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David's Fight with Goliath
Question
Dear Rabbi,
A Christian friend asked me whether I knew why David picked up 5 stones for his slingshot battle with Goliath.... (Samuel I 17/40)
Is there any significance to the number 5?
Answer
We do not know the author’s intention when he wrote those verses in Samuel in which he specified five stones. The Sages, who in subsequent generations sought to explain every word of the Bible, wrote midrashim. Like your friend they wanted to find a meaning in the number five, and one midrash for example states that one stone was meant for avenging God, one for avenging Aaron, and three for the three fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) [Radak on this verse]. But again, those are midrashim. I do not have a better answer.
Rabbi Monique Susskind Goldberg
October 2007
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