What are the meaning of the five smooth stones?

Answer 1

I assume you are talking about the 'battle' David and Goliath in 1Samual 17, where David took 5 stones for his sling:

1Sa 17:40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

David used one stone to kill Goliath:

1Sa 17:48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

1Sa 17:49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

1Sa 17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

What about the other spare stones? What was the reason?

Goliath had at least one brother [see 2Sam 21:19], but there were other giants too, and David wanted to kill them all:-

2Sa 21:19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

1Ch 20:1 And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.

1Ch 20:2 And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David's head: and he brought also exceeding much spoil out of the city.

1Ch 20:3 And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

1Ch 20:4 And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued.

1Ch 20:5 And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam.

1Ch 20:6 And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant.

1Ch 20:7 But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother slew him.

1Ch 20:8 These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

Those we know were killed were:-

1- Goliath

1-Sippai [1Ch 20:4]

1-Lahmi the brother of Goliath [v5]

1-A man of great stature [v6]

This comes to 4, of which 2 were sons of 'the giant', so adding their father 'the giant' to the list makes a total of 5.

David and his men were zealous for the Lord, so I think we can quite safely take it that David destroyed all 'giants' in the land, to wipe them out both root and branch. Why kill all the giants ? Weren't they just big men? No, they were not: they were 'nephilim'; for details , go to:

Chuck Missler at http://www.khouse.org/

or Lambert Dolphin at http://www.ldolphin.org/

and put 'nephilim' in the search box, and prepare to be surprised!