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158-522: Biblical commentators believe the Books of Kings mixes legends, folktales, miracle stories and "fictional constructions" in with the annals for the purpose of providing a theological explanation for the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah by Babylon in c. 586 BC and to provide a foundation for a return from Babylonian exile . The two books of Kings present a history of ancient Israel and Judah , from

316-423: A Judeo-Christian background, and is often used as a comment on remarkable verdicts. For example, in a dispute between two neighbors, a British judge gave one of them, pop-star Robbie Williams , permission to have a luxurious swimming pool and gym dug out, but machine-powered digging or excavation work was forbidden and his neighbor, rock-star Jimmy Page , had to be given real-time, complete electronic monitoring of

474-474: A famine is raging. Seeking to help the local prophets, he tells his servant to cook a stew. One of the prophets inadvertently adds some poisonous berries to the pot, but Elisha adds some flour , negating the poison. A man comes from Baal-Shalish with twenty loaves of bread. Elisha uses them to miraculously feed the hundred people present. An Aramean general named Naaman has leprosy . He hears of Elisha from an Israelite slave-girl and receives permission from

632-426: A lattice on an upper floor and injures himself. He sends a party to Ekron to consult its god, Baal-Zebub , about whether he will recover. The messengers are met by Elijah, who tells them to inform Ahaziah that he will die where he is for seeking advice from a non-Israelite god. Ahaziah sends two captains and fifty men each to summon Elijah, but both parties are consumed by fire at Elijah's command. When Ahaziah sends

790-487: A vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. When Naboth will not sell it to him on account of it being his inheritance, Ahab sulks and refuses to eat. Jezebel proclaims a day of fasting , upon which two false witnesses accuse Naboth of cursing God and the king. He is stoned to death, allowing Ahab to take possession of the vineyard. In response, God tells Elijah to confront Ahab and inform him that he will die in

948-549: A Benedictine, was credited with the " Glossa Ordinaria " on the entire Bible. It is a brief explanation of the literal and mystical sense, based on Rabanus Maurus and other Latin writers, and was one of the most popular works during the Middle Ages, being as well known as "The Sentences" of Peter Lombard. Anselm of Laon , professor at Paris (twelfth century), wrote the Glossa Interlinearis , so called because

1106-548: A campaign during a state visit, Ahab decides to take it back. Four hundred prophets agree this is a good idea, but Jehoshaphat asks to speak with a prophet of God. Ahab reluctantly calls Micaiah , whom he dislikes for never prophesying in his favour. When he arrives, a prophet named Zedekiah uses a strange hat with horns to claim that Ahab will have victory over the Arameans. Michaiah tells Ahab that if he attacks Ramoth-Gilead, he will die and Israel will be leaderless but that this

1264-728: A chain, a catena . The principal Latin commentators of this period were the Venerable Bede, Walafrid Strabo, Anselm of Laon, Hugh of Saint-Cher, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Nicholas de Lyra. The Venerable Bede (seventh to eighth century), a good Greek and Hebrew scholar, wrote a useful commentary on most of the books of the Old and the New Testament. It is in reality a catena of passages from Greek and Latin Fathers judiciously selected and digested. Walafrid Strabo (ninth century),

1422-618: A compilation of Jewish traditional moral theology, liturgy, law, etc. There were other traditions not embodied in the work of Rabbi, and these are called additional Mishna. The discussions of later generations of rabbis all centred round the text of the Mishna. Interpreters or "speakers" laboured upon it both in Jerusalem and Babylonia (until 500), and the results are comprised in the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds . The word Talmud means teaching, doctrine. Each Talmud consists of two parts,

1580-440: A different meaning for this word in the context of the story, such as "tavern owner" or "innkeeper". These proposals are usually dismissed as apologetic. Jerome T. Walsh combines the two meanings, and suggests that in ancient Near East, some prostitutes also provided lodging services (cf. the story of Rahab ). As mentioned before, many scholars have compared the story to the modern genre of detective story . A striking feature in

1738-410: A dubious image of Solomon, and as stated above, are sometimes ascribed to a separate work; and the last chapter in the account (11), which describes Solomon's sins in his old age. Nevertheless, many scholars point out elements in the account that criticize Solomon, anticipating his downfall in chapter 11. In its immediate context, the story follows the account of Solomon's dream at Gibeon , in which he

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1896-400: A folktale. Jacob Liver notes the absence of any "local coloring" in the story, and concludes that the story is "not an actual folk tale but a scholarly reworking of a folk tale (apparently from a non-Israelite source) which in some way reached the court circles of Jerusalem in the times of Solomon". Similarly, Ze'ev Weisman notes that the story seems "more of a paradigmatic anecdote created in

2054-428: A formal ceremony. As her brother-in-law was the living child, she was required to marry him when he came of age, or wait the same amount of time to be released and remarry. When Solomon suggested splitting the infant in half, the lying woman, wishing to escape the constraints of Yibbum in the eyes of God, agreed. Thus was Solomon able to know who the real mother was. If the above-mentioned Pompean fresco indeed depicts

2212-470: A good king and to punish David's enemies, and then dies. Adonijah comes to Bathsheba and asks to marry Abishag. Solomon suspects this request is to strengthen Adonijah's claim to the throne and has Benaiah put him to death. He then takes away Abiathar's priesthood as punishment for supporting Adonijah, thus fulfilling the prophecy made to Eli at the start of 1 Samuel . Joab hears what is going on and himself claims sanctuary, but when he refuses to come out of

2370-455: A harpist. Elisha prophesies a coming flood in the valley in addition to a complete defeat of Moab. The water comes but looks like blood to the Moabites, which they conclude can only have come from the three kings having killed each other. However, when they cross, Israel wins a great victory and completely plunders the land. When the king of Moab sacrifices his firstborn son on the city walls,

2528-410: A pain in his head. He is returned to his mother and dies. His mother therefore seeks out Elisha, whom she meets at Mount Carmel. He tells Gehazi to quickly make his way to the house and lay his staff on the boy's face. When Elisha gets there with the woman, Gehazi informs him that this has not worked. Elisha prays, paces, and lays himself on the boy, who then awakens. Elisha continues on to Gilgal, where

2686-441: A prophecy that his junior officers will defeat Ben-Hadad if Ahab starts the battle. Ben-Hadad tells his men to take the advancing troops alive, but each junior officer kills his Aramean equivalent. The Arameans, including Ben-Hadad, begin a retreat, but Ahab's army inflicts heavy losses. The prophet who brought the first prophecy tells Ahab to improve his defences, since the Arameans will attack again. Ben-Hadad's advisors reason that

2844-470: A prophet comes by and announces that some day a Davidic king named Josiah will be born and violently abolish Jeroboam's religion. Seeking to seize him, Jeroboam stretches out his hand, but it becomes withered and, as a sign, the altar splits open and its ashes pour out. Despite all this, Jeroboam does not change his ways. Jeroboam's son Abijah becomes ill, so Jeroboam tells his wife to go in disguise to Ahijah, who has become blind with age. God tells Ahijah of

3002-424: A relatively simple compromise. The analogy reminds litigants to keep their costs down in cases where a judge might well divide fault, i.e. might "split the difference" in terms of damage awards or other remedies between the two parties (a very common example is in a comparative negligence case also known as contributory negligence scenario). In other instances, lawyers and legal commentators may use "split

3160-528: A secular priest, and superior of the college at Douai. These two works are still of the greatest help to the student. Many other Jesuits were the authors of valuable exegetical works, e.g.: The Jesuits were rivalled by During the nineteenth century the following were a few of the Catholic writers on the Bible: Catholics have also published scientific books. There is the great Latin "Cursus" on

