magen

Magen is a Hebrew word meaning shield. In Biblical Hebrew it appears as a common noun for a shield or protector and is used in a variety of phrases and names. The root letters, gimel-aleph-nun, are associated with defense and protection, and magen can function both literally and metaphorically as a safeguard or safeguard symbol.

In modern usage, magen appears in several widely known proper names. The best-known is Magen David Adom, the national emergency medical and disaster-response service of Israel; the name translates roughly as “Shield of David,” and it uses the red Star of David as its emblem. The term also appears in rabbinic and liturgical literature, in titles such as Magen Avraham, a classic halachic work by Avraham Gombiner, and in various compound names referring to protection or guardianship.

As a place name, Magen is used for several locations in Israel, reflecting a common biblical toponymic practice of naming sites after symbolic imagery. The word magen remains active in contemporary Hebrew, where it denotes both physical protective devices and more abstract forms of safeguarding and defense.