Five little stones he took

The five smooth stones represented not just the death of Goliath, but also the death of his four brothers.

David had to cut off Goliath's head to kill him.

 

The scriptures do not state that David even knew if Goliath had any siblings much less a specific number of them. And where most people try to derive him having four brothers is a misreading of the text as those two texts are actually refering to the 4 'sons' of Goliath. (IMO)

In either event scripture does not say David knew of any siblings (He didn't even know who Goliath was) and it doesn't state WHY he chose 5 stones. It could very well be that he believed God would allow him to kill Goliath but didn't know it would be on the first shot. But his faith in Gods provision and protection is the essense of the story and not the stones.

 

You saying the stone didn't kill him? The Bible says he "slew" the giant prior to cutting off his head.

 

Samuel Richard Bosanquet, Interpretation, 1874, pp. 513-514:

"The number 'five' seems generally to have reference to the Pentateuch.
David chose five smooth stones out of the brook, I Sam. xvii. 40,
with which he smote Goliath the Philistine:—and this was a type of our
Lord conquering Satan, in his temptation, by texts drawn from the five
books of Moses, the Pentateuch."

 

Then Goliath was killed twice?

1 Samuel 17:51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

He slew the giant after taking the sword out of the sheath.. Here is the Hebrew word for slew in both verses.

So, was he killed with the stone? or with the sword? Both verses say he was killed, but the fact that the second verse says he killed Goliath AFTER drawing the sword out of the giant's sheath tells me that the stone only incapacitated him. The sword is what actually killed him.

 

I see your point...

This says he killed him with a rock;

1 Samuel 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.

This says he killed him with the sword;

1 Samuel 17:51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

I always figured a person can only die once so the first slew must have killed him and the second one were like the other 5 shots from a 6 shooter. Confirmation!

I digress Sir since neither of us were there.

 

He kept the head to show his future enemies.

 

Perhaps the strike with the stone was a blow that would have killed him only slowly. Cutting off his head just finished the job already in progress from the head wound. You could say that both killed him.

 

Ahhhh,

But the Bible does not say that, Pete. It says the stone killed him and then that the sword killed him again.

To be killed means one is dead, no life in him. He cannot have been killed twice. That is impossible.

I believe the stone only knocked him in a comatose state. The sword killed him.

 

Then by your own words are you saying the Bible is incorrect and your view supersedes what the Scripture says?

Bro Tony

 

Are you saying a person can be killed twice?

 

Medically speaking, YES!

You can recieve a wound that is fatal in nature but still at the moment alive.
Then if someone gave you another fatal wounding that ends that same life immediately they can be 'considered' to be killed twice. However, physically (or in the common veiw) only one wounding was immediatly and finally fatal.

Ever heard the expression "they're dead they just don't know it yet" or "they are dead it's just thier body hasn't figured it out yet". You will note this better in war and or battle situations where friends and foe alike are shot or blown up and they are still alive but mortally wounded and dieing yet they can still be killed before they die.

Suffice to say, you can be killed twice.

>>>EDITED IN<<<
That David 'slew' or killed him does not mean Goliath was lifeless and it doesn not even use the term dead. The conotation of 'slew' is one the implies death (current or coming) but does not necessitate that one IS is dead or without life specifically at that instant.

 

To get the thread back on topic, what did David do with the other 4 stones?

 

God doesn't put things in the Bible for no reason.
There were 5 giants in all.

If we were diligent in our Bible reading we would know these things, whether we are asking them or answering them.

The faith of God's shepard boy is greater than most people realize. David had every intention of killing all five giants. Two of them had the name Goliath, but were from different towns.

MR

2Sa 21:15 And the Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. And David waxed faint;
2Sa 21:16 and Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.
2Sa 21:17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succored him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the lamp of Israel.
2Sa 21:18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again war with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Saph, who was of the sons of the giant.
2Sa 21:19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim the Beth-lehemite slew Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
2Sa 21:20 And there was again war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.
2Sa 21:21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, slew him.
2Sa 21:22 These four were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

 

:applause: :laugh: :laugh: :applause:

 

No fool would go into battle with only one bullet in the barrel.......David filled his pouch,,,,,,,,,they were very small and prolly five stones was all they would hold.........prepared to do battle.

The first stone could have killed Goliath, but cutting off his head signified the actual death to the opposing army...simple, simple..simple....Why complicate matters?

Cheers,

Jim