0 Venise, Le 'Jugement de Salomon' - Palais des Doges

The Judgement of Solomon is a story from the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Solomon ruled between two women both claiming to be the mother of a child. Solomon revealed their true feelings and relationship to the child by suggesting the baby be cut in two, each woman to receive half. With this strategy, he was able to discern the non-mother as the woman who entirely approved of this proposal, while the actual mother begged that the sword might be sheathed and the child committed to the care of her rival. Some consider this approach to justice an

archetypal The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that o ...

example of an impartial judge displaying wisdom in making a ruling.

Biblical narrative

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 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 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.

Classification and parallels

The story is commonly viewed in scholarship as an instance or a reworking of a

folktale A folktale or folk tale is a folklore genre that typically consists of a story passed down from generation to generation orally. Folktale may also refer to: Categories of stories * Folkloric tale from oral tradition * Fable (written form of the a ...

. Its folkloristic nature is apparent, among other things, in the dominance of

direct speech As a form of transcription, direct or quoted speech is spoken or written text that reports speech or thought in its original form phrased by the original speaker. In narrative, it is usually enclosed in quotation marks, but it can be enclosed in ...

which moves the plot on and contributes to the

characterization Characterization or characterisation is the representation of persons (or other beings or creatures) in narrative and dramatic works. The term character development is sometimes used as a synonym. This representation may include direct methods ...

.Mordechai Cogan, ''I Kings'' (Anchor Bible), New York: Doubleday, 2001, p. 196. The story is classified as Aarne-Thompson tale type 926, and many parallel stories have been found in world

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

. 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 the plot forward more than any other element".

Hugo Gressmann Hugo Gressmann (21 March 1877 – 6 April 1927) was a prominent Old Testament scholar in Protestant Germany and a friend and associate of the eminent scholar Hermann Gunkel. He was a member of the history of religions school. Early life He was born ...

has found several similar stories in world folklore and literature, especially in India and the far east. One Indian version is a

Jataka The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, th ...

story dealing with

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

in one of his previous incarnations as the sage Mahosadha, who arbitrates between a mother and a

Yakshini ''Yakshinis'' or ''yakshis'' (यक्षिणी sa, yakṣiṇī or ''yakṣī''; pi, yakkhiṇī or ''yakkhī'') are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from devas and ...

who is in the shape of a woman, who kidnapped the mother's baby and claimed he was hers. The sage announced a

tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

, 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 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 the Chinese drama The Chalk Circle (in which version the judge draws a circle on the ground), which has spread worldwide, many versions and reworkings being made, among them

The Caucasian Chalk Circle ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' (german: Der kaukasische Kreidekreis) is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a ...

, a play by Bertolt Brecht. Gaspar de Crayer - The judgement of Solomon

The common motif in those parallel versions 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.William Hansen
''Ariadne's Thread: A Guide to International Tales Found in Classical Literature''
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2002, p. 228. There is indirect evidence that the story was also widespread in ancient times in the western world. A Greek

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

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 Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in ...

, living in the fourth century BC. A fresco found in the "House of the Physician" in Pompeii depicts

pygmies In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...

introducing a scene similar to the biblical story.William Hansen
''Ariadne's Thread: A Guide to International Tales Found in Classical Literature''
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2002, pp. 231–32
A picture of the fresco
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 is an example of "king's bench tales", a subgenre of the

wisdom literature Wisdom literature is a genre of literature common in the ancient Near East. It consists of statements by sages and the wise that offer teachings about divinity and virtue. Although this genre uses techniques of traditional oral storytelling, it w ...

to which he finds parallels in Sumerian literature. Scholars have pointed out that the story resembles the modern

detective story Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

genre. Both king Solomon and the reader are confronted with some kind of a juridical-detective riddle.

Meir Sternberg Meir Sternberg is an Israeli literary critic and biblical scholar. He is Artzt Professor of Poetics and Comparative Literature at Tel Aviv University. Along with Robert Alter and Adele Berlin, Sternberg is one of the most prominent practitioners ...

notes that two genres merge in the story: A riddle and a test; the juridical dilemma, which 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 Raymond Westbrook (1946– 23 July 2009) was a scholar of the legal systems of the ancient Near East. He was born in England. Education Westbrook studied law at the University of Oxford, and earned a master's degree in law from the Hebrew Unive ...

