1 Kings 3:21

The next morning, when I got up to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. But when I examined him, I realized that he was not the son I had borne.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — A woman in a custody dispute before King Solomon recounts her discovery upon waking the next morning. She addresses the king and her rival, describing the precise moment she rose to nurse her child and found him dead.

The words — The Hebrew verb אֶתְבּוֹנֵן (et.bonen) means to look carefully or examine, and בֹּקֶר (bo.ker) specifies the morning. These terms anchor her claim in deliberate, time-bound observation rather than vague assertion.

The thread — The act of nursing appears in Genesis 21:7 regarding Sarah, 1 Samuel 1:23 concerning Hannah’s vow, and Lamentations 4:3 as a metaphor for lost maternal care. These passages frame nursing as a recognized cultural marker of maternity and divine provision.

Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to weigh direct observation against competing claims in a dispute. It demands attention to factual detail as the basis for resolving conflict.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וָאָקֻ֥םva./'a.Kumand/ I rose בַּבֹּ֛קֶרba./Bo.kerin the/ morning לְהֵינִ֥יקle./hei.Nikto/ suckle אֶת־'et-<obj.>בְּנִ֖יbe.N/ison/ my וְהִנֵּה־ve./hi.neh-and/ there!מֵ֑תMethe had died וָאֶתְבּוֹנֵ֤ןva./'et.bo.Nenand/ I looked carefully אֵלָיו֙'e.La/vto/ him בַּבֹּ֔קֶרba./Bo.kerin the/ morning וְהִנֵּ֛הve./hi.Nehand/ there!לֹֽא־lo'-not הָיָ֥הha.Yahit was בְנִ֖יve.N/ison/ my אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhom יָלָֽדְתִּי׃ya.La.de.tiI had borne

King James Version

And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

Cross-references

Genesis 21:7 She added, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
1 Samuel 1:23 “Do what you think is best,” her husband Elkanah replied, “and stay here until you have weaned him. Only may the LORD confirm His word.” So Hannah stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
Lamentations 4:3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like an ostrich in the wilderness.