3318-468: A temple to God with wood provided by the king of Tyre , Hiram I , an old friend of David's. He also builds himself a palace, which takes him thirteen years. Once the Temple is finished, Solomon hires a Tyrian half- Naphtalite named Huram to create the furnishings. When finished, the things which David prepared for the Temple are brought in, and Solomon organizes a ceremony during which the priests carry

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3476-528: A third group, God tells Elijah to go with them and deliver his prophecy directly. Ahaziah dies and, having no sons, his brother Joram succeeds him. Elijah and Elisha are walking from Gilgal . Elijah asks that Elisha stay where they are, but Elisha insists on coming with him to Bethel. Elijah informs him that he is going to be taken by God. Elisha seems to have some kind of knowledge of this. Once again, Elijah asks Elisha to stay where they are, but Elisha insists on coming with him to Jericho. Eventually, they reach

3634-507: A treaty and Ben-Hadad leaves. After failing to get another prophet to strike him with his weapon, resulting in that prophet's death by lion, a prophet manages to get someone else to do it and appears before Ahab, telling him a parable about how his failing to guard a man in battle means he now must pay a talent. When he removes his headband, and Ahab sees he is a prophet, he tells Ahab that he will die because he spared Ben-Hadad, who God had told him to kill. Some time later, Ahab attempts to buy

3792-443: A whisper. After hearing Elijah's concerns about being killed, he instructs him to go to Damascus, where he is to anoint Hazael as king of Aram, Jehu as king of Israel and Elisha as Elijah's own successor. Elijah finds Elisha plowing with oxen . Elisha says goodbye to his parents, kills his oxen and cooks them by burning his plowing equipment. He distributes the meat to his neighbours and sets off to follow Elijah. Ben-Hadad II ,

3950-445: A woman calls him and asks him to decide in a quarrel between her and another woman. The women had agreed to cook and eat the son of one woman, and on the other day to do the same with the son of the other woman; but after they had eaten the first woman's son, the other woman hid her own son. The king, shocked from the description of the case, tore up his royal cloth and revealed that he was wearing sackcloth beneath it. He blamed Elisha for

4108-603: A years-long drought about to begin. God then tells Elijah to hide in the Kerith Ravine, where he drinks from the stream and is fed by ravens . When the brook dries up, God tells Elijah to travel to Zarephath , where a widow will feed him. She is more than happy to give him water, but when he asks for bread, she informs him that she is just about to make a small loaf – only enough that she and her son may eat it as their last meal. Elijah instructs her to make him some anyway, telling her that she will not run out of food until

4266-439: Is a good king, on par with David. He abolishes male temple prostitution and destroys idols, and even deposed his grandmother as Queen mother due to idolatry. He moves a collection of gold and silver objects back into the Temple. However, when he goes to war against Baasha of Israel , he gives the royal and Temple gold and silver to Ben-Hadad , king of Aram , to get him to break a treaty with Israel and attack with him. Ben-Hadad

4424-482: Is a story from the Hebrew Bible in which Solomon ruled between two women who both claimed to be the mother of a child. Solomon ordered the baby be cut in half, with each woman to receive one half. The first woman accepted the compromise as fair, but the second begged Solomon to give the baby to her rival, preferring the baby to live, even without her. Solomon ordered the baby given to the second woman, as her love

4582-480: Is an example of "king's bench tales", a subgenre of the wisdom literature to which he finds parallels in Sumerian literature . Scholars have pointed out that the story resembles the modern detective story genre. Both king Solomon and the reader are confronted with some kind of a juridical-detective riddle. Meir Sternberg notes that two genres merge in the story: A riddle and a test; the juridical dilemma, which

4740-410: Is by now old, and so his attendants look for a virgin to look after him. They find Abishag , who looks after him but they do not have sexual relations. Adonijah , David's fourth son, born after Absalom , decides to claim the throne. With the support of Joab , David's general, and Abiathar , the priest, he begins a coronation procession. He begins the festivities by offering sacrifices at En Rogel in

4898-538: Is classified as Aarne-Thompson tale type 926, and many parallel stories have been found in world folklore . In Uther's edition of the Aarne-Thompson index, this tale type is classified as a folk novella, and belongs to a subgroup designated "Clever Acts and Words". Eli Yassif defines the folk novella as "a realistic story whose time and place are determined ... The novella emphasizes such human traits as cleverness, eroticism, loyalty, and wiliness, that drive

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5056-431: Is considered to be literarily unified, without significant editorial intervention. The ending of the story, noting the wisdom of Solomon, is considered to be a Deuteronomistic addition to the text. Some scholars consider the story an originally independent unit, integrated into its present context by an editor. Solomon's name is not mentioned in the story and he is simply called "the king". Considered out of context,

5214-476: Is described as a gift from God. There is an ambiguity concerning whether such a capability may serve as a model for others, or is unavailable to ordinary men. By the end of the story, Solomon reveals the identity of the true mother. But according to the Hebrew text, while the king solves the riddle, the reader is not exposed to the solution; literally translated from the Hebrew text, Solomon command reads: "Give her

5372-465: Is evil but gets rid of the sacred stone of Baal. After the death of Ahab, the king of Moab refused to continue paying tribute to Israel, so Joram teams up with Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom to put down the rebellion. They attack through the Desert of Edom but soon run out of water. They ask Elisha for advice. He first makes it very clear that he is only doing this for Jehoshaphat's sake and then calls for

5530-603: Is his Latin commentary on the Four Gospels, which is generally acknowledged to be one of the best ever written. When Maldonato was teaching at the University of Paris the hall was filled with eager students before the lecture began, and he had frequently to speak in the open air. Great as was the merit of the work of Maldonato, it was equalled by the commentary on the Epistles by Estius (born at Gorcum, Holland, 1542),

5688-404: Is indirect evidence that the story was also widespread in ancient times in the western world. A Greek papyrus fragment, dating from the beginning of the second century AD, includes a fragmented reference to an ancient legal case which is similar to the judgment of Solomon. The writer ascribes the story to Phliliskos of Miletos , living in the fourth century BC. A fresco found in the "House of

5846-470: Is not Ahab. Ahab is hit between the plates of his armour by a random Aramean arrow. He withdraws from the battle and dies that evening. He is buried, his chariot is washed in a pool where prostitutes bathe, and his blood is licked by dogs. Ahab's son Ahaziah succeeds him. Jehoshaphat has been a good king his entire reign, following the example of his father Asa. He has not destroyed the high places, but he has kept peace with Israel. He has also gotten rid of

6004-457: Is part of God's plan. Zedekiah slaps him, leading Michaiah to prophesy impending destruction, and Ahab tells his jailer to put Michaiah in prison with no food or water until Ahab returns safely. Ahab and Jehoshaphat begin their campaign, agreeing that Ahab will be disguised while Jehoshaphat will wear his royal robes. The Arameans, being under instructions to kill no one except Ahab, begin pursuing Jehoshaphat but cease their pursuit when they see he

6162-432: Is recorded. In the second part (23–28) the decision is described: the king is the major speaker and the one who directs the plot. Apart from this clear twofold division, suggestions have been raised as to the plot structure and the literary structure of the story and its internal relations. As stated before, most of the story is reported by direct speech of the women and Solomon, with a few sentences and utterance verbs by

6320-528: Is succeeded by his son Ahab , who himself overtakes Omri in his evilness. Upon his marriage to Jezebel , daughter of Ethbaal , king of Sidon , he introduces the worship of Baal, building him a temple and setting up an Asherah pole. Meanwhile, a nobleman named Hiel of Bethel activates the curse proclaimed by Joshua by rebuilding Jericho , resulting in the death of his oldest and youngest sons. A new prophet arises in Israel, named Elijah , who informs Ahab of

