Bible Strands
1 Kings 3:22
“No,” said the other woman, “the living one is my son and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman insisted, “No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine.” So they argued before the king.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Two women stand before King Solomon, each claiming custody of a living infant while accusing the other of swapping her dead child. The confrontation occurs the morning after one woman discovers her infant dead in bed.
The words — The Hebrew לֹא (lo') functions as a direct denial against the other woman’s claim, while הַחַי (ha-chai) explicitly identifies the surviving infant as the speaker’s son.
The thread — The competing assertions are immediately restated in 1 Kings 3:23 when Solomon summarizes each woman’s position to frame the judicial dilemma.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to recognize how conflicting truth claims require an authoritative standard to separate fact from fabrication.
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
King James Version
And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 3:23 Then the king replied, “This woman says, ‘My son is alive and yours is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead and mine is alive.’”