Verse 27. - Then the king answered and said [He simply echoes the exact words of the mother. This is clear from the fact that the word יָלוּד - natus, "the one born," here and in ver. 26 rendered "child," is a very unusual one], Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it [The LXX., which reads "Give the child to her who said, Give it to her," etc., obscures the evidently designed repetition] she is the mother thereof [Heb. she, his mother].

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.Then the king answered and said, give her the living child,

and in no wise slay it,.... That is, to her who desired it might not be slain, but rather be given to her who had no right to it:

she is the mother thereof; which might be strongly concluded from her compassion for it, her eagerness and earnestness to have its life spared, and from the indifference of the other, yea, from her cruelty and barbarity in moving to have it divided.