6478-790: Is succeeded by his son Rehoboam . Rehoboam travels to Shechem to be proclaimed king. Upon hearing this, Jeroboam returns from Egypt and joins Rehoboam's older advisors in asking for the people to be treated better than under Solomon. Instead, Rehoboam turns to his friends for advice, and proclaims that he will treat the people worse. This greatly displeases the Israelites. When he sends a new minister of forced labour named Adoniram , they stone him to death. Rehoboam returns to safety in Jerusalem. The Israelites proclaim Jeroboam king. Judah remains loyal to Rehoboam, and he also controls Benjamin. From these two tribes, Rehoboam amasses an army to attack

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6636-491: Is surprisingly successful, and Baasha must withdraw from Ramah , leading Asa to issue a decree that Ramah's fortifications be taken down and used to build Geba and Mizpah . Asa dies an old man and is succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat . Back in Israel , Nadab is on the throne. Like his father, he is evil. Baasha, son of an Issacharite named Ahijah, plots to kill him and succeeds in a sneak attack, taking him by surprise during

6794-426: Is that the wise judge announces an absurd procedure, which is reasonable in some perverse way: splitting the baby, according to the principle of compromise; or a tug of war, in which one can possibly presume that the true mother will be motivated to pull harder. But the procedure is actually a concealed emotional test, designed to force each woman to decide between her compassion for the baby and her will to win. There

6952-428: Is the main theme of the story. The women seem to be poor. They live alone in a shared residence, without servants. The women have been determined to be prostitutes. As prostitutes, they lack male patronage and have to take care of themselves in a patriarchal society. The women's designation as prostitutes is necessary as background to the plot. It clarifies why the women live alone, gave birth alone and were alone during

7110-416: Is the riddle, also constitutes a test for the young king: if he can solve it, he will be acknowledged as possessing divine wisdom. Stuart Lasine classifies the story as a law-court riddle. According to Raymond Westbrook , the story is essentially a hypothetical problem, introduced to the recipient as a pure intellectual challenge and not as a concrete juridical case. In such problems, any unnecessary detail

7268-459: Is usually omitted and this is why the characters in the story have no distinctive characteristics. The description of the case eliminates the possibility of obtaining circumstantial evidence, thereby forcing the recipient to confront the dilemma directly and not seek indirect ways to solve it. Some scholars think that the original folk story underwent significant literary reworking so that in its biblical crystallization it can no longer be defined as

7426-850: The Ark of the Covenant into the Temple. A cloud fills the Temple, preventing the priests from continuing the ceremony. Solomon explains that this is the presence of God, and takes the opportunity to make a dedication speech . The dedication is completed with sacrifices, and a celebration is held for fourteen days. God speaks to Solomon and accepts his prayer, re-affirming his vow to David that his House will be kings forever unless they begin worshipping idols. Solomon gives twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram as thanks for his help, but they are virtually worthless. He begins building and improvement works in various cities in addition to his major projects in Jerusalem and puts

7584-463: The Deuteronomistic history , the story exalted Solomon as a wise ruler and presented him as a model to Hezekiah . Later, the narrative context of the story underwent another Deuteronomistic redaction that undermined Solomon's figure in comparison to Josiah . In its current context, the story implicitly criticizes Solomon for violating the biblical law that sets the priests and Levites at

7742-564: The Franciscans in 1291 and brought to the service of the Church knowledge of Hebrew and rabbinical learning. He wrote short notes or Postillæ on the entire Bible, and set forth the literal meaning with great ability, especially of the books written in Hebrew. This work was most popular, and in frequent use during the late Middle Ages, and Martin Luther was indebted to it. A great impulse

7900-513: The Gospels and the Epistles of St. Paul , but heavily influenced by the writings of Alexandrian Jews, especially of Philo. The great representative of this school was Origen (died 254). Origen was the son of Leonides of Alexandria , himself a saint and martyr. Origen became the master of many great saints and scholars, one of the most celebrated being St. Gregory Thaumaturgus ; he was known as

8058-576: The Hexapla he wrote scholia, homilies, and commentaries on the Old and the New Testament. In his scholia he gave short explanations of difficult passages after the manner of his contemporaries, the annotators of the Greek classics. Most of the scholia, in which he chiefly sought the literal sense, are unfortunately lost, but it is supposed that their substance is embodied in the writings of St. John Chrysostom and other Fathers. In his other works Origen pushed

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8216-473: The Pentateuch were not intended to be taken literally. In fact, he said that they were literally false, but allegorically true. He did not make the distinction between natural and revealed religion. For example, Pagan systems may have natural religion highly developed, but, from a Judeo-Christian point of view, with much concomitant error. His exegesis served to tide over the difficulty for the time amongst

8374-462: The Pharaoh's daughter . After this, he continues the ancient practice of travelling between the high places and offering sacrifices. When he is at Gibeon , God speaks to him in a dream and offers him anything he asks for. Solomon, being young, asks for "an understanding heart to judge" (שָׁפַט). God is pleased and grants him not only "a wise...heart" ( חכם ), but also wealth, honor, and longevity, on

8532-580: The Tanakh . Hillel and Shammai were the last "pair" of several generations of "pairs" ( Zugot ) of teachers. These pairs were the successors of the early scribes who lived after the Exile. These teachers are said to have handed down and expanded the Oral Law , which, according to the uncritical view of many Jews, began with Moses. This Oral Law consists of legal and liturgical interpretations and applications of

8690-440: The " Adamantine " on account of his incessant application to study, writing, lecturing, and works of piety. He frequently kept seven amanuenses actively employed; it was said he became the author of 6000 works ( Epiphanius , Hær., lxiv, 63); according to St. Jerome , who reduced the number to 2000 (Contra. Rufin., ii, 22), he left more writings than any man could read in a lifetime (Ep. xxxiii, ad Paulam). Besides his great labours on

8848-434: The "Biblische Zeitschrift', published by Herder (Freiburg im Breisgau). For further information concerning the principal Catholic commentators see respective articles. The commentaries of the first Reformers, Luther , Melanchthon , Calvin , Zwingli and their followers wrote on Holy Scripture during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. During the nineteenth century: Judgement of Solomon The Judgement of Solomon

9006-466: The Apostle St. Paul could have used Attic speech he would have explained his own Epistles in the identical words of St. John Chrysostom. Other writers combined both these systems, some leaning more to the allegorical and some to the literal sense. The principal contributors were Jerome, besides his translations of Scripture and other works, left many commentaries, in some of which he departed from

9164-576: The Aramean army go blind , and they do. He then leads them to Samaria, where their eyes are opened. Biblical commentator This is an outline of commentaries and commentators . Discussed are the salient points of Jewish, patristic, medieval, and modern commentaries on the Bible. The article includes discussion of the Targums , Mishna , and Talmuds , which are not regarded as Bible commentaries in

9322-574: The Bible was of the supernatural. There were the two Kimchis, especially David (died 1235) of Narbonne, who was a celebrated grammarian, lexicographer, and commentator inclined to the literal sense. He was followed by Nachmanides of Catalonia (died 1270), a doctor of medicine who wrote commentaries of a cabbalistic tendency; Immanuel of Rome (born 1270); and the Karaites Aaron ben Joseph (1294), and Aaron ben Elias (fourteenth century). Isaac Abarbanel (born Lisbon , 1437; died Venice , 1508)

