The staff appears to have a cross-piece about midway up its height, also.
Detail of the above image showing a cross. |
Related note on Israel's history in the two subsequent centuries: The moniker "Son of a Star" was applied to the second-century CE Jewish messiah Simon bar-Kosiba and possibly to the first-century CE historical figure Yeshua ben-Yoseph, whose ossuary was found the Talipot Tomb with a star inscribed on its lid. Yeshua's star, apparently, was made by merging a "tau," a "chi," and an "iota" -- the first two regarded as crosses. Simon's star, on the other hand, was represented on coins, alternatively as a flame, a star of eight points, and as an equilateral cross.