1 Kings 3:28

And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

3:16-28 An instance of Solomon's wisdom is given. Notice the difficulty of the case. To find out the true mother, he could not try which the child loved best, and therefore tried which loved the child best: the mother's sincerity will be tried, when the child is in danger. Let parents show their love to their children, especially by taking care of their souls, and snatching them as brands out of the burning. By this and other instances of the wisdom with which God endued him, Solomon had great reputation among his people. This was better to him than weapons of war; for this he was both feared and loved.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The wisdom of God - i. e. "Divine wisdom," "a wisdom given by God" 1 Kings 3:12. The ready tact and knowledge of human nature exhibited in this pattern judgment, and its special fitness to impress Orientals, have generally been admitted.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

1Ki 3:16-28. His Judgment between Two Harlots.

16. Then came there two women—Eastern monarchs, who generally administer justice in person, at least in all cases of difficulty, often appeal to the principles of human nature when they are at a loss otherwise to find a clue to the truth or see clearly their way through a mass of conflicting testimony. The modern history of the East abounds with anecdotes of judicial cases, in which the decision given was the result of an experiment similar to this of Solomon upon the natural feelings of the contending parties.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The wisdom of God; either great and eminent wisdom,

as the cedars or mountains of God are the highest and most eminent of the kind; or Divine wisdom with which God had inspired him for the better government of his people.

Was in him to judgment; to assist him in wisely examining and justly determining the causes and controversies of his people.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged,.... In the above case; the decision of it was divulged throughout the land, and the fame of it was spread everywhere:

and they feared the king; reverenced him as a wise, judicious, and faithful king, and feared to do anything of a criminal nature, as perceiving that he was so sagacious and penetrating, that he would discover it quickly, and bring them to shame and punishment:

for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment; that God had put more than ordinary wisdom into him, to make a right judgment in causes that came before him, and finish them in the most just and equitable manner.

Geneva Study Bible

And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

28. they feared the king] As having a power beyond what they had seen in any other to detect wrong, and to find out truth and falsehood, and so to make certain the punishment of evildoers. There was no escape from such a judge.

the wisdom of God] i.e. Wisdom which God had given, and which made the king skilful in trying the very thoughts of those who came before him. A superhuman discernment had taken up its home within him.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 28. - And an Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king [i.e., were impressed and awed by his almost supernatural penetration. Bahr refers to Luke 4:36; Luke 8:25], for they saw that the wisdom of God [for which he asked (ver. 9) and which God gave (ver. 12] was in him [Heb. within him] to do Judgment. [Most of the commentators cite from Grotius, the familiar story found in Diodorus Siculus, of Ariopharnes, king of Thrace. Three youths claimed before this king each to be the son, and therefore successor, of a deceased king of the Cimmerians. He decided that that one was the real son who refused to cast a javelin at his father's corpse.]



1 Kings 3:28

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

This judicial decision convinced all the people that Solomon was endowed with divine wisdom for the administration of justice.