The Meaning of 1 Kings 3:20 Explained

1 Kings 3:20

KJV: And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

YLT: and she riseth in the middle of the night, and taketh my son from beside me -- and thy handmaid is asleep -- and layeth it in her bosom, and her dead son she hath laid in my bosom;

Darby: And 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 son in my bosom.

ASV: And 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And she arose  at midnight,  and took  my son  from beside  me, while thine handmaid  slept,  and laid  it in her bosom,  and laid  her dead  child  in my bosom. 

What does 1 Kings 3:20 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 3:16-28 - A Discerning Judgment
The incident gave convincing proof of the gift of wisdom. This is the most esteemed endowment of an Eastern potentate, who is called upon to arbitrate in cases that defy the labored processes of law and precedent. How could so difficult a case be decided? There were no witnesses on either side. But Solomon appealed to the instincts of a mother's love. The proposal to divide the child at once revealed the mother, who would rather expose herself to a life of anguish than see her child suffer or its life extinguished.
Bishop Hall, commenting on this incident, says, "Truth demands entireness; falsehood is satisfied with less. Satan, who has no right to the heart, is content with a piece of it; God, who made the heart, will have either all or none."
But surely there is a still deeper lesson. When we truly belong to Christ, sharing His nature and having fellowship in His Kingdom, we shall live in quick sympathy with everything that touches His honor. The child of God instinctively winces whenever his Father's character is challenged, or a foul suggestion is made to his own soul. This is evidence of sonship.
1 Kings 3:1-28 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 3

1  Solomon marries Pharaoh's daughter
2  High places being in use, Solomon sacrifices at Gibeon
5  Solomon at Gibeon, in the choice which God gave him,
10  preferring wisdom, obtains wisdom, riches, and honor
16  Solomon's judgment makes him renowned

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 3:20 mean?

So she arose in the middle of the night and took - my son from my side and while your maidservant slept and laid him in her bosom and her child dead laid in my bosom
וַתָּקָם֩ בְּת֨וֹךְ הַלַּ֜יְלָה וַתִּקַּ֧ח אֶת־ בְּנִ֣י מֵֽאֶצְלִ֗י וַאֲמָֽתְךָ֙ יְשֵׁנָ֔ה וַתַּשְׁכִּיבֵ֖הוּ בְּחֵיקָ֑הּ וְאֶת־ בְּנָ֥הּ הַמֵּ֖ת הִשְׁכִּ֥יבָה בְחֵיקִֽי

וַתָּקָם֩  So  she  arose 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
בְּת֨וֹךְ  in  the  middle 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.
הַלַּ֜יְלָה  of  the  night 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.
וַתִּקַּ֧ח  and  took 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
בְּנִ֣י  my  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
מֵֽאֶצְלִ֗י  from  my  side 
Parse: Preposition-m, first person common singular
Root: אֵצֶל  
Sense: beside, by, near, nearness, joining, proximity subst.
וַאֲמָֽתְךָ֙  and  while  your  maidservant 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אָמָה  
Sense: maid-servant, female slave, maid, handmaid, concubine.
יְשֵׁנָ֔ה  slept 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: יָשֵׁן  
Sense: sleeping.
וַתַּשְׁכִּיבֵ֖הוּ  and  laid  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁכַב  
Sense: to lie down.
בְּחֵיקָ֑הּ  in  her  bosom 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: חֹוק 
Sense: bosom, hollow, bottom, midst.
בְּנָ֥הּ  her  child 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
הַמֵּ֖ת  dead 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
הִשְׁכִּ֥יבָה  laid 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁכַב  
Sense: to lie down.
בְחֵיקִֽי  in  my  bosom 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: חֹוק 
Sense: bosom, hollow, bottom, midst.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Kings 3:20?

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