9480-697: The Catholic Schoolmen. Solomon ben Isaac , called Rashi (born 1040), wrote very popular explanations of the Talmud and the Bible. Tobiah ben Eliezer , a Romaniote scholar and paytan in 11th century Kastoria ( Greece ), wrote the Leḳaḥ Ṭov or Pesiḳta Zuṭarta , a midrashic commentary on the Pentateuch and the Five Megillot . Abraham Ibn Ezra of Toledo (died 1168) had a good knowledge of Semitic languages and wrote learned commentaries on

9638-612: The Hellenistic Jews, and had great influence on Origen of Alexandria and other Alexandrian Christian writers. Frederic Farrar , in his Life of Christ , says that it has been suggested that when Christ visited the Temple , at twelve years of age, there may have been present among the doctors Jonathan ben Uzziel , once thought to be the author of the Yonathan Targum , and the venerable teachers Hillel and Shammai ,

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9796-459: The Indian people", and that, in his view, "a prostitute has no reason to value a child which was not born to her"; he acknowledges, however, that the Indian versions "belong to a later period". On the other hand, Lasine opines that the Hebrew story is better motivated than the Indian one, for it alone attributes the motivation for the behavior of both women to typical motherly feelings: compassion for

9954-413: The Israelites are overwhelmed by great wrath and withdraw. Elisha meets a widow whose creditors are threatening to take her two sons into slavery as payment. When he finds out the only other thing she has is a small jar of olive oil, he tells her to go and ask all her neighbours for jars. He tells her to pour oil into the jars, and it holds out until every jar is filled. Elisha finally tells her to sell

10112-504: The Jordan, where fifty prophets are. Elijah strikes the water with his cloak, the water divides, and the pair cross over. Elijah asks what Elisha wants when he is gone, and Elisha asks for a double portion of his spirit, which Elijah says will be given to him if he watches him go. Suddenly, a fiery horse-drawn chariot takes Elijah and he ascends to heaven in a whirlwind. After mourning, Elisha picks up Elijah's cloak and himself uses it to part

10270-496: The Jordan. This leads the other prophets to recognise him as Elijah's successor, and offer to look for Elijah, an offer which Elisha refuses. They persist but, naturally, are unable to find him. As Elisha's first task, he throws salt into a spring in Jericho, resolving the locals' water problem by purifying the water. When Elisha leaves for Bethel, some boys start jeering him on account of his baldness. Bears come and maul them. Joram

10428-935: The Judgment of Solomon, it is the first known painting of a biblical story (presently moved to the Museo Nazionale in Naples ). This theme has long been a popular subject for artists and is often chosen for the decoration of courthouses. In the Netherlands, many 17th century courthouses ( Vierschaar rooms) contain a painting or relief of this scene. Elsewhere in Europe, celebrated examples include: Marc-Antoine Charpentier : Judicium Salomonis H. 422, Oratorio for soloists, chorus, woodwinds, strings, and continuo. (1702) Giacomo Carissimi : Judicium Salomonis , Oratorio for 3 chorus, 2 violins and organ. The scene has been

10586-864: The Mishna (in Hebrew), in sixty-three tractates, and an explanation of the same ( Gemara ), ten or twelve times as long. The explanatory portion of the Jerusalem Talmud is written in NeoWestern Aramaic and that of the Babylonian Talmud in Eastern Aramaic , which is closely allied to Syriac or Mandaic . The passages in the Gemara containing additional Mishna are, however, given in New Hebrew. Only thirty-nine tractates of

10744-590: The Mishna have Gemara. The Talmud, then, consists of the Mishna (traditions from 450 BC till 200 AD), together with a commentary thereon, Gemara, the latter being composed about 200-500 AD. Next to the Bible the Babylonian Talmud is the great religious book of orthodox Jews, though the Palestinian Talmud is more highly prized by modern scholars. From the year 500 till the Middle Ages the rabbis (geonim) in Babylonia and elsewhere were engaged in commenting on

10902-545: The Old Testament. He was the first to maintain that Isaiah contains the work of two prophets. Moses Maimonides (died 1204), the greatest Jewish scholar of the Middle Ages, of whom his coreligionists said that "from Moses to Moses there was none like Moses", wrote his "Guide to the Perplexed", which was read by St. Thomas . He was a great admirer of Aristotle, who was to him the representative of natural knowledge as

11060-535: The Pentateuch. As no part of it was written down, it was preserved by constant repetition (Mishna). Upon the destruction of Jerusalem, several rabbis, learned in this Law, settled at Jamnia , near the sea, 28 miles (45 km) west of Jerusalem. Jamnia became the headquarters of Jewish learning until AD 135 , due to the Third Jewish Revolt . Then schools were opened at Sepphoris and Tiberias to

11218-515: The Physician" in Pompeii depicts pygmies introducing a scene similar to the biblical story. Some think that the fresco relates directly to the biblical story, while according to others it represents a parallel tradition. Several suggestions for the genre of the biblical story have been raised beyond its characterization as a folktale of a known type. Edward Lipinski suggests that the story

11376-654: The Queen gifts and she returns to her country. Solomon by now has 666 talents of gold, and decides to forge shields and cups. He also maintains trading relations with Hiram, from whose country he receives many exotic goods. Overall, Israel becomes a net exporter of golden goods. Solomon amasses 700 wives and 300 concubines, many from foreign countries, including from countries God told the Israelites not to intermarry with. Solomon begins to adopt elements from their religions, and builds shrines in Jerusalem to foreign deities. God informs Solomon that because he has broken his commandments,

11534-548: The Siege of Gibbethon , a Philistine city. He then proceeds to kill Jeroboam's whole family, fulfilling the prophecy of Ahijah the prophet. However, Baasha commits the same sins as Jeroboam. God therefore informs the prophet Jehu that he will also end the House of Baasha . Baasha dies and is succeeded by his son Elah , who soon falls victim to a plot led by his charioteer Zimri . Zimri becomes king after Elah's killing, and fulfills

11692-528: The Talmud and reconciling it with the Bible. A list of such commentaries is given in The Jewish Encyclopedia . Simultaneously with the Mishna and Talmud there grew up a number of Midrashim , or commentaries on the Bible. Some of these were legalistic, like the halakhic sections of the Talmud, but the most important were of an edifying, homiletic character ( Midrash Aggadah ). These latter, although chronologically later, are important for

11850-455: The account of Solomon's reign, generally conceived as a distinct segment in the Book of Kings, encompassing chapters 3–11 in 1 Kings; some include in it also chapters 1–2, while others think that these chapters originally ended the account of David's reign in 2 Samuel. According to Liver, the source for the Judgment of Solomon story, as well as for other parts of the account of Solomon's reign, is in

12008-430: The alleged switch of the babies. The lack of witnesses seems to create a legal impasse that only the wise king can solve. It also clarifies why the women are not represented by their husbands, as is customary in biblical society. Solomon is depicted as a king accessible to all of his subjects, even those in the margins of society. The women's designation as prostitutes links the story to the common biblical theme of God as

12166-634: The allegorical interpretation to the utmost extreme. In spite of this, however, his writings were of great value, and with the exception of St. Augustine, no writer of ancient times had such influence. The writers of the Antiochene School disliked the allegorical method, and sought almost exclusively the literal, primary, or historical sense of Holy Scripture. The principal writers of this school were The great representatives of this school were Diodorus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and St. John Chrysostom. Diodorus, who died Bishop of Tarsus (394), followed

12324-576: The arrival of Jeroboam's wife. Ahijah prophesies the end of the House of Jeroboam , beginning with the death of Abijah, who will be the only member of the royal house to be buried. He prophesies that a usurper king will arise who will accomplish this. Jeroboam dies, and is succeeded by his son Nadab . Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Judah , the people set up high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles to foreign gods, and even allow male temple prostitution . The pharaoh Shishak sacks Jerusalem and takes all

12482-499: The baby" to refer to any compromise or ruling in which both sides can claim partial victory. Some commentators have noted, however, that this usage is inconsistent with the Biblical narrative, in which Solomon's solution did not involve actually splitting the baby or finding a compromise but, rather, provided evidence that led to a total victory for one of the claimants. The expression "Solomonic Judgment" exists in many cultures with

12640-404: The basic convention shared by the Judgment of Solomon and the detective story genre is the "fair-play rule", which states that both the reader and the detective figure are exposed to the same relevant data. Lasine, dealing with the story from a sociological perspective, points out that, like the detective story, the Judgment of Solomon story deals with human "epistemological anxiety" deriving from

12798-421: The biblical story, untypical to its parallels, is that it does not begin with a credible report of the omniscient narrator about the events that took place before the trial; it immediately opens with the women's testimonies. Thus, the reader is unable to determine whether the account given by the plaintiff is true or false, and he confronts, along with Solomon, a juridical-detective riddle. According to Sternberg,

12956-470: The biblical story. A surgical technique that involves dividing the placenta with a laser as a treatment for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome is named Solomon technique . The expressions "splitting the baby" or "cutting the baby in half" can be used to describe a split award (usually accompanied by a split costs award) in the most for a heavy-handed, costs-insensitive suit (such as entailing multiple hearings and disproportionate spending on both sides) for

13114-451: The books of the Old and the New Testament. When St. Thomas Aquinas was asked by one of his brethren whether he would not like to be the owner of Paris , so that he could dispose of it to the King of France and with the proceeds promote the good works of his order, he answered that he would prefer to be the possessor of Chrysostom's Super Matthæum . St. Isidore of Pelusium said of him that if

13272-407: The circumstances and went on to chase him. There are some striking similarities between this story and the Judgment of Solomon. Both deal with nameless women who gave birth to a son. One of the son dies, and a quarrel erupts as to the fate of the other one. The case is brought before the king to decide. According to Lasine, the comparison between the stories emphasize the absurdity of the situation in

13430-470: The compassion of the true mother (verse 26b) constitutes one of the two climaxes of the story, along with the section that announces Solomon's divine wisdom (verse 28b). According to this analysis, the story in its current context gives equal weight to the compassion of the true mother and to the godly wisdom that guided Solomon in the trial. According to Marvin Sweeney , in its original context, as part of

13588-504: The condition that Solomon is righteous like his father David. Solomon returns to Jerusalem and holds a feast for his servants in front of the Ark of the Covenant . After the Judgment of Solomon amazes the Israelites, he appoints a cabinet and reorganizes the governance of Israel at a local level. The nation of Israel prospers and Solomon's provisions increase. Over a period of seven years, Solomon works to fulfill David's vow of building

13746-511: The corroborative light which they throw on the language of the New Testament. The Gospel of John is seen to be steeped in early Jewish phraseology, and the words of Psalm 109 LXX Hebrew Bible 110], "The Lord said to my Lord", etc. are in one place applied to the Messiah , as they are in Gospel of Matthew 22:44 (referenced from Psalm 110:1), though Rashi , following the rabbis, interpreted

13904-459: The death of King David to the release of Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon—a period of some 400 years ( c.  960  – c.  560 BC ). Scholars tend to treat the books as consisting of a first edition from the late 7th century BC and of a second and final edition from the mid-6th century BC. The Jerusalem Bible divides the two Books of Kings into eight sections: David

14062-635: The entire kingdom except one tribe will be taken away from his son. At the same time, Solomon begins to amass enemies. A young prince named Hadad who managed to escape Joab's attempted genocide of the Edomites, hears Joab and David are dead, and returns to Edom to lead his people. Meanwhile, to the north, the Syrian king Rezon , whose Zobahite army was defeated by David, allies himself with Hadad and causes havoc for Israel from his base in Damascus . On

14220-526: The explanation was inserted between the lines of the Vulgate. Hugh of Saint-Cher (Hugo de Sancto Caro), thirteenth century), besides his pioneer Biblical concordance , composed a short commentary on the whole of the Scriptures, explaining the literal, allegorical, analogical, and moral sense of the text. His work was called Postillæ , i. e. post illa ( verba textus ), because the explanation followed

14378-453: The fact that man, as opposed to God, is generally unable to know what is in the mind of other men. The detective story, as well as this biblical story, provides a comfort to this anxiety with the figure of the detective, or Solomon in this case: A master of human nature, a man who can see into the depths of one's soul and extract the truth from within it. This capability is conceived as a superhuman quality, inasmuch as Solomon's wisdom in judgment

14536-458: The fall of Constantinople, the Christian and anti-Christian Renaissance, the invention of printing, the controversial excitement caused by the rise of Protestantism, and the publication of polyglot Bibles by Cardinal Ximenes and others, gave renewed interest in the study of the Bible among Catholic scholars. Controversy showed them the necessity of devoting more attention to the literal meaning of

14694-506: The famine is over. Soon, the widow's son becomes ill and dies. At the widow's insistence, Elijah raises him from the dead. Three years later, God tells Elijah to return to Ahab because the drought is coming to an end. On the way, Elijah meets his administrator Obadiah , who was hiding prophets during Jezebel's persecutions, and asks him to tell Ahab of his arrival. Seeking to end the worship of Baal for good, Elijah tells Ahab to invite four hundred priests of Baal and four hundred of Asherah to

14852-512: The first companions of Ignatius Loyola , and the pope's theologian at the Council of Trent, was a distinguished Hebrew scholar and voluminous commentator. Bellarmine , one of the first Christians to write a Hebrew grammar, composed a valuable commentary on the Psalms , giving an exposition of the Hebrew, Septuagint, and Vulgate texts. It was published as part of Cornelius a Lapide 's commentary on

15010-659: The full situation to David. David reaffirms his promise that Solomon will be king after him and arranges for him to be anointed at the Gihon Spring . The anointing is performed by Zadok the priest. Following this, the population of Jerusalem proclaims Solomon king. This is heard by Adonijah and his fellow feasters, but they do not know what is happening until Abiathar's son Jonathan arrives and informs them. With Solomon officially enthroned, Adonijah fears for his life and claims sanctuary ; Solomon decides to spare him unless he does something evil. David advises his son on how to be

15168-455: The greatest Karaite commentator of the tenth century; and Judah Hadassi (died 1160). Saadiah of Fayûm (died 942), the most powerful writer against the Karaites, translated the Bible into Arabic and added notes. Besides commentaries on the Bible, Saadiah wrote a systematic treatise bringing revealed religion into harmony with Greek philosophy. He thus became the forerunner of Maimonides and

15326-512: The handers-on of the Mishna . The Targums (the most famous of which is that on the Pentateuch erroneously attributed to Onkelos, a misnomer for Aquila , according to Abrahams) were the only approach to anything like a commentary on the Bible before the time of Christ. They were interpretative translations or paraphrases from Hebrew into Aramaic for the use of the synagogues when, after the Exile ,

15484-578: The hands of the true mother, exposed the identity of the Yakshini and expelled her. In other Indian versions, the two women are widows of one husband. Another version appears in Li Qianfu 's Chinese drama The Chalk Circle (in which the judge draws a circle on the ground), which has spread worldwide, many versions and reworkings being made, such as Bertolt Brecht 's 1940s play The Caucasian Chalk Circle . The common motif in those parallel versions

15642-577: The home front, Jeroboam , who supervised the building of Solomon's palace terraces and the reconstruction of the city walls, encounters the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite on the road out of Jerusalem. Ahijah tears his cloak into twelve parts and gives ten of them to Jeroboam, saying that Jeroboam will rule over ten tribes of Israel upon Solomon's death as punishment for Solomon's idol worship. In response, Solomon tries to kill Jeroboam, but he flees to Egypt. Solomon dies after having reigned for forty years and

15800-431: The impostor it is manifested in her desire for a son, which makes her steal the other mother's son when her own son dies. According to Brenner, one of the lessons of the story is that "true maternal feelings ... may exist even in the bosom of the lowliest woman". The women are designated in the Hebrew text as zōnōṯ (זוֹנוֹת), which is the plural form of the adjective zōnâ (זוֹנָה), prostitute. However, some propose

15958-521: The king to travel in an attempt to have his leprosy cured. He travels first to the king of Israel, but is eventually called by Elisha, who sends a messenger to tell him to wash seven times in the Jordan. He does what Elisha told him to and his leprosy is cured. Naaman offers Elisha a gift of thanks, but Elisha refuses. Naaman contents himself with taking earth back to Damascus in order to build an altar to God and asking God's forgiveness for when he has to participate in Aramean religious rituals when accompanying

16116-412: The king. As Naaman is leaving Gehazi catches up with him and lies about prophets arriving so that at least he can get a gift. As punishment for this, Elisha curses him to become leprous. Several other prophets begin complaining that their meeting place with Elisha is too small, so he agrees to allow them to build a new one on the banks of the Jordan. During the building, someone's borrowed axehead falls in

16274-418: The legal impasse. Beuken notes additional biblical stories which share the motif of the woman who influenced the king: Bathsheba , the woman of Tekoa , and Solomon's foreign wives who seduced him into idolatry. Beuken concludes that the true mother exemplifies the biblical character type of the wise woman. He proposes an analysis of the literary structure of the story, according to which the section that notes

16432-475: The literal meaning of the text. At times he did not always indicate when he was quoting from different authors, which according to Richard Simon accounts for his apparent discrepancies. The medieval writers were content to draw from the rich treasures left them by their predecessors. Their commentaries consisted, for the most part, of passages from the Church Fathers, which they connected together as in

16590-407: The literal to the exclusion of the mystical or allegorical sense. Theodore was born at Antioch, in 347, became Bishop of Mopsuestia, and died in the communion of the Church, 429. He was a powerful thinker, but an obscure and prolix writer. He felt intense dislike for the mystical sense, and explained the Scriptures in an extremely literal and almost rationalistic manner. His pupil, Nestorius , became

16748-476: The living child...". One cannot infer whether the word "her" refers to the plaintiff or to the defendant, as the narrator remains silent on the matter. According to the Midrash , the two women were mother- and daughter-in-law, both of whom had borne sons and whose husbands had died. The lying daughter-in-law was obliged by the laws of Yibbum to marry her brother-in-law unless released from the arrangement through

16906-469: The milieu of courtly wisdom than a folktale". The story has a number of parallels in folktales from various cultures. All of the known parallels, among them several from India , have been recorded in later periods than the biblical story; nevertheless, it is unclear whether they reflect earlier or later traditions. Hermann Gunkel rules out the possibility that such a sophisticated motif had developed independently in different places. Some scholars are of

17064-541: The modern sense of the word, but which provide the foundation for later commentary. With the exception of these classical Jewish works, this article focuses on Christian Biblical commentaries; for more on Jewish Biblical commentaries, see Jewish commentaries on the Bible . Philo tried to reconcile the Jewish Scriptures with Greek philosophy , and for this purpose he made extensive use of the allegorical method of interpretation . He taught that many passages of

17222-417: The narrator. The dialogues move the plot forward. The women's contradictory testimonies create the initial conflict necessary to build up the dramatic tension . The king's request to bring him a sword enhances the tension, as the reader wonders why it is needed. The story comes to its climax with the shocking royal order to cut the boy, which for a moment casts doubt on the king's judgment. But what seems to be

17380-401: The new king of Aram, raises an army and sends messengers demanding all Ahab's gold and silver, and the best of his wives and children. While agreeing to this demand, after consulting his advisors he decides not to accept a follow-up demand requesting anything else of value in his palace or his officials' houses. In response to this situation, Ben-Hadad attacks Samaria. At this point, Ahab receives

17538-667: The north, but the prophet Shemaiah prevents the war. Back in Shechem, Jeroboam becomes worried about the possible return of his tribes to loyalty to the House of David, and decides the best way to prevent this is to stop them worshipping the God of Israel , since he considers the point at which they are most likely to defect to be when they travel to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. To this end, he sets up golden calves at altars at Bethel and Dan and appoints his own priests and festivals. One day,

17696-404: The oil, pay the creditors and live off the rest. He then moves on to Shunem , where a woman invites him to eat and soon decides to build a room for use whenever he passes through. His servant Gehazi informs him that she has no son, so Elisha tells her that she will have a child within a year, as payment for her kindness. One day, the child is helping his father's reapers when he complains of

17854-409: The opinion that the source of the story is untraceable. In the biblical version, the two women are identified as prostitutes, but in some Indian versions they are widows of one husband. Some scholars have inferred the origin of the story from this difference. Following Gressmann, Gunkel speculates a possible Indian origin, on the basis that "[s]uch stories of wise judgments are the real life stuff of

18012-519: The people had lost the knowledge of Hebrew. It is doubtful whether any of them were committed to writing before the Christian Era. They are important as indicating the character of the Hebrew text used. Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040–1105), more commonly known as Rashi ( RA bbi SH lomo I tzhaki), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and commentary on

18170-473: The plot forward more than any other element". Hugo Gressmann has found several similar stories in world folklore and literature, especially in India and the far east. One Indian version is a Jataka story dealing with Buddha in one of his previous incarnations as the sage Mahosadha, who arbitrates between a mother and a Yakshini who is in the shape of a woman, who kidnapped the mother's baby and claimed he

18328-417: The presence of his brothers and the royal officials, but does not invite Nathan the prophet ; Benanaiah , captain of the king's bodyguard, or the bodyguard itself; or even his own brother Solomon . Nathan comes to Bathsheba , Solomon's mother, and informs her what is going on. She goes to David and reminds him that he said Solomon would be his successor. As she is speaking to him, Nathan enters and explains

18486-423: The prophecy of Jehu; however, Zimri's army now proclaims its commander Omri as king and returns to Tirzah to lay siege to it. Seeing he is losing, Zimri sets fire to the palace. The start of Omri's reign faces factionalism, with half his subjects supporting Tibni , son of Gibnath as king. He buys the hill of Shemer, upon which he builds the city of Samaria . However, he is the worst king yet. When he dies, he

18644-499: The protector of the weak, "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows" (Psalms 68:5). Prostitutes in biblical society are considered functional widows, for they have no male patron to represent them in court and their sons are considered fatherless. They also bear similarity to the proselyte who is sometimes mentioned in the Hebrew Bible with the widow and the fatherless, in that they are socially marginalized and deprived of

18802-432: The reason they lost was because God lives in the hills, leading them to attack Aphek , a city on the plains, the following spring. In response to this, God agrees to give the Israelites another victory to demonstrate his omnipresence. After a disastrous first day, Ben-Hadad sends messengers to Ahab, begging him to spare him. Ahab sends for Ben-Hadad, who offers to return the land his father took from Israel. The two kings sign

18960-464: The remaining Canaanites into slavery. Solomon builds a navy. The Queen of Sheba hears of Solomon's wisdom and travels to Jerusalem to meet him. Upon arriving, she praises him, saying she did not fully believe the stories about Solomon until she came to see him. The Queen gives Solomon 120 talents and a large amount of spices and precious stones, prompting Hiram to send a large amount of valuable wood and precious stones in response. Solomon also gives

19118-429: The remaining boy as her own. Calling for a sword, Solomon declared his judgment: the baby would be cut in two, each woman to receive half. One mother did not contest the ruling, declaring that if she could not have the baby then neither of them could, but the other begged Solomon, "Give the baby to her, just don't kill him!" The king declared the second woman the true mother, as a mother would even give up her baby if that

19276-463: The remaining male temple prostitutes and there is now a provincial governor rather than a king in Edom. He has built a merchant navy, but it was wrecked at Ezion-Geber . Ahaziah suggests they join forces in this regard, but Jehoshaphat refuses. He dies and is succeeded by his son Jehoram . Ahaziah does evil and allows the idol worship which flourished under his father to continue. Ahaziah falls through

19434-401: The right to advocacy. They can seek justice from only one source: God, embodied in the story as the source of Solomon's wisdom. The women are not explicitly condemned for their occupation, and some think that the narrator does not intend to discredit them for being prostitutes, and their conduct should be judged against universal human standards. On the other hand, Phyllis Bird thinks that

19592-408: The river but miraculously floats. By this point, Aram is back at war with Israel. Elisha warns the king of Israel where the Arameans are camped several times, frustrating the king of Aram, who seeks him out. One morning, Elisha wakes up to find Dothan , the city where he is staying, surrounded by Arameans. His servant is frightened, until Elisha shows him the angels protecting them. He then prays that

19750-421: The royal and Temple treasures, including Solomon's gold shields, prompting Rehoboam to make bronze ones to replace them. Rehoboam dies and is succeeded by his son Abijah , a grandson of Absalom . Abijah is as bad as his father, but God continues to protect him and his family because of the promise He made to David. When Abijah dies, he is succeeded by his son Asa . Asa, in contrast to his father and grandfather,

19908-499: The sacrifice. Elijah orders the priests of Baal be killed, and informs Ahab of the coming rain. Climbing to the top of the mountain, Elijah sends his servant to look out to sea. After returning seven times, the servant eventually sees a small cloud rising far out at sea. Elijah tells the servant to inform Ahab to return to Jezreel in his chariot, while Elijah manages to run ahead of him. When she hears what has happened, Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah, causing him to run for his life. In

20066-453: The speculated book of the Acts of Solomon , which he proposes to be a wisdom work which originated in court circles shortly after the split of the united monarchy . The story may be divided into two parts, similar in length, matching the trial's sequence. In the first part (verses 16–22) the case is described: The two women introduce their arguments and, at this point, no response from the king

20224-459: The story is linked to the preceding account of Solomon's dream in Gibeon, by the common pattern of prophetic dream and its subsequent fulfillment. Some think this proximity of the stories results from the work of a redactor . Others, such as Saul Zalewski, consider the two accounts to be inseparable and to form a literarily unified unit. In its broader context, the Judgment of Solomon forms part of

20382-536: The story is told by Meredith Grey in the beginning of the episode "Mama Tried". The HIM song "Shatter Me With Hope" includes the line "We'll tear this baby apart, wise like Solomon". The Tool song " Right in Two " slightly paraphrases the scene and includes the lyric "Cut and divide it all right in two". The short story " Popular Mechanics " by Raymond Carver ends with a baby being pulled between two parents, ultimately being harmed in some unspoken way in homage to

20540-442: The story leaves the king anonymous just like the other characters. Some scholars think that the original tale was not necessarily about Solomon, and perhaps dealt with a typical unnamed king. A different opinion is held by Eli Yassif, who thinks the author of the Book of Kings did not attribute the story to Solomon on his own behalf, but the attribution to Solomon had already developed in preliterary tradition. Scholars point out that

20698-487: The story of the cannibal mothers: While in the Judgment of Solomon, the king depend on his knowledge of maternal nature to decide the case, the story of the cannibal women describe a "topsy-turvy" world in which maternal nature does not work as expected, thus leaving the king helpless. Like many other women in the Hebrew Bible, the two women in this story are anonymous. It is speculated their names have not been mentioned so that they would not overshadow Solomon's wisdom, which

20856-399: The story presupposes the stereotypical biblical image of the prostitute as a selfish liar. The true mother is revealed when her motherly essence – which is also stereotypical – surpasses her selfish essence. Athalya Brenner notes that both women's maternal instinct is intact: For the true mother it is manifested, as mentioned, in the compassion and devotion that she shows for her son; and for

21014-421: The story's overt purpose to glorify Solomon. Some scholars assume, as already mentioned, that the story existed independently before it was integrated into its current context. Willem Beuken thinks that the original tale was not about the king's wisdom – the concluding note about Solomon's wisdom is considered secondary – but about a woman who, by listening to her motherly instinct, helped the king to break through

21172-667: The subject of television episodes of Dinosaurs , Recess , The Simpsons (where a pie was substituted for the baby), the Netflix animated series, All Hail King Julien , where a pineapple is cut in two to settle a dispute, the Seinfeld episode " The Seven ", and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit . It has influenced other artistic disciplines, e.g. Bertolt Brecht 's play The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Ronnie snatching Kat's baby in EastEnders . In Grey's Anatomy ,

21330-687: The subject of the Nestorian controversy; the Nestorians translated his books into Syriac and regarded Theodore as their great "Doctor". This made Catholics suspicious of his writings, which were finally condemned after the famous controversy on The Three Chapters . Theodore's commentary on St. John's Gospel , in Syriac, was published, with a Latin translation, by a Catholic scholar, Dr. Chabot. St. John Chrysostom, priest of Antioch, became Patriarch of Constantinople in 398. He left homilies on most of

21488-538: The tabernacle, Solomon instructs Benaiah to kill him there. He then replaces Joab with Benaiah and Abiathar with Zadok. Solomon then instructs Shimei ben Gera , the Benjaminite who cursed David as he was fleeing from Absalom, to move to Jerusalem and not to leave. One day, two of Shimei's slaves run away to Gath and Shimei pursues them. When he returns to Jerusalem, Solomon has him put to death for leaving Jerusalem. Solomon makes an alliance with Egypt and marries

21646-534: The text, according to the wise principle laid down by St. Thomas in the beginning of his "Summa Theologica". It was then that the Jesuits, founded in 1534, stepped into the front rank to counter the attacks on the Catholic Church. The Ratio Studiorum of the Jesuits made it incumbent on their professors of Scripture to acquire a mastery of Greek, Hebrew, and other Semitic languages. Alfonso Salmeron , one of

21804-533: The top of Mount Carmel . There, he upbraids the people for their duplicity, telling them to choose either worship of the God of Israel or of Baal. He then proposes a challenge: he and the priests will each prepare a sacrifice, and then call upon their respective gods to send fire to burn it. When the priests attempt to call down fire, none comes. On the other hand, despite having the Israelites pour much water over his altar, when Elijah prays for fire God sends it, accepting

21962-512: The top of the judicial hierarchy (Deuteronomy 17:8–13). Several stories in the Hebrew Bible bear similarity to the Judgment of Solomon and scholars think they allude to it. The most similar story is that of the two cannibal mothers in 2 Kings 6:24–33, which forms part of the Elisha cycle. The background is a famine in Samaria , caused by a siege on the city. As the king passes through the city,

