Solomon marrieth Pharao’s daughter. He sacrificeth in Gabaon: in the choice which God gave him he preferreth wisdom. His wise judgment between the two harlots.
King Salomon marieth Ikaraos sister. 3. offereth Victims in high places. 5. admonished by God in his sleepe to demand what he wil, he asketh wisdom to gouerne his people. 10. which God granteth him, with much richesse also and glorie. 16. He decideth a controuersie betwen two wemen contending about a liuing child and a dead.
1And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon, and he made affinity with Pharao, the king of Egypt: for he took his daughter, and brought her into the city of David: until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.Rimase adunque assicurato il regno a Salomone; ed egli si imparentò con Faraone re d'Egitto: perocché sposò la sua figliuola, e menolla nella città di David, per sino a tanto che avesse finito di fabbricare la sua casa, e la casa del Signore, e la mura attorno a Gerusalemme.THE kingdom therfore was established in the hand of Salomon, and he was ioyned in affinitie to Pharao the king of Aegypt: for he tooke his daughter, and brought her into the citie of Dauid, vntil he accomplished building his owne house, and the house of our Lord, and the wal of Ierusalem round about.Confirmatum est igitur regnum in manu Salomonis, et affinitate conjunctus est Pharaoni regi Ægypti: accepit namque filiam ejus, et adduxit in civitatem David, donec compleret ædificans domum suam, et domum Domini, et murum Jerusalem per circuitum. 2But yet the people sacrificed in the high places: for there was no temple built to the name of the Lord until that day.Contuttociò il popolo immolava ne' luoghi eccelsi, perchè fino a quel giorno non era fabbricata la casa del Signore.But yet the people immolated in the excelses: for there was no temple built to the name of our Lord vntil that day.Attamen populus immolabat in excelsis: non enim ædificatum erat templum nomini Domini usque in diem illum. 3And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the precepts of David, his father; only he sacrificed in the high places, and burnt incense.Or Salomone amò il Signore, e mise in pratica gli avvertimenti del suo Davidde, se non che immolava nei luoghi eccelsi, e vi bruciava gli incensi.And Salomon loued our Lord, walking in the preceptes of Dauid his father, sauing that he immolated in the excelses, and burnt incense.Dilexit autem Salomon Dominum, ambulans in præceptis David patris sui, excepto quod in excelsis immolabat, et accendebat thymiama. 4He went therefore to Gabaon, to sacrifice there: for that was the great high place: a thousand victims for holocausts, did Solomon offer upon that altar, in Gabaon.Egli adunque andò in Gabaon, per offerir ivi sagrifizio: perocché quello era tra luoghi eccelsi il più grande: mille ostie offerse Salomone in olocausto sopra quell'altare di Gabaon.He went therfore into Gabaon, to immolate there: for that was a verie great excelse: a thousand hostes for holocaust did Salomon offer vpon that altar in Gabaon.Abiit itaque in Gabaon, ut immolaret ibi: illud quippe erat excelsum maximum: mille hostias in holocaustum obtulit Salomon super altare illud in Gabaon.
5And the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, saying: Ask what thou wilt that I should give thee.E il Signore apparve la notte in sogno a Salomone, e gli disse: Chiedimi quello, che vuoi, ch'io ti conceda.And our Lord appeared to Salomon in a dreame by night saying: Aske what thou wilt that I may geue it thee.Apparuit autem Dominus Salomoni per somnium nocte, dicens: Postula quod vis ut dem tibi. 6And Solomon said: Thou hast shewed great mercy to thy servant David, my father, even as he walked before thee in truth, and justice, and an upright heart with thee: and thou hast kept thy great mercy for him, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.E Salomone disse: Tu avesti inverso del tuo servo Davidde mio padre una misericordia grande, conforme egli camminò al tuo cospetto nella verità, e nella giustizia, e nella rettitudine di cuore verso di te: tu conservasti a lui la tua misericordia grande, e gli desti un figliuolo, che sedesse sopra il suo trono, come avviene oggi.And Salomon said: Thou hast done great mercie with thy seruant Dauid my father, euen as he walked in thy fight in truth, and iustice, and a right hart with thee: for thou hast kept thy great mercie, and hast geuen him a sonne sitting vpon his throne, as it is this day.Et ait Salomon: Tu fecisti cum servo tuo David patre meo misericordiam magnam, sicut ambulavit in conspectu tuo in veritate et justitia, et recto corde tecum: custodisti ei misericordiam tuam grandem, et dedisti ei filium sedentem super thronum ejus, sicut est hodie. 7And now, O Lord God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David, my father: and I am but a child, and know not how to go out and come in;E adesso, Signore Dio, tu hai fatto regnar me tuo servo in luogo di Davidde mio padre: e io son piccol fanciullo, che non so la maniera di regolarmi.And now Lord God, thou hast made thy seruant to reigne for Dauid my father: but I am a litle childe, and ignorant of my going out and coming in.Et nunc Domine Deus, tu regnare fecisti servum tuum pro David patre meo: ego autem sum puer parvulus, et ignorans egressum et introitum meum. 8And thy servant is in the midst of the people which thou hast chosen, an immense people, which cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.E il tuo servo sta in mezzo al popolo eletto da te, popolo infinito, che non può noverarsi, nè ridursi a calcolo per la sua moltitudine.And thy seruant is in the middes of the people, which thou hast chosen, a people infinite, which can not be numbred and counted for the multitude.Et servus tuus in medio est populi quem elegisti, populi infiniti, qui numerari et supputari non potest præ multitudine.
9Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people, and discern between good and evil. For who shall be able to judge this people, thy people, which is so numerous?Dà adunque al tuo servo un cuor docile, affinchè possa render giustizia al tuo popolo, e distinguere il bene dal male: imperocché chi mai potrà render giustizia a questo popolo, a questo popol tuo così grande?Thou shalt therfore geue to thy seruant a docible hart, that he may iudge the people, & discerne betwen good and euil. For who shal be able to iudge this people, this thy people great in number?Dabis ergo servo tuo cor docile, ut populum tuum judicare possit, et discernere inter bonum et malum. Quis enim poterit judicare populum istum, populum tuum hunc multum ? 10And the word was pleasing to the Lord, that Solomon had asked such a thing.Fu grato al Signore questo discorso, per avergli Salomone domandata simile grazia.The word therfore was liked before our Lord, that Salomon had asked such a thing.Placuit ergo sermo coram Domino, quod Salomon postulasset hujuscemodi rem. 11And the Lord said to Solomon: Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life nor riches, nor the lives of thy enemies, but hast asked for thyself wisdom to discern judgment;E il Signore disse a Salomone: Perchè tu hai domandata questa cosa, e non hai chiesta lunga vita, nè ricchezze, nè la morte de' tuoi nemici, ma hai domandata la sapienza, per discernere il giusto,And our Lord sayd to Salomon: Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not desired for thy self manie dayes, nor riches, nor the liues of thine enemies, but hast desired wisedom for thy self to discerne iudgement:Et dixit Dominus Salomoni: Quia postulasti verbum hoc, et non petisti tibi dies multos, nec divitias, aut animas inimicorum tuorum, sed postulasti tibi sapientiam ad discernendum judicium: 12Behold I have done for thee according to thy words, and have given thee a wise and understanding heart, in so much that there hath been no one like thee before thee, nor shall arise after thee.Ecco, che io ho esaudito le tue parole, e ti ho dato un cuor sapiente, e di tanta intelligenza, che nissuno è stato simile a te pell'avanti, e nissuno sarà in appresso.behold I haue done vnto thee according to thy wordes, & haue geuen thee a wise hart and intelligent, in so much that 〈◊〉 before thee hath beene like thee, nor shal arise after thee.ecce feci tibi secundum sermones tuos, et dedi tibi cor sapiens et intelligens, in tantum ut nullus ante te similis tui fuerit, nec post te surrecturus sit.
13Yea, and the things also which thou didst not ask, I have given thee; to wit, riches and glory: so that no one hath been like thee among the kings in all days heretofore.E oltre a questo quelle cose ancora, che tu non hai domandate, io te le darò, viene a dire le ricchezze, e la gloria: talmente che non si troverà il simile a te tra i regi in tutti i passati tempi.Yea and these thinges, which thou didst not aske, I haue geuen thee: to witte, riches, and glorie, so that none hath beene like thee ••••g the kinges al dayes hertofore.Sed et hæc quæ non postulasti, dedi tibi: divitias scilicet, et gloriam, ut nemo fuerit similis tui in regibus cunctis retro diebus. 14And if thou wilt walk in my ways, and keep my precepts and my commandments, as thy father walked, I will lengthen thy days.E se tu batterai le mie vie, e osserverai i miei precetti, e insegnamenti, come gli osservò il padre tuo, io farò lunghi i tuoi giorni.And if thou wilt wall 〈◊〉 my wayes, and keepe my preceptes and my ••n mand•••ntes, as thy father walked. I wil make thy dayeslong.Si autem ambulaveris in viis meis, et custodieris præcepta mea et mandata mea, sicut ambulavit pater tuus, longos faciam dies tuos. 15And Solomon awaked, and perceived that it was a dream: and when he was come to Jerusalem, he stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered holocausts, and sacrificed victims of peace offerings, and made a great feast for all his servants.Si svegliò adunque Salomone, e intese la qualità del sogno: ed essendo andato a Gerusalemme, si portò dall'arca del testamento del Signore, e offerse olocausti, e vittime pacifiche, e fece un gran convito a tutti i suoi servi.Therfore Salomon awaked, and perceiued that it was a dreame: and when he was come to Ierusalem, he stood before the arke of couenant of our Lord, and offered holocaustes, and made pacifique victimes, and a great feast to al his seruantes.Igitur evigilavit Salomon, et intellexit quod esset somnium: cumque venisset Jerusalem, stetit coram arca fœderis Domini, et obtulit holocausta, et fecit victimas pacificas, et grande convivium universis famulis suis. 16Then there came two women that were harlots, to the king, and stood before him.Allora andarono due donne meretrici a trovare il re, e si presentarono dinanzi a lui,Then came there two wemen har lottes to the king, and stood before him:Tunc venerunt duæ mulieres meretrices ad regem, steteruntque coram eo: 17And one of them said: I beseech thee, my lord, I and this woman dwelt in one house, and I was delivered of a child with her in the chamber.Delle quali una disse: Aiutami, signor mio: io, e questa donna abitavamo nella medesima casa, e io partorii nella camera, dov'ella pure stava.of the which one said: I besech thee, my lord, I and this woman dwelt in one house, and I was deliuered of a childe beside her in the chamber.quarum una ait: Obsecro, mi domine: ego et mulier hæc habitabamus in domo una, et peperi apud eam in cubiculo.
18And the third day after I was delivered, she also was delivered; and we were together, and no other person with us in the house; only we two.E il terzo dì dopo che ebbi partorito io, ella ancora partorì: e noi stavamo insieme, e nissun altro fuori di noi due era con noi in quella casa.And the third day, after that I was deliuered, she also was deliuered, and we were together, and no other person with vs in the house, except we two.Tertia autem die postquam ego peperi, peperit et hæc: et eramus simul, nullusque alius nobiscum in domo, exceptis nobis duabus. 19And this woman’s child died in the night: for in her sleep she overlaid him.Or il bambino di costei di notte tempo si morì: perchè ella in dormendo soffogò.And this womans childe died in the night. For sleping she oppressed him.Mortuus est autem filius mulieris hujus nocte: dormiens quippe oppressit eum. 20And rising in the dead time of the night, she took my child from my side, while I, thy handmaid, was asleep, and laid it in her bosom: and laid her dead child in my bosom.Ed ella alzatasi nel cuor della notte prese il mio figlio dal lato di me tua serva, che era addormentata, e sei pose sul suo seno: e pose in seno a me il suo figliuolo, che era morto.And rysing in the dead tyme of the night, she tooke my childe from the side of me thy handmayd being aslepe, and layed it in her bosome: and her childe that was dead, she put in my bosome.Et consurgens intempestæ noctis silentio, tulit filium meum de latere meo, ancillæ tuæ dormientis, et collocavit in sinu suo: suum autem filium, qui erat mortuus, posuit in sinu meo. 21And when I arose in the morning, to give my child suck, behold it was dead: but considering him more diligently, when it was clear day, I found that it was not mine which I bore.E levatami la mattina, per far poppare il mio figlio, lo vidi morto: ma mirandolo più fissamente a giorno chiaro, riconobbi, ch'ei non era il mio, ch'io avea partorito»And when I was rysen in the morning to geue my childe milke, he appeared dead: whom more diligently beholding when it was cleere day, I found that it was not mine which I bare.Cumque surrexissem mane ut darem lac filio meo, apparuit mortuus: quem diligentius intuens clara luce, deprehendi non esse meum quem genueram. 22And the other woman answered: It is not so as thou sayest, but thy child is dead, and mine is alive. On the contrary, she said; Thou liest: for my child liveth, and thy child is dead. And in this manner they strove before the king.Ma l'altra donna rispose: La cosa non istà, come dici tu, ma il tuo figliuolo morì; e il mio è vivo. E quella pel contrario diceva: Tu se' bugiarda: perocché il mio figlio è vivo, e il tuo è morto. E in tal guisa altercavano dinanzi al re.And the other woman answered: It is not so as thou sayst, but thy childe is dead, and mine liueth. On the contrarie part she sayd: Thou liest: for my childe liueth, and thy childe is dead. And in this maner they stroue before the king.Responditque altera mulier: Non est ita ut dicis, sed filius tuus mortuus est, meus autem vivit. E contrario illa dicebat: Mentiris: filius quippe meus vivit, et filius tuus mortuus est. Atque in hunc modum contendebant coram rege.
23Then said the king: The one saith, My child is alive, and thy child is dead. And the other answereth: Nay; but thy child is dead, and mine liveth.Allora il re disse: Questa dice: Il mio figliuolo è vivo, e il tuo è morto: e quella risponde: No, ma il tuo è morto, e il mio figlio è vivo.Then sayd the king: This woman saith, My childe liueth, and thy childe is dead. And this hath answered, No, but thy childe is dead, and mine liueth.Tunc rex ait: Hæc dicit: Filius meus vivit, et filius tuus mortuus est: et ista respondit: Non, sed filius tuus mortuus est, meus autem vivit. 24The king therefore said: Bring me a sword. And when they had brought a sword before the king,Soggiunse pertanto il re: Portatemi una spada. E portata che fu la spada dinanzi al re,The king therfore said: Bring me a sword. And when they had brought a sword before the King,Dixit ergo rex: Afferte mihi gladium. Cumque attulissent gladium coram rege, 25Divide, said he, the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.Dividete, diss'egli, il bambino vivente in due parti, e datene la metà all'una, e la metà all'altra.Diuide, quoth he, the liuing child into two partes, and geue the halfe part to one, and halfe to the other.Dividite, inquit, infantem vivum in duas partes, et date dimidiam partem uni, et dimidiam partem alteri. 26But the woman, whose child was alive, said to the king; (for her bowels were moved upon her child) I beseech thee, my lord, give her the child alive, and do not kill it. But the other said: Let it be neither mine nor thine; but divide it.Ma la donna, di cui era il figlio vivente (perocché si sentiva stiantar le viscere per amor del figliuolo), disse al re: Di grazia, o signore, date a lei il bambino vivo, e noll'uccidete. Ma l'altra pel contrario diceva: Non sia nè mio, nè tuo, ma si divida.But the woman, whose childe was aliue, said to the king (for her bowels were moued vpon her childe) I besech thee my lord, geue her the childe aliue, and kil it not. On the contrarie part she sayd: be it neither mine, nor thine, but let it be diuided.Dixit autem mulier, cujus filius erat vivus, ad regem (commota sunt quippe viscera ejus super filio suo): Obsecro, domine, date illi infantem vivum, et nolite interficere eum. E contrario illa dicebat: Nec mihi nec tibi sit, sed dividatur. 27The king answered, and said: Give the living child to this woman, and let it not be killed; for she is the mother thereof.Rispose il re, e disse: Date a quella il bambino vivo, e non si uccida: perocché dessa è sua madre.The king answered, and said: Geue vnto this woman the infant aliue, and let it not be killed for this is the mother therof.Respondit rex, et ait: Date huic infantem vivum, et non occidatur: hæc est enim mater ejus.
28And all Israel heard the judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, seeing that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.Or tutto Israele fu informato della sentenza pronunziata dal re, e concepirono timore di lui, veggendo, come la sapienza di Dio era in lui, per rendere giustizia.Al Israel therfore heard the iudgement that the king had iudged, and they feared the king, seing the wisedom of God to be in him to doe iudgement.Audivit itaque omnis Israël judicium quod judicasset rex, et timuerunt regem, videntes sapientiam Dei esse in eo ad faciendum judicium.
3:1
Year of the World 2991, Year before Christ 1013.; 2 Paralipomenon i.
