At that time two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king, and stood before him.
- KJV Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.
- NKJV Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him.
- NASB Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
- NLT Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Two prostitutes come before Solomon with a dispute. The case becomes the first public test of his newly granted wisdom.
Overview
The narrative immediately illustrates Solomon's wisdom through a hard case brought by two women of low social standing. That the king hears even prostitutes shows justice available to all, not merely the powerful. The episode demonstrates in concrete life the discernment God had just promised, validating His gift before all Israel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Exod 18:16“Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me to judge between one man and another, and I make known to them the statutes and laws of God.”
- Judg 11:1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.
- Josh 2:1Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
- Num 27:2the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole congregation, and said,
- Lev 19:29You must not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity.
- Deut 23:17No daughter or son of Israel is to be a shrine prostitute.
- Exod 18:13The next day Moses took his seat to judge the people, and they stood around him from morning until evening.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 3:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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