1 Kings 3

1 Kings 3 is the third chapter of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter belongs to the section focusing on the reign of Solomon over the unified kingdom of Judah and Israel (1 Kings 1 to 11). The focus of this chapter is on the reign of Solomon, the king of Israel.

Text This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and since the 16th century is divided into 28 verses.

Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is, 6Q4 (6QpapKgs; 150–75 BCE) with extant verses 12–14.Dead sea scrolls - 1 Kings6Q4 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).

Old Testament references : ; ; 1 Kings 3, Berean Study Bible

Analysis The chapter presents wisdom () primarily as a qualification for royal governance and the administration of justice. It is divided into three main sections: Solomon's marriage, building projects, and worship at the high places, or shrines, including "the largest shrine" (), at Gibeon (verses 1–4). His dream at Gibeon and request for wisdom (verses 5–15). His judgment in the dispute between two prostitutes over a surviving child (verses 16–28).

The opening verses blend a positive portrayal of Solomon with indications of potential problems during his reign. His marriage to Pharaoh's daughter represents a diplomatic alliance with Egypt and highlights the growing international stature of the Israelite monarchy. When read in the context of Solomon's full reign, this marriage also foreshadows the foreign marriages criticized in 1 Kings 11. The narrator states that Solomon loved God and followed David's statutes but qualifies this praise by noting that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. The continued use of these sites is explained by the fact that the Temple in Jerusalem had not yet been built.

At Gibeon, Solomon does not request long life, wealth, or victory over his enemies but requests an "understanding mind" with which to govern the people and distinguish between good and evil (verses 5–9). The Hebrew phrase underlying this request, literally "a hearing heart" (), presents wisdom as the capacity to listen and render judgment rather than merely as abstract knowledge. Solomon's request thus emphasizes the judicial responsibilities of kingship and the proper administration of justice. Because the request focuses on governing the people rather than Solomon's personal advancement, God grants him wisdom along with the wealth and honor that he did not request. Long life, however, remains conditional upon Solomon's obedience to God's statutes and commandments. In verse 14, God tells him: "And I will further grant you long life, if you will walk in My ways and observe My laws and commandments, as did your father David." in the Revised JPS edition

The account of the two prostitutes beginning in verse 16 demonstrates Solomon's wisdom in practice. Because there are no witnesses who can establish which woman is the child's mother, the dispute cannot be resolved through ordinary testimony. Solomon's proposal to divide the living child elicits contrasting responses and thereby discloses the identity of the mother, who is willing to relinquish her claim to preserve the child's life. The episode consequently presents wisdom as the capacity to reveal concealed motives and administer justice in a case lacking independent witnesses. The conclusion broadens the significance of the judgment from the individual dispute to Solomon's kingship: the people recognize that divine wisdom () is within him to administer justice.

In rabbinic interpretation, Rashi relates Solomon's request in verse 9 to the practical burden of adjudication: because the people were numerous, their legal disputes were also numerous, leaving the king insufficient time to deliberate over every argument. On verse 27, Rashi follows a tradition recorded in the Babylonian Talmud in tractate Makkot 23b, according to which a divine voice () confirmed Solomon's judgment by declaring, "She is his mother" ().

Solomon's prayer for wisdom (verses 1–15) Early in his reign, Solomon entered a diplomatic marriage with the Egyptian Pharaoh's daughter which played a significant role in the story of Solomon (cf. 1 Kings 7:8; 9:16; 11:1), although Solomon's heir (Rehoboam) was not born of her, but of Solomon's Ammonite wife (1 Kings 14:21). Solomon received a good mark in the early religious assessment, noted that "he loved YHWH" (just as YHWH loved him, 2 Samuel 12:24). One negative note was that there were 'high places' – sacrificial sites on the tops of hills, but this happened because Solomon had not yet built the Temple in Jerusalem, which should later be the only place of worship according to the Torah of Moses (Deuteronomy 12). Solomon also went to a high place in Gibeon (today al-Jib, about north-west of Jerusalem) to offer a great sacrifice to God and stayed overnight there, when God appeared to him to offer him a free wish. Dreams are a legitimate method of discovering God's will in the Hebrew Bible (cf. Genesis 28; 37; 1 Samuel 28:6, 15; Joel 3:1; and Daniel 2) although they could also open to abuse (cf. Jeremiah 23:25–27; Zechariah 10:2, cf. Psalm 73:20).

Verse 1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.: KJV "Made affinity": here is not "made "alliance", but literally, "made himself son-in-law".Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "1 Kings 3". In The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019. "Pharaoh king of Egypt": For the first time since the Exodus, Israel had any connection with Egypt.Lumby, J. R., Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on 1 Kings 3, accessed on 28 April 2019 Pharaoh Shishak received Jeroboam I when he fled from Solomon (1 Kings 11:40), so the wife of Solomon must have been a daughter of a pharaoh in the previous dynasty. This daughter of Pharaoh apparently embraced Judaism, so that there was no reproach against her marriage to Solomon, since no Egyptian deity was mentioned among those for whom Solomon built high places at a later time (1 Kings 11:1–8) when 'strange women turned away his heart after other gods'.

Verse 7 And now, O my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.: English Standard Version To "go out and come in" frequently refers to "the manner of leading one's life, and engaging in one's proper duties". Moses, in old age (in Deuteronomy 31:2), was "no longer able to go out and come in".: ESV

Solomon's judgement (verses 16–28)

This section records one episode of Solomon putting to effect the wisdom granted to him in giving an 'unusually clever court judgement' when he was confronted with a seemingly insoluble problem: 'claim against counter-claim without witnesses or evidence'. It was the maternal love—in itself not a legally relevant factor—that supplied 'the key to truth and justice'. The wisdom of Solomon in the administration of justice is an important royal function (cf. 2 Samuel 8:15; 15:2–6). The story of Solomon's judgment is similar in certain aspects to the events in 1 Kings 1–2, as shown in the table below:

1 Kings 1–2 1 Kings 3:16–28Two mothers: Hagith and Bathsheba Two mothersTwo sons: Adonijah and Solomon Two sonsAdonijah died One son diedSolomon rescued from threat The other son rescued from threatDavid passed judgment in favor of Bathsheba Solomon passed judgment

1 Kings 3

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