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1 Kings 3:20

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 1 Kings 3:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
1 Kings 3:20 — American Standard Version

Context — 1 Kings 3

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
17And the one woman said, Oh, my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
18And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also; and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.
19And this woman`s child died in the night, because she lay upon it.
20And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
21And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I did bear.
22And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.
23Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And she arose at midnight, etc.] Perceiving what she had done, that she had overlaid her child, and it was dead; either through fear of punishment inflicted on persons thus negligent, or because of the disgrace of it, taking no more care of her child, she made use of the following stratagem: and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept; this served to puzzle the cause, for how could she know what she did when she was asleep? this she could not prove, it was only conjecture: and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom; where she found it in the morning; but still what proof was there that it was the other woman’s, and not her own, that lay dead in her bosom?”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“midnight: Job 24:13-17; Psa 139:11; Mat 13:25; Joh 3:20 took: Kg1 3:21 3 Kings (1 Kings) 3:21”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification