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.]

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.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.