I Kings 3

מלכים א׳ פרק ג׳

Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: I Kings | Chapter: 3 of 22 | Day: 103 of 742

Date: May 25, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

If chapter 2 closed with the kingdom firmly established in Shlomo’s hand, chapter 3 asks the question that the rest of the book — and arguably the rest of Sefer Melakhim — will spend its energy trying to answer: what kind of king is Shlomo going to be? The chapter offers two scenes that frame the answer in deliberate counterpoint. The first, at Givon, is private and theophanic: the young king alone before God in a dream, asked what he would like and answering with a request whose modesty becomes the chapter’s argument. The second, at Yerushalayim, is public and forensic: two unnamed women, a single living infant, a sword, and a verdict that all Israel hears. Between these two scenes lies the whole theory of biblical kingship — that the wisdom granted in private prayer must be visible in public judgment, or it is no wisdom at all.

The chapter opens with three notes the narrator places almost diffidently before the main story, but which classical commentators mine for theological weight. Shlomo enters into a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, taking Pharaoh’s daughter and bringing her to the City of Dovid until his palace, the House of the Lord, and the wall of Yerushalayim are completed. The verse is descriptive, not condemnatory, but Rashi and Radak both register the discomfort: a Davidic king begins his reign by binding himself to the very dynasty Israel had once been delivered from. The second note is that the people were still sacrificing at the bamot (high places) because the Beit ha-Mikdash had not yet been built. Metzudat David and Radak read this as historical context rather than indictment — bamot were technically permitted in this transitional period — but the text deliberately raises the issue so that Shlomo’s own sacrifice at the great bamah of Givon is read against a horizon of partial legitimacy. The third note is the crucial loving formula: “וַיֶּאֱהַב שְׁלֹמֹה אֶת־ה׳” — Shlomo loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of Dovid his father. The narrator’s contrast is calibrated: a king of mixed practice but undivided love, a foreshadowing of the more troubled chapters that lie ahead.

The Givon dream itself is the theological summit of the chapter, and one of the most often-cited passages in all of Jewish tradition on the nature of wisdom. God appears to Shlomo by night and asks the open question: שְׁאַל מָה אֶתֶּן־לָךְ — ask what I shall give you. Shlomo’s answer is preceded by an extraordinary act of theological accounting: he recalls the chesed Hashem performed for Dovid, acknowledges his own youth and inexperience (“נַעַר קָטֹן, לֹא אֵדַע צֵאת וָבֹא”), takes stock of the sheer scale of the people he has been given to govern (“עַם רָב אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִמָּנֶה וְלֹא יִסָּפֵר”), and only then issues his request: “וְנָתַתָּ לְעַבְדְּךָ לֵב שֹׁמֵעַ לִשְׁפֹּט אֶת־עַמְּךָ” — give Your servant a listening heart to judge Your people. The phrase “lev shomea” has fascinated commentators across centuries; Rashi reads it as a heart capable of receiving teaching, Radak as a heart trained in discernment, the midrashic tradition as a heart that can hear both sides of every dispute. What unites the readings is the recognition that Shlomo asks for a particular kind of knowledge — practical, juridical, oriented toward governance — rather than the abstract chochmah that some other tradition might have prized. God’s response — the gift of wisdom and discernment ‘such that none was before you and none shall arise after you,’ supplemented by riches, honor, and conditional length of days — restructures the asymmetry of the asking: because the request was righteous, what was not asked is added. Chazal in Berakhot 5b extract from this scene a working principle of the spiritual life — that the things one does not chase after often arrive precisely because they have not been chased.

The trial of the two mothers, which closes the chapter, is the dream’s instantiation in waking governance. Two prostitutes living in a single house each give birth, three days apart; one infant dies in the night, and the surviving baby becomes the disputed object. The narrative is composed with cinematic compression: the first woman tells the story of the substitution; the second woman flatly contradicts her; the king pauses, observes, and then commands a sword be brought. The verdict — divide the living child in two and give half to each — is, of course, never meant to be carried out. Rashi and Metzudat David explain that the proposal is a test of the maternal claim: the true mother will choose the child’s life over her own claim to him, and the false mother will accept the division because what she wants is parity of loss, not the child himself. The two women’s reactions reveal the truth that no testimony alone could have established. The king’s ruling — give the living child to the first woman, ‘she is his mother’ — is not deduced but discerned; it is the lev shomea operating in the only forum where its quality can be tested. The chapter closes on the public effect of this private competence: “וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֲשֶׁר שָׁפַט הַמֶּלֶךְ … כִּי חׇכְמַת אֱלֹהִים בְּקִרְבּוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט” — and all Israel heard the judgment that the king had judged, and they feared before the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was within him to do justice.

