Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
Then the king answered and said, 'Give her the living child, and don't kill it at all. She is the child's mother.'
King Solomon reveals his wisdom by identifying the true mother through her willingness to give up her child rather than see it harmed.
📚 Historical Context
In the biblical narrative, this verse comes from a famous story where two women claimed the same baby as their own after one accidentally rolled over and killed her child during the night. King Solomon, newly established as ruler of Israel and gifted with extraordinary wisdom from God, devised a clever test by suggesting the baby be cut in half to reveal the true mother's selfless reaction. This event occurred during the early years of Solomon's reign, illustrating the cultural expectation in ancient Israel for kings to deliver fair and wise judgments in disputes.
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