as a magical religious symbol that had an apotropaic function (warding off evil). In the second century B.C.E. the pentagram became significant in Judea. For centuries, beginning in the late eighth century B.C.E., Judah would stamp jar handles as a mark of fiscal administration—perhaps as a governmental approval of the contents of the vessel or other certification.