Solomon. By the death of his enemies, and by his affinity with the king of Egypt, and his friendship with Hiram, king Tyre, who were the most potent princes in the neighbourhood. Eupolemus (ap. Eusebius, praep.) has a letter of Solomon to Pharao Vaphres, in which the latter is said to have been the friend of David; (Salien) and St. Clement of Alexandria (Strom. i.) produces the testimony of Polyhistor, saying, that Vaphres sent 80,000 Egyptian workmen to assist Solomon to build the temple.
Daughter. Who, probably, embraced the true religion; so that her praises are supposed to be recorded in the 44th Psalm, and in the canticles; though it seems she afterwards relapsed, and became the chief instrument in the perversion of the king, 3 Kings 11:1.
David. She dwelt in the apartments of Bethsabee, (Canticle of Canticles 3:4., and 8:2,) till a magnificent palace could be built for her reception, 3 Kings 7:8. To marry idolatrous women was strictly forbidden, Deuteronomy 7:3., 1 Esdras 10:2., and 2 Esdras 13:26.
3:2
Haydock
But yet. It is not clear to what this refers. Hebrew, "for the rest, (Calmet) or only;" (as also ver. 3,) which may signify that the people, and their king, were blamable; or else, that they zealously offered sacrifices to God, even before the temple was erected. (Haydock)
Calmet
Those who afterwards left that sacred place, to imitate the conduct of idolaters, or of the ancient patriarchs, which was no longer tolerated, are justly condemned. (Calmet)
Challoner
High places. That is, altars where they worshipped the Lord, indeed, but not according to the ordinance of the law; which allowed of no other places for sacrifice but the temple of God. Among these high places, that of Gabaon was the chief, because there was the tabernacle of the testimony which had been removed from Silo to Nobe, and from Nobe to Gabaon. (Challoner)
Calmet
Hither David would have gone, as Solomon did, ver. 4. (Calmet)
Haydock
Hence this was not, at least, once of those high places, where it was unlawful to offer sacrifice; as the tabernacle was there, and the altar of holocausts, which Moses had erected. The obligation of sacrificing in no place, except in that which the Lord had appointed, regarded the times while the ark was in the desert, (Haydock) and when it was placed in the temple. While it continued in an unsettled state, people enjoyed more liberty in this respect; (Calmet) particularly when there was a prophet present, to sanction what they did. (Haydock)
3:3
Pineda
Only, etc. Which David had not done, though it was lawful. (Pineda)
Haydock
Yet we read that he offered victims on Sion, etc., 2 Kings 6:18. (Haydock)
3:4
Victims. These he accompanied with most fervent prayer, Wisdom 7:7., and 2 Paralipomenon 1:9.
3:5
Calmet
In a prophetic dream, or ecstasy. His mind had been so filled with the desire of wisdom, that the same thoughts recurred to him while he slept; and, as he had entertained them voluntarily before, he acquired fresh merit even during that time; as a man, who indulges sensual affections, becomes responsible for the accidents of the night. (St. Thomas Aquinas, 1. 2. q. 113. a. 2. and 2. 2. 9. 154. a. 5.) (St. Augustine, de Gen. ad lit. 12:15.) (Calmet)
3:7
Calmet
In. So as to judge with discretion, and to lead my people. (Calmet)
3:9
Haydock
Understanding. Literally, "docile." (Haydock)
Menochius
Hebrew, "willing to hear," and to obey God. (Menochius)
3:12
Haydock
After thee. Solomon has given us some idea of his wisdom in the works which he has left. They were dictated by the Holy Spirit, who adorned his soul with so many graces, 3 Kings 4:29, 30. (Haydock)
Calmet
His knowledge of nature, and of the art of governing, excelled that of any of the kings of Israel; (Lyranus, etc.; 2 Paralipomenon ix.) though Moses and the apostles had a more comprehensive knowledge of the mysteries of God. (Calmet)
Haydock
Yet, even granting that no mere man might come up to him, Jesus Christ, in whom the treasures of wisdom were contained, was far superior. (Haydock)
Menochius
General propositions are often to be understood with a limitation. (Menochius)
3:13
Calmet
Heretofore: 2 Paralipomenon (1:12,) adds, nor after thee, Ecclesiastes 1:16. This is also limited by some to the kings of that country. But the riches of Solomon were not exceeded by those of the greatest monarchs. Diss., "on the riches which David left." (Calmet)
3:14
Menochius
Days. But this he forfeited. (Menochius)
3:15
3:16
Menochius
Harlots. Rather than simply, "innkeepers." (Chaldean) (Menochius)
The latter signification of Zona might, however, seem more natural; as harlots seldom have children; or, at least, any affection for them. Neither would such people have dared to appear before the king, Deuteronomy 23:17.
3:19
Calmet
Him. This she suspected to be the case. They did not then place infants in the cradle, but let them sleep in their bosoms. (Calmet)
3:25
Seutonius xv
Other. This sentence manifested the wisdom of Solomon, who knew that the real mother would feel the emotions of parental tenderness. By similar experiments, the truth has sometimes been discovered. Claudius obliged a mother to own her son, by ordering her to take him for a husband. (Seutonius xv.)
Diod. Sic
The king of Trace told three who pretended to be the sons of the deceased king of the Cimmerians, to shoot an arrow at the corpse; which the real son would not do. (Calmet) (Diod. Sic.)
Palafox
A native of Mexico, reclaiming a horse which a Spaniard pretended was his, as the judge was under some doubts, the American threw his cloak over the horse's head, and asked which eye was blind? The Spaniard replied, the right; and thus was detected. (Palafox.)
3:2
High places.... That is, altars where they worshipped the Lord, but not according to the ordinance of the law; which allowed of no other places for sacrifice but the temple of God. Among these high places that of Gabaon was the chiefest, because there was the tabernacle of the testimony, which had been removed from Silo to Nobe and from Nobe to Gabaon.
3:16
In the liturgy The Epistle on monday in the 4 weke of Le••.
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So heretikes not being able to proue that their synagogue is the true & permanent Church, would destroy the Catholique and so haue none at al.
3:3
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 79.7
… “The good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not that I do.” And again: Therefore “I keep under my body and bring it into subjection lest that by any means when I have preached to others I myself should be a castaway.” If Paul is afraid, which of us can venture to be confident? If David the friend of God and Solomon who loved God
3:5
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.15
… and since it is by Christ uttered against the rich, I shall have to show that the Creator is also a despiser of the rich, as I have shown Him to be the defender of the poor, in order that I may prove Christ to be on the Creator’s side in this matter, even when He enriched Solomon.
3:9
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 2.8
… Indeed the Scriptures have declared this. “All Israel,” it says, “heard of the judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.” Solomon also himself had asked for wisdom, so that a prudent heart might be given him to hear and to judge with justice.
3:10
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 23
Do thou also therefore ask nothing worldly, but all things spiritual, and thou wilt surely receive. For so Solomon,
3:12
St Hippolytus † AD 235 On Proverbs 1
… for they are the words of that Solomon to whom the Lord said: “I will give thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there has been none like thee upon the earth, and after thee there shall not arise any like unto thee,”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 28
… For every objection, however small, stops and hinders the course of our argument, and cuts off its further advance, just like men who suddenly check with the rein the horses in full career, and turn them right round by the unexpected shock. Thus Solomon, who was the wisest of all men,
3:16
St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Magnesians: Shorter and Longer Versions 3
… In like manner, Jeremiah also received this message from God, “Say not, I am a child.” Solomon too, and Josiah, [exemplified the same thing.] The former, being made king at twelve years of age, gave that terrible and difficult judgment in the case of the two women concerning their children.
Origen † AD 254 A Letter from Origen to Africanus 1
… Then the king answered and said, Give the child to her which said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: for she is the mother of it. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the face of the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 74
Rufinus, a Roman Presbyter (to be carefully distinguished from Rufinus of Aquileia and Rufinus the Syrian), had written to Jerome for an explanation of the judgment of Solomon (
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John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 17.25
… “Give her the living child and slay it not: she is the mother of it.”
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 2.8
44. Is not that noble judgment of Solomon full of wisdom and justice? Let us see whether it is so.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Baptism, Against the Donatists 6.25
… of baptism, if they could not correct them as they thought was right, than on their account to break that holy bond, lest on account of the tares the wheat also should be rooted out, —permitting, so far as rested with them, as in that noblest judgment of Solomon, that the infant body should rather be nourished by the false mother than be cut in pieces.
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Origen † AD 254 A Letter from Origen to Africanus 1
… asserted, as if you knew for certain, that Daniel in this matter judged by inspiration (which may or may not have been the case), I would have you notice that there seem to me to be some analogies in the story of Daniel to the judgment of Solomon, concerning whom the Scripture testifies that the people saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 2.8
… Indeed the Scriptures have declared this. “All Israel,” it says, “heard of the judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.”
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Vers. 1. He was connected by affinity to Pharao king of Egypt: for he took his daughter to wife. Eupolemus in Eusebius, lib. IX De Praep. cap. ult., asserts that this Pharao was he who was surnamed Vaphres, who is different and far earlier than Pharao Vaphres, or Ephree, or Apries, who was the grandson of Pharao Nechao the slayer of Josias king of Juda, and the last of the Pharaos, inasmuch as he was conquered and subdued by Nabuchodonosor, as I said on Jerem. XLIV, vers. 30. Solomon wished by this marriage to bind Pharao to himself, as being a neighbouring and powerful king, by whose aid he might strengthen his kingdom, and defend it against the force and power of the Chaldeans, Assyrians, Medes, etc. Furthermore this marriage of a believer with an unbeliever was lawful, both because God had expressly forbidden the Jews only not to take to wife the daughters of the Chanaanites, from whom there was greater danger of perversion and idolatry, but not those of other nations, although He showed sufficiently by the similar danger that it did not please Him, as will appear cap. XI, vers. 1. and because it is probable that this Egyptian bride of Solomon was converted to Judaism: which being done, it was lawful for him to take her; for God permits this Deut. XXI, vers. 20 and following. For thus Solomon had already taken Naaman an Ammonitess, and David the daughter of Tholmai king of Gessur, and Booz Ruth a Moabitess, and Salmon Rahab a Jerichonitess, and Joseph the daughter of Putiphares an Egyptian, and Moses the daughter of Jethro a Madianite. Thus Abulensis, Pineda, Serarius, Salianus, Sanchez and others. Therefore the Hebrews in Seder-Olam, Theodoret and Procopius judge less correctly that Solomon sinned in taking a foreigner, on the ground that God had forbidden it Exod. XXXIV, and Deut. VII, 3. The Hebrews think that the epithalamium of these nuptials of Solomon with the daughter of Pharao is sung in the Canticle of Canticles; but they err, as I have shown in Cant. I confess however that therein allusion is made to them, as when it says Cant. I, 8: "I have compared thee, my dearest, to the horses of Pharao's chariots." And cap. III, 11: "Go forth, and see, ye daughters of Sion, king Solomon in the diadem wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals;" which although they apply literally to the nuptials of Christ with the Church, yet allude to the marriage of Solomon with the Egyptian, of which those were a type. Finally, that Solomon took this Egyptian in the first year of his reign, while David was still living, is the opinion of Josephus, Serarius and Sanchez, although Abulensis, Cedrenus and Salianus refer it to the third year. Until he had finished building his own house. For Solomon after the temple was built constructed his own house for the daughter of Pharao, of which cap. VII, 8: meanwhile he assigned her a place in his palace, which was in the citadel of Sion.
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Verse 2. Yet the people sacrificed in the high places; for the temple was not yet built. You will ask, what were these high places, of which such frequent mention is made in the books of Kings and the Prophets? I answer, the high places were groves, or forests and woods planted in high mountains, hills and shady recesses, in which most nations were accustomed to erect shrines and altars, as testified by Homer, Virgil and others, who teach that the ancients built tombs for their dead in groves, in which they first celebrated parentalia, or made offerings to the heroes of the people, and soon afterwards began to sacrifice to them as if they were gods. They did this, both because high places are higher than other places and nearer to heaven, and therefore obtain more veneration among a rude people. Whence altar is said to be derived from height, as it were a high altar, in which sacrifice is made to the Most High God: and the Greek βωμός, that is altar, is said to be derived from the Hebrew במרום Bama, that is high place; although an altar properly was not a high place. For Scripture, IV Kings XXIII, 15, distinguishes between an altar and a high place, but rather the altar was in a high place, namely on a hill or mountain. Again, groves, because they are dense and silent, inspired a certain sacred horror in the Gentiles, who superstitiously believed gods dwelt there, whom they called Satyrs and Fauns, as it were gods of the woods. Whence temples are said to be called fana from Fauns; unless you prefer that they derive their name from fando, that is, from giving oracles. Thirdly, woods supplied an abundance of timber for building shrines, altars and funeral pyres, on which victims were burned, for which reason they erected high places in them. Finally, woods, because they are leafy and pleasant, excited the Gentiles to perform their carnal rites in them, by which they served Bacchus through drinking parties and drunkenness, Venus and Priapus through lust. Thus Cyrus and the Persians, as testified by Xenophon, lib. VIII, sacrificed in high places. The same is taught of others by Apollonius, lib. II On the Romans. The same is evident from the Capitol, in which they worshipped Jupiter Capitolinus. Hear Virgil, lib. VIII of the Aeneid: Thence to the Tarpeian seat and the Capitol he leads, Golden now, once bristling with sylvan thorns. Even then religion terrified the fearful rustics, The dire place: even then they trembled at the wood and rock. This grove, this hill with leafy summit (what god dwells here is uncertain), a god inhabits; the Arcadians Believe they have seen Jupiter himself. The same Virgil in Eclogue 7 thus lists the trees which the Gentiles consecrated to their gods in these groves: The poplar most pleasing to Hercules, the vine to Bacchus, The myrtle beautiful to Venus, its laurel to Phoebus. Phyllis loves the hazels. That the Canaanites likewise worshipped their gods in high groves and woods is evident from the fact that God frequently commanded the Hebrews to burn and destroy them, as appears in Exodus XXXIV, Deuteronomy VII, 5, and cap. XII, verse 2, and cap. XVI, 21: in which places God directly and expressly forbids the Hebrews to have high places such as the Canaanites had, in which namely they worshipped their false gods; yet indirectly He also forbids them to sacrifice to Him likewise in high woods and groves, but only in the tabernacle and altar appointed for this purpose by Him and made by Moses, and especially in the temple soon to be built by Solomon. The high places of the Hebrews, therefore, of which there is frequent mention in the books of Kings and the Prophets, were twofold, of two kinds. One in which, like the Gentiles, they worshipped their gods and idols. These were manifestly unlawful, because dedicated to idols in injury to the true God. Whence the Prophets inveigh against them most gravely and thunder forth, as Jeremiah cap. VII, 31, Ezekiel cap. VI, 3, Hosea cap. X, 8. Hence Solomon sinned most gravely, in that for the sake of his Gentile wives he made groves and high places for their gods and idols, and worshipped them there, which King Hezekiah therefore destroyed, his impious son Manasseh restored, and Josiah utterly abolished. The other high places were those in which the Hebrews sacrificed not to idols, but to the true God. Thus Gideon offered a sacrifice to God on a high rock, Judges VI, 26. The same did Samuel in a high place, I Kings IX, 19, and Solomon here sacrificed in the high place of Gabaon, that is in the tabernacle of Moses, which was then situated on the high and leafy hill of Gabaon. Moreover, God did not love these second high places on account of the danger of paganism and idolatry; yet He tolerated them until a fixed and stable temple should be built by Solomon in Jerusalem, for before that the tabernacle of Moses was movable, and was transported from one place to another, indeed it was separated from the altar, as I said above. Whence it was inconvenient and difficult for many to sacrifice in it, and therefore they immolated their victims in another high place. Hence pious kings, such as Asa and Josaphat, permitted high places erected to the true God: or if those were set up for idols, they permitted them, because on account of the inveterate custom of the people practicing idolatry, fearing their sedition and rebellion, they were unable to prevent and remove them. Yet it is more true, as the Abulensian holds, Quæst. II and V, that these kings permitted only high places in which sacrifice was made to the true God, not to idols; which nevertheless the more pious kings did not permit, but destroyed; namely David, Ezechias and Josias, who on that account alone among the other kings of Judah are said not to have sinned, Eccli. XLIX, 5. Furthermore, that Samuel sacrificed in Ramatha, Bethlehem and other places, I Reg. cap. XVI, vers. 4 and 5, and Elias on Mount Carmel, III Reg. XVIII, 23, and David on the threshing floor of Areuna, I Reg. cap. ult. 18; it must be believed that they did this on account of grave and urgent causes, and that by the instinct and dispensation of God, as is evident concerning David in the place cited. For this reason, namely that all high places should be removed, God willed that the temple be built by Solomon, and that sacrifice be made to Him in that place alone, so that in one temple the unity of religion and Judaism might be preserved, and the Jews be completely prevented from profane and high place sacrifices of the Gentiles. The same God had commanded before the temple to be made in the tabernacle fabricated by Moses, Levit. XVII, 3 and 4. See the things said there.
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Vers. 3. Except that he sacrificed in the high places (dedicated to the true God, of which I have already spoken). Hence Theodoretus, Procopius, the Abulensian and Ribera, lib. I De Templo, cap. II, hold that before the building of the temple it was unlawful to sacrifice in the high places, and at least a venial sin, in that Solomon is here reproved for having sacrificed in the high places, although in other respects he loved the Lord and kept His commandments. The Hebrews, however, Lyra, Serarius and others hold that this was lawful, not as if absolutely pleasing to God, but as conceded and permitted by Him, until the temple should be built firm and stable. Thus also St. Augustine, Quæstion. XXXV in Judic.: "God," he says, "bore with the custom of His people, which, apart from His tabernacle, nevertheless offered not to other gods, but to the Lord their God; He bore with it rather than forbade it, even thus hearing those who offered." But after the building of the temple the high places were unlawful, and therefore David, Ezechias and Josias removed them, although Asa, Amasias and Josaphat tolerated them for fear of a greater evil, namely lest if the high places of God were removed, the people should turn to the high places of gods and Gentiles, that is to idols. Whence it is said of them: "He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, etc., nevertheless he took not away the high places;" cap. XV, 11 and 14, etc.
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4. He went therefore to Gabaon to sacrifice there, because in Gabaon was the tabernacle and altar of Moses, whence it was lawful to sacrifice there, and therefore it is soon called the great high place, that is the greatest and most religious, although the ark of the covenant was not in Gabaon, but was carried from Cariathiarim by David to Sion, as is expressly stated in lib. II Paral. cap. 1, 4 and 5. Note here the piety of Solomon, who begins his reign from the worship and invocation of God; for he offered a thousand victims, as follows, and therefore from God he obtained such wisdom as God never granted to any other.
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5. And the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, saying: Ask what thou wilt that I may give it to thee. Thou wilt ask what manner of dream this was for Solomon, and whether in it he had the use of free will, so that he freely asked wisdom from God, and therefore obtained it? This question is a problem. For many affirm it, many deny it, and both sides bring forth probable reasons for themselves. First therefore some think this dream was natural, from the species of daytime things recurring naturally in dreams at night; or naturally sent by God, to the end that it might be known that wisdom is to be sought by all men, but especially by kings and princes before other things for governing wisely, as being supremely necessary for good government. Thus Abulensis. For because Solomon at Gabaon praying and sacrificing by day frequently and earnestly besought wisdom from God, hence God brought it about that naturally at night the same species of thoughts recurred to him; so that Solomon sleeping seemed to himself to ask for wisdom, and God to grant it to him, according to that of Claudian: All things which the sense turns over in daytime vows, The friendly rest of night returns in its season. And Aristotle teaches the same, in the book On Dreams, and Hippocrates, in the book On Dreams. If thou sayest that this petition of Solomon pleased God, and that he through it really obtained wisdom, they answer that that petition in dreams did not in itself please God, because it was an act of one dreaming, not freely petitioning; but on account of another petition of Solomon himself in waking for wisdom, from which that in dreams had its origin, and as an effect from a cause, naturally flowed forth. Thus St. Thomas, II I, Question CXIII, article 3, to 2: "Solomon," he says, "sleeping did not merit wisdom, nor receive it, but in sleep it was declared that through the preceding desire wisdom would be infused to him by God." The same he repeats in On Truth, Question XXVIII, article 3, and II II, Question CLIV, article 5, to 1. St. Augustine favors this, book XII On Genesis according to the Letter, chapter XV, whom St. Thomas cites. Also St. Bonaventure in II, distinction XV, Question VI, number 72; Alensis in IV, Question CI, member 3, article 3; Richard, quodlibet I, Question XVII; Sanchez, Salianus, Serarius, Pineda, book III On Solomon, chapter VIII; Pererius, book 1 on Daniel, Question VII. It is proved first, because Solomon was sleeping, and was in a dream; all these things therefore were not truly, but were represented to him through a dream. Second, because in verse 15, Scripture expressly says: "Solomon awoke, and understood that it was a dream." But the contrary opinion is no less probable, indeed it brings forth stronger reasons, namely that this dream was not natural, but divine, and properly sent by God (although nature also and the natural daytime thoughts of Solomon serving God) was sent, and therefore was not so much a dream as a prophetic vision or ecstasy, such as was the sleep of Adam, when God formed Eve from his rib, which the Septuagint calls an ecstasy: for in it Adam knowing God revealing understood the incarnation of Christ, and the formation of the Church from his side, as St. Augustine, St. Thomas, Rupert and others teach everywhere. Such also was the dream of Abraham, Genesis XV, 12, in which God revealed to Abraham, and promised him a great posterity and the possession of Chanaan. Such also was the dream of Joseph concerning his future principality in Egypt, Genesis XXXVII, 5, and of Jacob, Genesis XXVIII, 12, where God in sleep promised to him the same as to Abraham, indeed more. It is proved first, because Scripture signifies this expressly when it says: "And the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, saying." Behold this was a true appearance and speech of God, which Solomon received, as the prophets received the oracles of God through visions both nocturnal and diurnal; therefore it was not a common and natural dream. Second, because the following lengthy narrative recounts a true history, not a dreamed one. For God truly speaking says to Solomon: "Ask what thou wilt that I may give it to thee," and Solomon answers at length, and asks for wisdom, and brings forth many and grave reasons for this petition, and that so wisely and prudently, that waking he could not have spoken more prudently. From which narrative, and from the long discourse of Solomon to God it is clear, that he had the most perfect discourse and judgment, with consideration of the divine majesty, and of his benefits, and of his own weakness and necessity in that royal state in which he was placed; and from this perfect discourse and judgment he proposed that petition to God, and therefore it pleased him. Thirdly, because in verse 11, God grants Solomon a reward for this petition of his, so wise and holy, and assents to his wishes, saying: "Because thou hast asked this word, etc., behold I have done for thee according to thy words," and not only this, but adds far more besides, namely riches, glory, long life and magnificence before all kings: all of which Scripture narrates as truly done, and not through a dream, fully and accurately, so that they can scarcely be twisted otherwise, and surpass and transcend every dream. And Scripture wished to indicate this, saying in verse 15: "Solomon awoke and understood that it was a dream," namely not a human one, but a divine one, as I shall show in that verse. Fourthly, because God truly imparted this wisdom to Solomon in sleep, as Scripture signifies, nor can we find or assign any other time in which Solomon received it; therefore likewise Solomon truly prayed in sleep and sought wisdom; for he obtained it through prayer, as is said in verses 11 and 12: "Behold, he says, I have done according to thy words, and I have given thee a wise heart." Thus Lyra, Dionysius, Salmeron, vol. III, tract. XXII; Antonius Fernandius, book On Visions, Prelude 7, no. 8 et seq.; Hugo, Gloss, Consalvus Cervantes on Wisdom cap. VII, verse 7, and fully and solidly Suarez, vol. II On Religion; book II On Prayer cap. XIX, where he teaches first, that God can in sleep elevate the intellect and imagination to the perfect use of reason, and to full judgment concerning truth whether speculative or practical, and that he did this in the sleep of Adam, Genesis II. For God can so strengthen and clarify the imagination, and drive away all the vapors which impede it in sleep, that one can truly apprehend things not only but also judge rightly concerning them, while the external senses meanwhile remain in the same disposition which they have in natural sleep. St. Ambrose adds in Psalm CXVIII, Octonary 18, at the end, where he asserts that Solomon "prayed" then and "merited." Indeed in Octonary 2, verse 2, he adds: "Seeking God with his whole heart, he asked for wisdom, and because he did not ask for royal riches for himself, but the gift of divine grace, he merited to receive the discipline of wisdom." Tertullian also, book IV Against Marcion, cap. XV, openly holds that Solomon then had free choice, saying: "Since he was permitted this option, he preferred to ask for those things which he knew were pleasing to God, wisdom, and thus merited also to obtain riches." In the same manner speaks Eucherius, Question II in the III book of Kings, saying that Solomon besought God, etc. Finally, in II Paralipomenon I, 7, where this same history is narrated, no mention is made of a dream: "Behold, he says, in that very night God appeared to him." This dream was therefore a true appearance and vision of God, such as the other Prophets had. Into this opinion also finally incline St. Bonaventure, Alensis and Richard, in the places already cited, when they add that Solomon by divine privilege could use reason in dreams and merit, and St. Thomas, who, I II, Question CXIII, art. 3, ad 2, gives a second response, saying: "Or it can be said that that sleep was not natural, but the sleep of prophecy, according as it is said in Numbers cap. XII: If there be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will speak to him in a dream or in a vision. In which case someone has the use of free will." You will say: Sleep impedes the use of reason and free will, because in sleep the senses and imagination are dulled and as it were bound, without which reason cannot operate freely. I answer: naturally, and in natural sleep this is true, but not in supernatural and divine sleep, such as was this of Solomon. For in it God can infuse species to the Prophets without conversion to phantasms that do not impede sleep, just as sleep did not impede vision in Christ, who of himself says in the Song of Songs V, 2: "I sleep and my heart watcheth." Thus also the Blessed Virgin, sleeping, freely loved God, and thus merited, as St. Bernardine and others hold, and Suarez judges this probable, III part. Question XXXVII, art. 4, disp. XVIII, sect. 2. Or rather God so strengthened and clarified the imagination in sleep for Adam, Solomon and the Prophets, that they could freely understand, choose and act, as I said a little before from Suarez. For this is more natural to man. Moreover, God imparted this entire dream to Solomon through an Angel, who represented God, and namely God the Son to be incarnate from Solomon's line, as St. Chrysostom teaches, homil. 16 in Acts, St. Leo, St. Ambrose, Tertullian, Origen, Theophylactus, Eusebius, Clement, Nicephorus and others, whom Pineda cites, book III On the Affairs of Solomon, cap. VIII, no. 4. You will ask, why then was this vision exhibited to Solomon at night, not by day? I answer, the literal reason is that by day Solomon had been occupied in the immolation of a thousand victims. Whence at that time he was unprepared for this vision; yet through these victims he disposed himself, and made himself worthy to receive this vision: wherefore as a reward for his piety he received this vision in the following night, while resting, from God. The symbolic reason was, because God, although in himself he is supreme and infinite light, yet the created mind, especially the human mind, is darkened by it; just as the eye is darkened and weakened by the sight of the sun. Wherefore God appeared to the saints, especially of the Old Testament, such as Abraham, Moses, Jacob at night, or in darkness. Whence St. Dionysius, in the book On Mystical Theology, teaches that he who wishes to contemplate God ought to enter with Moses into the darkness, by which God is covered and veiled. Mystically St. Gregory, in book II of the Morals, chapter II, notes that night is a sign of evil omen and unhappy outcome: "Judas, he says, will not return to pardon, because he is reported to have gone out to the perfidy of betrayal at night, as John says in chapter XIII: And it was night. And to the wicked rich man it is said in Luke XII: This night they will demand your soul from you; for a soul which is led to darkness is not remembered as being demanded in the day, but in the night. Hence it is that Solomon, who did not persevere in the wisdom he received, is described as having received it in dreams and at night." Thus Gregory, from whom Rupert, Eucherius and others described the same things. Rupert adds and criticizes Solomon, because he sought wisdom, not holiness: "Yet in this, he says, he is blameworthy, in that, given him the choice so prone to the giving generosity of the Lord, he did not ask for that good which is true and supreme." But this good is included in the wisdom which Solomon sought, as St. Ambrose teaches in Psalm CXVIII, on those words: "With my whole heart have I sought thee." Whence in Wisdom IX, Solomon asking wisdom from God says: "That I may know what is acceptable before thee at all times," concerning which more presently.
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7. But I am a little child, that is to say, I am very young, rude and inexperienced, and therefore as a child unfit for so great a burden, namely for the government of so great a people of Israel, unfit from myself: for Solomon at this time was twenty years old, as I said above: whence explaining he adds. Not knowing how to go out and come in. It is a Hebrew phrase signifying all the actions of a man, that is to say, I know not how I ought to conduct myself in the administration of so great a kingdom. Whence in II Paralipomenon I, 10, he says: "Give me wisdom and understanding, that I may go out and come in before thy people," as its king and shepherd. The Chaldean translator renders it: I do not know how to go out or come in. He alludes to a child (whom he called himself) who, being taught by his mother, learns to go out and come in in the house.
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9. Thou shalt give therefore to thy servant a docile heart — that is, one receiving doctrine, namely that he may hear from thee and draw into himself doctrine, that is prudence and wisdom, namely a prudent, understanding and wise heart: in Hebrew it is, a hearing heart, which indeed may hear and receive wisdom. Whence in II Paralipomenon I, 10, explaining this he says: "Give me wisdom and understanding." And here verse 11, God answering him says: "Thou hast asked wisdom for thyself," etc. Furthermore Solomon asking here for wisdom properly asks for prudence, by which he may rule both himself and the whole people wisely, namely that he may prudently institute all his actions, both private and public, according to the law and will of God. Whence in Wisdom chapter IX, 4 and 10, explaining this his petition for wisdom he says: "Give me wisdom, the attendant of thy throne, etc., that she may be with me, and may labor with me, that I may know what is acceptable to thee." He adds the reason in verse 17, saying: "For who of men is there that can know the counsel of God? or who can think what the will of the Lord is? For the thoughts of mortal men are fearful, and our counsels uncertain. For the corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things. And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth: and with labour do we find the things that are before us: but the things that are in heaven, who shall search out?" See the things said there. For wisdom in the Wisdom books chiefly signifies practical or ethical wisdom, which teaches us to live wisely, that is justly and holily, which therefore in Wisdom X, is called "the knowledge of the Holy Ones," and in Luke I, "the prudence of the just." God however, who surpasses the prayers and desires of his own, granted to Solomon far greater wisdom, as I shall now say.
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12. I have given thee a wise heart (that is, a mind) and understanding (the Chaldean: and considering; the Septuagint: and skilled) to such a degree that there hath not been any like unto thee before thee, nor shall there arise after thee. In II Paralipomenon I, 12, it is said, "Wisdom and knowledge are given to thee." By which, first, understand Ethics and Politics, for governing both himself and the people: this also Solomon chiefly requested. Second, Physics, Medicine, Logic, Rhetoric, Poetry, Mathematics, Architecture (for he had need of this for building the temple) and all natural sciences and arts. For these are called wisdom by the Hebrews, as is evident from Exodus cap. XXXI, vers. 3. For concerning these he himself says, Wisdom cap. VII, vers. 17: "For he hath given me the true knowledge of the things that are, that I may know the disposition of the whole world, and the virtues of the elements, the beginning and ending and midst of the times, the alterations of the turnings of the sun, and the changes of seasons, the courses of the year and the positions of the stars, the natures of living creatures and the rage of wild beasts, the force of winds and the reasonings of men, the diversities of plants and the virtues of roots, and all such things as are hid and not foreseen I have learned: for wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me." Third, supernatural wisdom and prudence of the mysteries of faith, indeed even the gift of prophecy. For that Solomon was an eminent Theologian is evident from his Proverbs and Wisdom: that he was also a Prophet is evident from Proverb. cap. XXX, vers. 1. See the sayings there. Therefore, infused knowledge of all these sciences Solomon received from God on this night, and that in a degree most intense, so that he could not forget them. Thus Abulensis, Serarius, Pineda, Salianus and others. Josephus adds that Solomon learned from God exorcisms for conjuring and expelling demons, and many other things, which Origen mentions, tract. 35 in Matthew; Justin, Dialog. On the Truth of Christian Religion; Epiphanius in the Heresy of the Ebionites. See Baronius in the year of Christ 56, and Sixtus Senensis in the Library, under the word Solomon. Whence some think that Solomon was given a gratuitous grace for composing exorcisms by which the demon might be driven out. Josephus added that Solomon composed incantations for driving away diseases, which is magical: but Josephus perhaps understood by incantations prayers, which the common people afterwards superstitiously turned into incantations or magical charms. The Rabbis add, or rather fabricate, that Solomon knew the chirping of birds, the barking of dogs, and understood the voices and discourse of other beasts. But truly, who can understand the voices of brutes, which lack reason and intellect? Therefore it is in vain that magicians boast this of themselves. That there hath not been any like unto thee before thee. Solomon therefore surpassed in wisdom not only Trismegistus, Orpheus, Homer, Plato, Solon, Lycurgus, Aristotle and all the wise men of the Greeks, Egyptians, Canaanites, etc., inasmuch as their wisdom was acquired by study, whereas Solomon's was immediately infused by God; but also Abraham, Moses, David, Adam, at least after the fall. For although these excelled in certain things, as Abraham in eminent faith, Moses in receiving the laws from God, David in composing psalms, yet Solomon surpassed them in the amplitude of wisdom, because he comprehended absolutely all things, and expressed Christ the Lord, His wisdom, and His union with the Holy Church, both in words and in deeds most vividly. Nor shall there arise after thee. Hence Abulensis rightly infers that Solomon was wiser not only than Adam and Moses, but also than the Prophets and Apostles, excepting only Christ, and His mother the Blessed Virgin, although Suarez doubts this, tome II, disput. XVIII, sect. 5. The same thing St. Jerome asserts in cap. III of Ephesians, vers. 8: "Solomon," he says, "was wiser than all the Apostles, as the divine voice promised to the Patriarchs before, who also speaks of himself confidently: God hath taught me wisdom and I have known the knowledge of the holy ones," Wisdom cap. VII. Understand this in natural and political matters, for in the mysteries of faith and the Gospel Paul and the Apostles were wiser than Solomon. Lyranus, however, Dionysius and Pererius, lib. V in Genesis, Quæst. III, think that Solomon is here said to be wiser than all, but in such a way that a few are excepted, namely the Apostles, etc. Others here limit it: "None like unto thee," namely among kings: but this is too narrow. Others with Serarius better thus: "None;" namely of those who became wise through human study and their own industry, "shall be like unto thee," who didst receive it infused from God: wherefore here no comparison is made with Adam, the Blessed Virgin and the Apostles, whose wisdom was infused from God. See Pinedan, lib. III De Salom. cap. VIII, who also adds that with wisdom was given to Solomon the Holy Ghost, that is greater grace and sanctity: for he himself chiefly requested this in wisdom and with wisdom. Hear Remigius, who on that passage Coloss. cap. II, vers. 9: In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead corporeally, thus writes: "Otherwise it dwelleth in each of the elect, otherwise in Christ: because to them is given the spirit by measure, but in him it dwelleth fully. For it dwelt in Solomon through wisdom, in Daniel through chastity, in the Prophets through sanctity, in Moses through meekness; but in Christ through all virtue and innocence."