The chapter’s structural achievement is the binding of these two scenes into a single argument. Wisdom granted privately at Givon becomes visible publicly at Yerushalayim; the gift sought in solitude is verified in the most exposed of arenas. Classical commentators are unanimous that this is the architecture of the chapter — Ralbag draws explicit toaliyot (lessons) from each scene about the relationship between divine illumination and practical judgment, and Abarbanel, writing centuries later, reads the trial as the literary proof-text for the Givon promise: had the dream been a fantasy, no judgment would have followed; had the judgment come without the dream, no theological claim could be made. The book has now answered, at least provisionally, the question with which it opened. Shlomo will be the king who governs not by the sword (his father’s reign) nor by birthright (Adoniyahu’s claim) but by the mishpat that flows from a heart trained to listen. Whether that wisdom can survive the encounters with foreign wives, monumental construction, and political consolidation that will fill the next eight chapters is a question the book has not yet settled — but it has put the standard in place, and it is by this standard that everything that follows will be measured.

פרק ג׳ · Chapter 3

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

וַיִּתְחַתֵּ֣ן שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה אֶת־פַּרְעֹ֖ה מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרָ֑יִם וַיִּקַּ֣ח אֶת־בַּת־פַּרְעֹ֗ה וַיְבִיאֶ֙הָ֙ אֶל־עִ֣יר דָּוִ֔ד עַ֣ד כַּלֹּת֗וֹ לִבְנ֤וֹת אֶת־בֵּיתוֹ֙ וְאֶת־בֵּ֣ית יְהֹוָ֔ה וְאֶת־חוֹמַ֥ת יְרוּשָׁלַ֖͏ִם סָבִֽיב׃

English:

Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He married Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the City of David [to live there] until he had finished building his palace, and the House of GOD, and the walls around Jerusalem.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

רַ֣ק הָעָ֔ם מְזַבְּחִ֖ים בַּבָּמ֑וֹת כִּ֠י לֹֽא־נִבְנָ֥ה בַ֙יִת֙ לְשֵׁ֣ם יְהֹוָ֔ה עַ֖ד הַיָּמִ֥ים הָהֵֽם׃ {פ}

English:

The people, however, continued to offer sacrifices at the open shrines, because up to that time no house had been built for GOD’s name.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וַיֶּאֱהַ֤ב שְׁלֹמֹה֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֔ה לָלֶ֕כֶת בְּחֻקּ֖וֹת דָּוִ֣ד אָבִ֑יו רַ֚ק בַּבָּמ֔וֹת ה֥וּא מְזַבֵּ֖חַ וּמַקְטִֽיר׃

English:

And Solomon, though he loved GOD and followed the practices of his father David, also sacrificed and offered at the shrines.

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ גִּבְעֹ֙נָה֙ לִזְבֹּ֣חַ שָׁ֔ם כִּי־הִ֖יא הַבָּמָ֣ה הַגְּדוֹלָ֑ה אֶ֤לֶף עֹלוֹת֙ יַעֲלֶ֣ה שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה עַ֖ל הַמִּזְבֵּ֥חַ הַהֽוּא׃

English:

The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the largest shrine; on that altar Solomon presented a thousand burnt offerings.

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

בְּגִבְע֗וֹן נִרְאָ֧ה יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶל־שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה בַּחֲל֣וֹם הַלָּ֑יְלָה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים שְׁאַ֖ל מָ֥ה אֶתֶּן־לָֽךְ׃

English:

At Gibeon GOD appeared toaappeared to Or “made contact with.” Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask, what shall I grant you?”