22120-415: The true mother and jealousy for the impostor. Other scholars point out that such a travelling folktale might become, in its various forms, more or less coherent. The assertion that one version is more coherent than the other does not compel the conclusion that the first is more original, making the argument about which version's women had more compelling reasons to fight over the child irrelevant. The story

22278-440: The verdict turns out to be a clever trick which achieves its goal, and results in the recognition of the true mother, and the resolution. The major overt purpose of the account of Solomon's reign, to which the Judgment of Solomon belongs as stated above, is to glorify King Solomon, and his wisdom is one of the account's dominant themes. The exceptions are: The first two chapters (1 Kings 1–2) which, according to many scholars portray

22436-483: The vineyard and that his descendants and Jezebel will be wiped out. This has marked the peak of Ahab's evilness, and indeed the evilness of any king of Israel. Ahab repents, so God allows the disaster Elijah prophesied to come during the reign of his son instead. Three years pass with peace between Aram and Israel. Aram still possesses Ramoth-Gilead and, when Jehoshaphat agrees for the Judahite army to accompany him on

22594-709: The west of the Sea of Galilee . The rabbis comforted their countrymen by teaching that the study of the Law (Oral as well as Written) took the place of the sacrifices. They devoted their energies to arranging the Unwritten Torah, or Law. One of the most successful at this was Rabbi Akiba who took part in the Third Jewish Revolt of Bar Kochba against the Romans , and lost his life (135). The work of systematization

22752-547: The whole Bible. Cornelius a Lapide, S. J. (born 1566), was a native of the Low Countries, and was well versed in Greek and Hebrew. During forty years he devoted himself to teaching and to the composition of his great work, which has been highly praised by Protestants as well as Catholics. Juan Maldonato , a Spanish Jesuit, born 1584, wrote commentaries on Isaias, Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel, Psalms, Proverbs, Canticles (Song of Solomon), and Ecclesiastes. His best work, however,

22910-546: The whole of the Bible by the Jesuit Fathers, Karl Cornely , Joseph Knabenbauer , and Franz Hummelauer . The writings of Marie-Joseph Lagrange (Les Juges), Albert Condamin (Isaïe), Theodore Calmes (Saint Jean), Albin van Hoonacker (Les Douze Petits Prophètes). For a list of Catholic publications on the Scripture, the reader may be referred to the "Revue biblique", edited by Lagrange (Jerusalem and Paris), and

23068-404: The wilderness near Beersheba , Elijah, fed up, asks God to kill him. Instead, an angel supplies him with food, which gives him the strength to continue a further forty days until he reaches Mount Horeb , where he falls asleep in a cave. When Elijah wakes up, God tells him He is about to pass by. An earthquake occurs and a fire starts, but neither contain God. Instead, God appears in the form of

23226-649: The words in the sense of applying them to Abraham . Anan ben David , a prominent Babylonian Jew in the eighth century, rejected Rabbinism for the written Old Testament and became the founder of the sect known a Karaites (a word indicating their preference for the written Bible). This schism produced great energy and ability on both sides. The principal Karaite Bible commentators were Nahavendi (ninth century); Abu al-Faraj Harun (ninth century), exegete and Hebrew grammarian; Solomon ben Yerucham (tenth century); Sahal ben Mazliach (died 950), Hebrew grammarian and lexicographer; Joseph al-Bazir (died 930); Japhet ben Ali ,

23384-507: The words of the text. Thomas Aquinas (thirteenth century) left commentaries on Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Epistles of St. Paul, and was the author of the well-known Catena Aurea on the Gospels. This consists of quotations from over eighty Church Fathers . He throws much light on the literal sense and is most happy in illustrating difficult points by parallel passages from other parts of the Bible. Nicholas de Lyra (thirteenth century), joined

23542-523: Was a statesman and scholar. None of his predecessors came so near the modern ideal of a commentator as he did. He prefixed general introductions to each book, and was the first Jew to make extensive use of Christian commentaries. Elias Levita (died 1549) and Azarias de Rossi (died 1577) have also to be mentioned. Moses Mendelssohn of Berlin (died 1786), a friend of Lessing , translated the Pentateuch into German. His commentaries (in Hebrew) are close, learned, critical, and acute. He had much influence, and

23700-550: Was by a Gnostic named Heracleon in the 170s  CE . Most of the patristic commentaries are in the form of homilies, or discourses to the faithful, and range over the whole of Scripture. There are two schools of interpretation, that of Alexandria and that of Antioch. The chief writers of the Alexandrian School were: To these may be added Its chief characteristic was the allegorical method. The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia considers it to be founded on passages in

23858-732: Was completed and probably committed to writing by the Jewish patriarch at Tiberias , Rabbi Jehudah ha-Nasi "The Prince" (150–210). He was of noble birth, wealthy, learned, and is called by the Jews "Our Master the Saint" or simply Rabbi par excellence. This compilation, called the Mishna, is written in Mishnaic Hebrew and consists of six great divisions or orders, each division containing, on an average, about ten tractates, each tractate being made up of several chapters. The Mishna may be said to be

24016-508: Was followed by Wessely , Jarosław , Homberg , Euchel , Friedlander , Hertz , Herxheimer , Ludwig Philippson , etc., called " Biurists ", or expositors. The modern liberal school among the Jews is represented by Salomon Munk , Samuel David Luzzato , Leopold Zunz , Geiger, Julius Fürst , etc. Rabbi Pesach Wolicki (born 1970) is a biblical scholar and commentator. His book, Cup of Salvation , also known as Cup of Salvation: A Powerful Journey Through King David's Psalms of Praise , which

24174-463: Was given to exegetical studies by the Council of Vienne which decreed, in 1311, that chairs of Hebrew, Chaldean, and Arabic should be established at Paris, Oxford, Bologna, and Salamanca. Besides the major writers already mentioned the following are some of the principal exegetes, many of them Benedictines, from patristic times till the Council of Trent: The influx of Greek scholars into Italy after

24332-401: Was hers. The sage announced a tug of war , drawing a line on the ground and asking the two to stand on opposite sides of it, one holding the baby's feet, the other his hands – the one who pulled the baby's whole body beyond the line would get to keep him. The mother, seeing how the baby suffered, released him and, weeping, let the Yakshini take him. When the sage saw that, he returned the baby to

24490-422: Was necessary to save its life, and awarded her custody. This judgment became known throughout all of Israel and was considered an example of profound wisdom. The story is commonly viewed in scholarship as an instance or a reworking of a folktale . Its folkloristic nature is apparent, among other things, in the dominance of direct speech which moves the plot on and contributes to the characterization . The story

24648-401: Was promised by God he would be given unprecedented wisdom. Most scholars read the story at face value and conclude that its major purpose is to demonstrate the fulfilment of the divine promise and to illustrate Solomon's wisdom expressed in juridical form. Other scholars also recognize in this story, as in other parts of the account of Solomon's reign, ironic elements which are not consistent with

24806-629: Was published by the Center for Jewish–Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC) in 2017, is a devotional biblical commentary on Psalms 113-118 otherwise known as the Hallel . The history of Christian exegesis may be roughly divided into three periods: the Age of the Fathers, the Age of Catenæ and Scholia (seventh to sixteenth century), and the Age of Modern Commentaries (sixteenth to twentieth century). The earliest known commentary on Christian scriptures

24964-400: Was selfless, as opposed to the first woman's selfish disregard for the baby's actual well-being. Some consider this approach to justice an archetypal example of an impartial judge displaying wisdom in making a ruling. 1 Kings 3:16–28 recounts that two mothers living in the same house, each the mother of an infant son, came to Solomon. One of the babies had been smothered , and each claimed

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