The Meaning of 1 Kings 3:22 Explained

1 Kings 3:22

KJV: And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

YLT: And the other woman saith, 'Nay, but my son is the living, and thy son the dead;' and this one saith, 'Nay, but thy son is the dead, and my son the living.' And they speak before the king.

Darby: And the other woman said, No, for the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this one said, No, but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.

ASV: And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the other  woman  said,  Nay; but the living  [is] my son,  and the dead  [is] thy son.  And this said,  No; but the dead  [is] thy son,  and the living  [is] my son.  Thus they spake  before  the king. 

What does 1 Kings 3:22 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 3:22 mean?

And said the woman other No but my son the living one [is] and your son The dead one [is] and this [woman] said your son the dead one [is] and my son The living one [is] thus they spoke before the king
וַתֹּאמֶר֩ הָאִשָּׁ֨ה הָאַחֶ֜רֶת לֹ֣א כִ֗י בְּנִ֤י הַחַי֙ וּבְנֵ֣ךְ הַמֵּ֔ת וְזֹ֤את אֹמֶ֙רֶת֙ בְּנֵ֥ךְ הַמֵּ֖ת וּבְנִ֣י הֶחָ֑י וַתְּדַבֵּ֖רְנָה לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ

וַתֹּאמֶר֩  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הָאִשָּׁ֨ה  the  woman 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
הָאַחֶ֜רֶת  other 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: אַחֵר  
Sense: another, other, following.
לֹ֣א  No 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
בְּנִ֤י  my  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
הַחַי֙  the  living  one  [is] 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
וּבְנֵ֣ךְ  and  your  son 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person feminine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
הַמֵּ֔ת  The  dead  one  [is] 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
וְזֹ֤את  and  this  [woman] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
אֹמֶ֙רֶת֙  said 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
בְּנֵ֥ךְ  your  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person feminine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
הַמֵּ֖ת  the  dead  one  [is] 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
וּבְנִ֣י  and  my  son 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
הֶחָ֑י  The  living  one  [is] 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
וַתְּדַבֵּ֖רְנָה  thus  they  spoke 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
לִפְנֵ֥י  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Kings 3:22?

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