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁלֹמֹ֗ה אַתָּ֨ה עָשִׂ֜יתָ עִם־עַבְדְּךָ֨ דָוִ֣ד אָבִי֮ חֶ֣סֶד גָּדוֹל֒ כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ הָלַ֨ךְ לְפָנֶ֜יךָ בֶּאֱמֶ֧ת וּבִצְדָקָ֛ה וּבְיִשְׁרַ֥ת לֵבָ֖ב עִמָּ֑ךְ וַתִּשְׁמׇר־ל֗וֹ אֶת־הַחֶ֤סֶד הַגָּדוֹל֙ הַזֶּ֔ה וַתִּתֶּן־ל֥וֹ בֵ֛ן יֹשֵׁ֥ב עַל־כִּסְא֖וֹ כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃

English:

Solomon said, “You dealt most graciously with Your servant my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness and righteousness and in integrity of heart. You have continued this great kindness to him by giving him a son to occupy his throne, as is now the case.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וְעַתָּה֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֔י אַתָּה֙ הִמְלַ֣כְתָּ אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֔ תַּ֖חַת דָּוִ֣ד אָבִ֑י וְאָֽנֹכִי֙ נַ֣עַר קָטֹ֔ן לֹ֥א אֵדַ֖ע צֵ֥את וָבֹֽא׃

English:

And now, my ETERNAL God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David; but I am a young lad, with no experience in leadership.bwith no experience in leadership Lit. “do not know going out and coming in”; cf. Num. 27.17.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וְעַ֨בְדְּךָ֔ בְּת֥וֹךְ עַמְּךָ֖ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּחָ֑רְתָּ עַם־רָ֕ב אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹֽא־יִמָּנֶ֛ה וְלֹ֥א יִסָּפֵ֖ר מֵרֹֽב׃

English:

Your servant finds himself in the midst of the people You have chosen, a people too numerous to be numbered or counted.

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וְנָתַתָּ֨ לְעַבְדְּךָ֜ לֵ֤ב שֹׁמֵ֙עַ֙ לִשְׁפֹּ֣ט אֶֽת־עַמְּךָ֔ לְהָבִ֖ין בֵּֽין־ט֣וֹב לְרָ֑ע כִּ֣י מִ֤י יוּכַל֙ לִשְׁפֹּ֔ט אֶת־עַמְּךָ֥ הַכָּבֵ֖ד הַזֶּֽה׃

English:

Grant, then, Your servant an understanding mindcunderstanding mind Lit. “listening heart.��� to judge Your people, to distinguish between good and bad; for who can judge this vast people of Yours?”

פסוק י״ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וַיִּיטַ֥ב הַדָּבָ֖ר בְּעֵינֵ֣י אֲדֹנָ֑י כִּ֚י שָׁאַ֣ל שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה אֶת־הַדָּבָ֖ר הַזֶּֽה׃

English:

Pleased that Solomon had asked for this,

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֵלָ֗יו יַ֩עַן֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר שָׁאַ֜לְתָּ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֗ה וְלֹא־שָׁאַ֨לְתָּ לְּךָ֜ יָמִ֣ים רַבִּ֗ים וְלֹֽא־שָׁאַ֤לְתָּ לְּךָ֙ עֹ֔שֶׁר וְלֹ֥א שָׁאַ֖לְתָּ נֶ֣פֶשׁ אֹיְבֶ֑יךָ וְשָׁאַ֧לְתָּ לְּךָ֛ הָבִ֖ין לִשְׁמֹ֥עַ מִשְׁפָּֽט׃

English:

God said to him, “Because you asked for this—you did not ask for long life, you did not ask for riches, you did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for discernment in dispensing justice—

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

הִנֵּ֥ה עָשִׂ֖יתִי כִּדְבָרֶ֑יךָ הִנֵּ֣ה ׀ נָתַ֣תִּֽי לְךָ֗ לֵ֚ב חָכָ֣ם וְנָב֔וֹן אֲשֶׁ֤ר כָּמ֙וֹךָ֙ לֹא־הָיָ֣ה לְפָנֶ֔יךָ וְאַחֲרֶ֖יךָ לֹא־יָק֥וּם כָּמֽוֹךָ׃

English:

I now do as you have spoken. I grant you a wise and discerning mind; there has never been anyone like you before, nor will anyone like you arise again.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וְגַ֨ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־שָׁאַ֙לְתָּ֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לָ֔ךְ גַּם־עֹ֖שֶׁר גַּם־כָּב֑וֹד אֲ֠שֶׁ֠ר לֹא־הָיָ֨ה כָמ֥וֹךָֽ אִ֛ישׁ בַּמ��ְלָכִ֖ים כׇּל־יָמֶֽיךָ׃

English:

And I also grant you what you did not ask for—both riches and glory all your life—the like of which no king has ever had.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וְאִ֣ם ׀ תֵּלֵ֣ךְ בִּדְרָכַ֗י לִשְׁמֹ֤ר חֻקַּי֙ וּמִצְוֺתַ֔י כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר הָלַ֖ךְ דָּוִ֣יד אָבִ֑יךָ וְהַאֲרַכְתִּ֖י אֶת־יָמֶֽיךָ׃ {ס}        

English:

And I will further grant you long life, if you will walk in My ways and observe My laws and commandments, as did your father David.”

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וַיִּקַ֥ץ שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה וְהִנֵּ֣ה חֲל֑וֹם וַיָּב֨וֹא יְרוּשָׁלַ֜͏ִם וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֣ד ׀ לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ אֲר֣וֹן בְּרִית־אֲדֹנָ֗י וַיַּ֤עַל עֹלוֹת֙ וַיַּ֣עַשׂ שְׁלָמִ֔ים וַיַּ֥עַשׂ מִשְׁתֶּ֖ה לְכׇל־עֲבָדָֽיו׃ {פ}

English:

Then Solomon awoke: it was a dream! He went to Jerusalem, stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Sovereign One, and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented offerings of well-being; and he made a banquet for all his courtiers.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

אָ֣ז תָּבֹ֗אנָה שְׁתַּ֛יִם נָשִׁ֥ים זֹנ֖וֹת אֶל־הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֖דְנָה לְפָנָֽיו׃

English:

Later two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

וַתֹּ֜אמֶר הָאִשָּׁ֤ה הָאַחַת֙ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִ֔י אֲנִי֙ וְהָאִשָּׁ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את יֹשְׁבֹ֖ת בְּבַ֣יִת אֶחָ֑ד וָאֵלֵ֥ד עִמָּ֖הּ בַּבָּֽיִת׃

English:

The first woman said, “Please, my lord! This woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֞י בַּיּ֤וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי֙ לְלִדְתִּ֔י וַ��ֵּ֖לֶד גַּם־הָאִשָּׁ֣ה הַזֹּ֑את וַאֲנַ֣חְנוּ יַחְדָּ֗ו אֵֽין־זָ֤ר אִתָּ֙נוּ֙ בַּבַּ֔יִת זוּלָתִ֥י שְׁתַּֽיִם־אֲנַ֖חְנוּ בַּבָּֽיִת׃

English:

On the third day after I was delivered, this woman also gave birth to a child. We were alone; there was no one else with us in the house, just the two of us in the house.

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וַיָּ֛מׇת בֶּן־הָאִשָּׁ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את לָ֑יְלָה אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁכְבָ֖ה עָלָֽיו׃

English:

During the night this woman’s child died, because she lay on it.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וַתָּ֩קׇם֩ בְּת֨וֹךְ הַלַּ֜יְלָה וַתִּקַּ֧ח אֶת־בְּנִ֣י מֵאֶצְלִ֗י וַאֲמָֽתְךָ֙ יְשֵׁנָ֔ה וַתַּשְׁכִּיבֵ֖הוּ בְּחֵיקָ֑הּ וְאֶת־בְּנָ֥הּ הַמֵּ֖ת הִשְׁכִּ֥יבָה בְחֵיקִֽי׃

English:

She arose in the night and took my son from my side while your maidservant was asleep, and laid him in her bosom; and she laid her dead son in my bosom.