3:13
13. But these also, which thou didst not ask for, I have given (that is, I have decreed to give and shall presently give) to thee, namely riches and glory, so that there hath been none like unto thee among all the kings in the days that were before. Hence Abulensis thinks that Solomon surpassed in wealth and glory Nemrod, Ninus, Saul, David and the other kings who went before, but not those who came after, who followed Solomon, such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Augustus. But Serarius and others more rightly judge that Solomon is to be preferred before all kings whatsoever, both those to come and those that were before, and that he surpassed all in wealth and glory. For in II Paralipomenon cap. I, vers. 12, it is clearly said: "But riches and substance and glory I will give thee, so that there hath not been any among the kings, neither before thee nor after thee, like unto thee:" where from the Hebrew thou mayest translate: And glory which was not thus (like) to the kings before and after thee shall not be thus, that is, like unto thee. Morally, learn here how great a good wisdom is and a gift of God, and how it is to be preferred before all other things, nay, it brings all other things with it, and it is to be obtained by prayer rather than by study. For the author and giver of wisdom is God, who is the father of lights, James cap. I, vers. 5 and 17. See the sayings there; and St. Augustine, Preface in book I of On Christian Doctrine.
3:15
15. Therefore Solomon awoke, and understood that it was a dream. Vatablus and others explain it, that is to say: Solomon, awakening, remembered his dream, or that he had dreamed of wisdom, namely that it was not a real thing, but a fleeting, false and empty dream. But this cannot be said: for Solomon truly obtained wisdom here, as is evident from the words of Scripture verse 12: "I have given," says he, "thee a wise and understanding heart," etc., wherefore this sense directly contradicts Holy Scripture, and destroys and overturns it. I say therefore: "Solomon awaking understood that it was a dream," namely not a natural one, but a supernatural and divine one, that is a vision really and efficaciously united with the thing itself, namely with the wisdom infused by God and imparted to him. Whence the Hebrew, the Septuagint and the Chaldean have: Therefore Solomon awoke, and behold a dream, namely it achieved its effect, and appeared true, that is to say Solomon awakening saw that he was truly made wise as he had dreamed, that is as sleeping through a divine vision he had seen. For he saw the forms of all things pressing upon and flying before his mind, by which he clearly perceived whatever things he had not known before; he understood therefore that this dream was real and true, inasmuch as it was supernatural, and sent by God together with the thing dreamed. Whence immediately he most wisely settled the intricate dispute of the harlots, and administered all other things most wisely, as is evident from what follows. Thus Suarez, Serarius, Pineda. Similar dreams not dreamed and false, but real and true exist in Holy Scripture, as when St. Peter was to be freed by an Angel from prison, he was commanded to clothe himself and go out, "he thought he saw a vision," and was dreaming, Acts cap. XII, verse 9, and yet he truly clothed himself and went out. Thus the Hebrews freed from Babylon returning to Jerusalem, say: "When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion we became as comforted;" Hebrew, as those dreaming, that is to say: So joyful, new, wonderful and unexpected was our return from exile to our homeland, that it seemed to be a dream, so that we thought we were not truly returning, but dreaming of a return. Thus Solomon here awakening seemed to himself to have dreamed; but soon he saw the dream turned into a real thing. Thus St. Jerome, corrected in a dream by God because he read Cicero before Holy Scripture, and hearing: "Thou art a Ciceronian, not a Christian," was sharply beaten and scourged, not in a dream, but in reality. Hear him, epistle 18 to Eustochium: "Nor was that sleep, or vain dreams, by which we are often deceived, the witness is that tribunal before which I lay: witness is the sad judgment, which I feared. May it never happen to me to fall into such a question. I confess I had livid shoulders, I felt blows after sleep, and from that time forth I read divine things with such zeal as I had not read mortal things before." And when he had come (from Gabaon, where he had asked wisdom from God and obtained it) to Jerusalem, he stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered holocausts—in thanksgiving for so great a gift of wisdom imparted to him by God. For the ark was in Sion, but the tabernacle and altar were in Gabaon, as was said verse 4.
3:16
Verse 16. Then came two women harlots unto the king. God thus disposing it to make manifest to Israel the wisdom of Solomon imparted to him a little before, through the skillful settlement of the dispute of the harlots. For harlots in Hebrew is זונות zonot, which the Chaldean translates as innkeepers or tavern-keepers: for zona, or harlot, is called she who earns her living by prostituting herself or by food, or by labor, or by her body, such as is an innkeeper, a washerwoman, a seamstress, a weaver, a dyer who gains her livelihood by art and craft. And our Sanchez thinks these two were such, because harlots properly so called scarcely bear children on account of promiscuous intercourse and the mixing of seeds, for they prostitute themselves to anyone: it is otherwise with concubines, who cleave to one lover alone: for these conceive just as wives do. But St. Gregory, Ambrose, Prosper, Pineda, Salianus and others commonly think these two were harlots properly so called, as the Septuagint and our version translate; and this is argued from the fact that no mention is made of husbands here, but they themselves contest the suit by themselves. For harlots, because they are avaricious, desirous, shameless, wrathful, hence are likewise litigious, nay the cause of many suits, quarrels, duels, beatings and wars, as daily experience teaches.