, 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 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 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 An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Occasionally humorous ...

created in the milieu of courtly

wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowle ...

than a folktale".

Origin

The story has a number of parallels in folktales from various cultures. All of the known parallels, among them several from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, have been recorded in later periods than the biblical story; nevertheless, it is unclear whether they reflect earlier or later traditions.

Hermann Gunkel Hermann Gunkel (23 May 1862 – 11 March 1932), a German Old Testament scholar, founded form criticism. He also became a leading representative of the history of religions school. His major works cover Genesis and the Psalms, and his major in ...

rules out the possibility that such a sophisticated motif had developed independently in different places.Hermann Gunkel
''The Folktale in the Old Testament''
(Historic Texts and Interpreters in Biblical Scholarship), translated by Michael D. Rutter, Sheffield, UK: Almond, 1987, p. 156. Some scholars are of the opinion that the source of the story is untraceable.James A. Montgomery and Henry Snyder Gehman
''Kings''
(International Critical Commentary), Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1951, p. 109. 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 " ch stories of wise judgments are the real life stuff of 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 the true mother and jealousy for the impostor.Stuart Lasine, "The Riddle of Solomon’s Judgment and the Riddle of Human Nature in the Hebrew Bible", ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'' 45 (1989), p. 70. 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.

Composition and editorial framing

The story is considered to be literarily unified, without significant editorial intervention.Burke O. Long
''1 Kings''
(Forms of the Old Testament Literature 9), Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1984, p. 68. 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, 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 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 Redaction is a form of editing in which multiple sources of texts are combined and altered slightly to make a single document. Often this is a method of collecting a series of writings on a similar theme and creating a definitive and coherent wo ...

. 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 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 the speculated book of the

Acts of Solomon :''The similarly named Biblical book is located at Song of Solomon.'' The ook of theActs of Solomon is a lost text referred to in , which reads: :''And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written i ...

, which he proposes to be a wisdom work which originated in court circles shortly after the split of the

united monarchy The United Monarchy () in the Hebrew Bible refers to Israel and Judah under the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. It is traditionally dated to have lasted between and . According to the biblical account, on the succession of Solomon's son Re ...

Analysis

General description

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 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

of the women and Solomon, with a few sentences and utterance verbs by the narrator. The dialogues move the plot forward. The women's contradictory testimonies create the initial conflict necessary to build up the

dramatic tension Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it af ...

. 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 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.

Purpose

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 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 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 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 the legal impasse. Beuken notes additional biblical stories which share the motif of the woman who influenced the king: Bathsheba, the

woman of Tekoa The woman of Tekoa is an unnamed figure in the Hebrew Bible. She appears in 2 Samuel 14, after Absalom has been banished following his murder of Amnon. Joab wants David to be reconciled to Absalom, and he sends to Tekoa to find a "wise woman". Joa ...

, 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 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 the

Deuteronomistic history The Deuteronomist, abbreviated as either Dtr or simply D, may refer either to the source document underlying the core chapters (12–26) of the Book of Deuteronomy, or to the broader "school" that produced all of Deuteronomy as well as the Deutero ...

, the story exalted Solomon as a wise ruler and presented him as a model to

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning "Yahweh, Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Kingdom of Jud ...

. 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

Levite Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...

s at the top of the judicial hierarchy (Deuteronomy 17:8–13).

Intra-biblical allusions

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 Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...

, caused by a siege on the city. As the king passes through the city, 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 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 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.

The women's characters

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 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 the alleged switch of the babies;Simon J. DeVries, ''1 Kings'' (Word Biblical Commentary), Waco, TX: Word Books, 1985, p. 61. 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 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 The biblical term "proselyte" is an anglicization of the Koine Greek term προσήλυτος (''proselytos''), as used in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) for "stranger", i.e. a "newcomer to Israel"; a "sojourner in the land", and in the ...

who is sometimes mentioned in the Hebrew Bible with the widow and the fatherless, in that they are socially marginalized and deprived of 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 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 Athalya Brenner-Idan (born 17 July 1943 in Haifa, Israel) is a Dutch-Israeli biblical scholar known for her contribution to feminist biblical studies. Academic career Brenner studied at Haifa University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem bef ...

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 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 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 Rahab (; Arabic: راحاب, a vast space of a land) was, according to the Book of Joshua, a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city by hiding two men who had been sent to scout the city ...