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

וָאָקֻ֥ם בַּבֹּ֛קֶר לְהֵינִ֥יק אֶת־בְּנִ֖י וְהִנֵּה־מֵ֑ת וָאֶתְבּוֹנֵ֤ן אֵלָיו֙ בַּבֹּ֔קֶר וְהִנֵּ֛ה לֹא־הָיָ֥ה בְנִ֖י אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָלָֽדְתִּי׃

English:

When I arose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead; but when I looked at him closely in the morning, it was not the son I had borne.”

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וַתֹּ֩אמֶר֩ הָאִשָּׁ֨ה הָאַחֶ֜רֶת לֹ֣א כִ֗י בְּנִ֤י הַחַי֙ וּבְנֵ֣ךְ הַמֵּ֔ת וְזֹ֤את אֹמֶ֙רֶת֙ לֹ֣א כִ֔י בְּנֵ֥ךְ הַמֵּ֖ת וּבְנִ֣י הֶחָ֑י וַתְּדַבֵּ֖רְנָה לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

English:

The other woman spoke up, “No, the live one is my son, and the dead one is yours!” But the first insisted, “No, the dead boy is yours; mine is the live one!” And they went on arguing before the king.

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ זֹ֣את אֹמֶ֔רֶת זֶה־בְּנִ֥י הַחַ֖י וּבְנֵ֣ךְ הַמֵּ֑ת וְזֹ֤את אֹמֶ֙רֶת֙ לֹ֣א כִ֔י בְּנֵ֥ךְ הַמֵּ֖ת וּבְנִ֥י הֶחָֽי׃ {פ}

English:

The king said, “One says, ‘This is my son, the live one, and the dead one is yours’; and the other says, ‘No, the dead boy is yours, mine is the live one.’”

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ קְח֣וּ לִי־חָ֑רֶב וַיָּבִ֥אוּ הַחֶ֖רֶב לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

English:

So the king gave the order, “Fetch me a sword.” A sword was brought before the king,

פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ גִּזְר֛וּ אֶת־הַיֶּ֥לֶד הַחַ֖י לִשְׁנָ֑יִם וּתְנ֤וּ אֶֽת־הַחֲצִי֙ לְאַחַ֔ת וְאֶֽת־הַחֲצִ֖י לְאֶחָֽת׃

English:

and the king said, “Cut the live child in two, and give half to one and half to the other.”

פסוק כ״ו · Verse 26

Hebrew:

וַתֹּ֣אמֶר הָאִשָּׁה֩ אֲשֶׁר־בְּנָ֨הּ הַחַ֜י אֶל־הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ כִּֽי־נִכְמְר֣וּ רַחֲמֶ֘יהָ֮ עַל־בְּנָהּ֒ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר ׀ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִ֗י תְּנוּ־לָהּ֙ אֶת־הַיָּל֣וּד הַחַ֔י וְהָמֵ֖ת אַל־תְּמִיתֻ֑הוּ וְזֹ֣את אֹמֶ֗רֶת גַּם־לִ֥י גַם־לָ֛ךְ לֹ֥א יִהְיֶ֖ה גְּזֹֽרוּ׃

English:

But the woman whose son was the live one pleaded with the king, for she was overcome with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she cried, “give her the live child; only don’t kill it!” The other insisted, “It shall be neither yours nor mine; cut it in two!”

פסוק כ״ז · Verse 27

Hebrew:

וַיַּ֨עַן הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ וַיֹּ֗אמֶר תְּנוּ־לָהּ֙ אֶת־הַיָּל֣וּד הַחַ֔י וְהָמֵ֖ת לֹ֣א תְמִיתֻ֑הוּ הִ֖יא אִמּֽוֹ׃ {ס}        

English:

Then the king spoke up. “Give the live child to her,” he said, “and do not put it to death; she is its mother.”

פסוק כ״ח · Verse 28

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁמְע֣וּ כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אֶת־הַמִּשְׁפָּט֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר שָׁפַ֣ט הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַיִּֽרְא֖וּ מִפְּנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ כִּ֣י רָא֔וּ כִּֽי־חׇכְמַ֧ת אֱלֹהִ֛ים בְּקִרְבּ֖וֹ לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת מִשְׁפָּֽט׃ {ס}        

English:

When all Israel heard the decision that the king had rendered, they stood in awe of the king; for they saw that he possessed divine wisdom to execute justice.

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