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1 Kings 3:23

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 1 Kings 3:23 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Then 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.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Then 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.
1 Kings 3:23 — American Standard Version

Context — 1 Kings 3

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
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.
24And the king said, Fetch me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
25And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
26Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her heart yearned over her son, and she said, Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, It shall be neither mine nor thine; divide it.
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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
“Then said the king, etc.] As judge, summing up what had been said on both sides, which were only bare assertions without proof; the one affirming what the other denied, and the other denying what the other affirmed: 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; this he repeated to show to all present that no determination could be made by what had been said on each side, and that some other method must be taken.”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification