David's Five Stones and the Patriarchs Against Goliath

"And Saul clothed David with his garments, and he put a helmet of bronze upon his head, and he clothed him with armor" (1 Samuel 17:38). The armholes were found to be neither hanging too low nor drawn up too high. When Saul saw this, his face grew dark. When David saw that Saul's face had grown dark, what did David say to him? "And David said to Saul: I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them," and so forth (1 Samuel 17:39). "And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the wadi" (ibid., verse 40): one for the name of the Holy One, blessed be He; and one for the name of Aaron; and three for the three patriarchs of the world. Aaron said: Am I not the avenger of blood? It is upon me to exact payment from him. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: But did he not blaspheme and revile before Me? It is upon Me to exact payment from him. And in the Yalkut (ibid.): Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi: the stones were gathering themselves of their own accord. "And the Philistine looked and saw David, and he despised him" (ibid., verse 42). Rabbi Yudan said: he desired him, for David was "ruddy, with beautiful eyes" (ibid.).