Comparison to detective literature

As mentioned before, many scholars have compared the story to the modern genre of

. A striking feature in the biblical story, untypical to its parallels, is that it does not begin with a credible report of the

omniscient narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

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, 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 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 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 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.

Jewish interpretation

According to the

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

, 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 Yibbum (, Hebrew: ייבום) is the form of levirate marriage found in Judaism. As specified by , the brother of a man who died without children is permitted and encouraged to marry the widow. However, if either of the parties refuses to go throu ...

to marry her brother-in-law unless released from the arrangement through 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.

Representations in art

If the above-mentioned Pompean fresco indeed depicts 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: * Fresco by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

* ''The Judgement of Solomon'' by

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

* Etching by

Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravin ...

* Woodcut by the school of

Michael Wolgemut Michael Wolgemut (formerly spelt ''Wohlgemuth''; 143430 November 1519) was a German painter and printmaker, who ran a workshop in Nuremberg. He is best known as having taught the young Albrecht Dürer. The importance of Wolgemut as an artist res ...

in the Nuremberg Chronicle * Paintings by

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, , ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g. by lowering the horizon in orde ...

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for ...

and

Franz Caucig Franz Caucig, Franco Caucig or Francesco Caucig, also known in Slovene as Franc Kavčič or Frančišek Caucig (4 December 1755, Gorizia – 17 November, 1828, Vienna) was a Neoclassical painter and drawer of Slovene origin. He is one of the bes ...

* Relief sculpture on the Doge's Palace in Venice by an unknown artist (near the exit into St. Mark's Square) * Stained glass window by Jean Chastellain in St-Gervais-et-St-Protais church of Paris

Music

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

: ''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.''

Other media

The scene has been the subject of television episodes of '' Dinosaurs'', '' Recess'', ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' (where a pie was substituted for the baby), the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

animated series, ''

All Hail King Julien ''All Hail King Julien'' is an American computer-animated 3D streaming television series. It stars King Julien, Maurice, and Mort from the DreamWorks Animation animated film '' Madagascar'' franchise and takes place in Madagascar before the eve ...

'', where a pineapple is cut in two to settle a dispute, the '' Seinfeld'' episode "

The Seven "The Seven" is the 123rd episode of the NBC sitcom '' Seinfeld''. This was the 13th episode for the seventh season, originally airing on February 1, 1996. In this episode, Elaine and Kramer turn to Newman to resolve a dispute over which of the ...

", and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. It has influenced other artistic disciplines, e.g. Bertolt Brecht's play ''

'' and Ronnie snatching Kat's baby in '' EastEnders''. In Greys Anatomy the story is told by Meridith 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 A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

song "Right in Two" slightly paraphrases the scene and includes the lyric "Cut and divide it all right in two". A surgical technique that involves dividing the placenta with a laser as a treatment for

twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), also known as feto-fetal transfusion syndrome (FFTS), twin oligohydramnios-polyhydramnios sequence (TOPS) and stuck twin syndrome, is a complication of monochorionic multiple pregnancies (the most comm ...

is named ''Solomon technique''.

Idiomatic use

"Splitting the baby"

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 109

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 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 party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

(a very common example is in a

comparative negligence Comparative negligence, called non-absolute contributory negligence outside the United States, is a partial legal defense that reduces the amount of damages that a plaintiff can recover in a negligence-based claim, based upon the degree to which t ...

case also known as contributory negligence scenario). In other instances, lawyers and legal commentators may use "split 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.

"Solomonic Judgment"

The expression "Solomonic Judgment" exists in many cultures with 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 Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

, 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 the vibrations throughout the entire construction process. In short, the mega-basement would have to be dug by hand.''Robbie Williams wins pool plan fight against Led Zeppelin neighbour Jimmy Page''
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Biblical narrative

Classification and parallels

Origin

Composition and editorial framing

Analysis

General description

Purpose

Intra-biblical allusions

The women's characters

Comparison to detective literature

Jewish interpretation

Representations in art

Music

Other media

Idiomatic use

"Splitting the baby"

"Solomonic Judgment"

See also

References

Citations

Further reading

Commentaries

Encyclopedic articles

Articles

Discussions in literature

Monographs and dissertations

Other material