3:19
Verse 19. For sleeping he pressed upon him, namely because rolling over he lay upon the infant, and suffocated him with the weight of his body. Wherefore by Canon Law mothers are forbidden to sleep with infants, on account of the danger of their being pressed upon, as appears II, Question V, Canon Consuluit. They contended before the king, because witnesses and other proofs and signs were lacking, hence by the contention of voice and clamor in their manner they strove against each other, these little women. Allegorically, these two women represent the Synagogue of the Jews and the Church of Christians, which contend among themselves concerning the boy Jesus and the living and true Messiah: but Solomon, that is Christ, settles the same matter saying Matt. cap. X: "I came not to send peace, but a sword." For I came to divide the law and grace, Jews and Christians, the faithful and the unfaithful, as St. Jerome beautifully teaches, epistle 131 to Rufinus, where he also adds that Solomon performed this judgment in the twelfth year of his age, for he began to reign then; but I showed above that this was done in the twentieth year of his age. Again they represent the Catholic Church, and the Arian heresy, the Nestorian, and the others, which divide Christ into two, so that one thing in him is God, another man, and they strive to arrogate to themselves the true faithful who are the living children of the Church, and to draw them to their heresy, and thus to destroy and kill them. Thus St. Augustine, sermon 200 On the Seasons: "The impious, he says, and cruel heresy cries out that it be divided. What is it to be divided, except that the Son is not equal to the Father? For while it takes away equality from the Son, it denied the Father to be good and almighty. For God the Father, if he was able to beget a son like himself and was unwilling, is not good: if he was willing and was not able, is not almighty." But the true mother, namely the Catholic Church cries out: "Give the boy to her, and do not divide him. He is my son, but it is better that the newborn migrate to her, let him migrate entirely, yet let maternal affection remain with me. Give the boy to her, let not the vows of the members be taken away, let not his integrity be divided, lest piety be taken from me. What she says: Give the boy to her and do not divide him, rightly I also say. Possess the whole, and do not divide God." This word for word Angelomus, Eucherius or rather Bede, and St. Prosper, book On Predestination, transcribed from St. Augustine. Tropologically St. Gregory, book XXI Moral. cap. VII, by these two women understands true and false teachers: for the true and good seek the salvation of their disciples, the false and evil seek their own glory and gains, with the destruction of their disciples. "For indeed, says St. Gregory, teachers vigilant in knowledge, but sleeping in life, their hearers, whom they nourish through the vigils of preaching, while they neglect to do what they say, they kill through the sleep of torpor, and by neglecting they press down those whom they seemed to nourish with the milk of their words. Whence often while they themselves live reprehensibly and cannot have disciples of praiseworthy life, they strive to attract others to themselves: so that while they show themselves to have good followers, they excuse before the judgments of men the evils which they do, and as it were through the deadly life of their subjects they cover their negligence. Whence there that woman sought a son, because she extinguished her own, sought an alien one: but nevertheless Solomon's sword found the true mother; because namely whose fruit lives, or whose dies, the final examination shows by the wrath of the strict judge." Then St. Gregory admonishes us to note carefully, "that the living son is ordered to be divided first, so that afterwards he may be returned to the mother alone: because in this life the life of the disciple is as it were divided, while from it sometimes one has merit before God, another truly has praise before men. But the false mother does not fear that he whom she did not bear be killed: because arrogant teachers and ignorant of charity, if they cannot obtain the fullest name of praise from the disciples of others, will cruelly pursue their life. For inflamed by the torch of envy, they do not wish others to live, whom they perceive they cannot possess." Angelomus and Eucherius transcribed the same from St. Gregory. Symbolically St. Ambrose, book III On Virginity: "Two, he says, women are faith and temptation, which after they lost their posterity through the vice of carnal conversation and the sleep of mind, strives to take away the fruit of posterity from another. And so while temptation litigates, faith wavers, until the sword of Christ distinguishes the hidden affections. What is this sword of Christ? that of which it is written: A sword came I to send upon the earth. For it is a sword of which it is written: And a sword shall pierce thy own soul. But who is this sword, what sword, know: The Word, he says, sharp and strong, and more penetrating than any sharpest sword, penetrating even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrows."
3:25
25. Divide (said he) the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other. Solomon said this not seriously as if pronouncing sentence, but in simulation, that he might explore in which one maternal affection would remain, so that he might adjudge the living child to her: for no other proof, or other means of deciding this dispute was available. For there is implanted by nature in a mother an arcane love and compassion toward her offspring, of which she is deprived who is not a mother. Therefore Solomon here interrogated nature, and she, responding, showed the true mother by her affection. For, as St. Ambrose says, book III On the Holy Spirit, chapter VII: "Solomon considered that a true mother would consult the welfare of her son more than her own comfort, and would prefer the grace of justice to the justice of grace. But truly she who had simulated the affection of a mother, blinded by the desire to win, would reckon his destruction as of little account, in which she would not know the loss of piety. And so that spiritual man who would judge all things (for the spiritual man judges all things) sought nature in affections, which lay hidden in voices, and interrogated piety that it might reveal truth. Thus the mother conquered by the affection of charity, which is the fruit of the spirit." You will say: the true mother was here struck by an unjust fear of the division of her son. I answer that this was necessary at this place and time for the good of the mother; namely, that by this means she might be freed from perpetual litigation with her rival, and from the constant danger of losing her son, which was a far greater evil to her. Wherefore it was better for her to endure this fear for a short time, that by means of it she might be recognized as a mother, and her son be restored to her. By a similar test emperors explored and discovered the truth and the true mother or father. For Claudius Caesar, as Suetonius says in his Life, chapter XV, "compelled a woman not acknowledging her son, doubtful as to both by the reliability of arguments, to confession, by arranging a marriage for the young man; for when this was denied, which nature abhorred, she acknowledged the son. Claudius therefore compelled a mother denying a certain young man, who was truly her son, to be her own son, to confession of truth by arranging a marriage for her with the young man himself. Likewise Charlemagne, certain that either the father or the son, whom he held captive, had killed someone, but uncertain which of them had done it, ordered both to be hanged. But when the father, who had truly transgressed, saw no hope of redemption, he confessed and acknowledged his own guilt, and thus freed his son from the impending punishment. Thus from the life of Charlemagne John Molanus, Doctor of Louvain, reports it, book I On Preserving Faith with Heretics, chapter VIII, and Martin Delrio, volume III Disquisitions on Magic, book IV, in the preamble, from Andrew Barbatius in the chapter Present, on Proof. Thirdly, this judgment of Solomon was imitated by Alphonsus, king of Aragon, who, as Antonius Panormitanus writes in his Deeds, book II, chapter XXXIX, when a certain slave woman had conceived by her master and had borne a son, and therefore by the law of Spain proclaimed herself to liberty: but the master, lest he be deprived of the mother with the child, denied that the boy was born of him, decreed that the infant be sold under the spear, and when the infant was delivered to one who had offered the greatest price, the father, overcome by natural piety, could not refrain from tears, and confessed that it was his son. Wherefore the king immediately adjudged the son to the father, and the due liberty to the mother. To this pertains the judgment of Ariopharnes, king of Thrace, who, when three sons of the king of the Cimmerians contended over their father's kingdom, ordered the father's body to be extracted from the sepulcher and bound to a tree, and them to draw the bow, so that he whose arrow pierced the father's heart would succeed him in the kingdom. The firstborn pierced the throat, the second the breast; the third, younger but more dutiful, was unwilling to shoot at the father's heart, saying it was impious to pierce the father's heart. And so the Thracian king adjudged the kingdom to him. This example is recounted in the Theatre of Human Life, volume VII, book IV, after the beginning, and cites as author Diodorus, book XX; but Diodorus, apart from the names Ariopharnes and the sons of the king of the Cimmerians, has nothing of the sort; wherefore to me this same thing seems suspect as to historical reliability and mythical.
3:26
26. But the woman whose son was alive said to the king (for her bowels were moved upon her son): I beseech thee, my lord, give her the living child, and do not kill him. On the contrary, the other said: Let it be neither mine nor thine, but let it be divided. Hence it is evident that this woman was not only a false mother, but also laboured under envy and hatred toward the true mother, and therefore sought that her son should be killed, just as her own was dead: otherwise indeed she would have sought that the child be preserved for herself, when the true mother was asking the king to give him to her, lest her son be killed. She wished therefore that her son should die, as her own son was dead. Thus Abulensis. Hear St. Ambrose, book III On Virgins: "When she heard this, she who was seeking another's child not only acquiesced, but even demanded the division of the little one, moved by no maternal affection. She who knew her own child, fearing not to be overcome, but to be bereft: and now consulting not her own consolation, but her pledge, began to pray that the boy be rather delivered unharmed to another, than cut into parts be returned to his own mother. Whence Solomon, who was questioning the inner affection not by divine majesty, but by arguments as a man, judged that the little one ought rather to be given to her, than the true mother's own grief would have betrayed: but her, whom the pity of the dying child did not move, he pronounced to be bereft of nature, whom he saw to be bereft of piety. Truth therefore was not hidden, but nevertheless through the simulation of the other it wavered; and for a long time even the good mother remained in doubt by the event, while she was in peril of the uncertain judgment." Tropologically St. Gregory, book XXI of the Morals, cap. VIII, taking these two women to mean false and true teachers: "The perverse woman, he says, cries out: Let it be neither mine nor his. For as we have said, those whom they do not see obeying them for temporal glory, they begrudge to others living by truth. But the true mother strives that her son at least be with a stranger and live; because truthful teachers concede that from their disciples some indeed may have the praise of teaching, if nevertheless those same disciples do not lose the integrity of life. By which bowels of piety this same true mother is recognized, because all teaching is approved in the examination of charity: and she alone merited to receive the whole, who as it were conceded the whole, because faithful prelates, for the reason that from their good disciples they not only do not begrudge to others the praise, but even pray for the benefit of their progress to them, receive their sons both whole and living, when in the supreme examination from their life they shall obtain the joys of perfect retribution." In a similar manner, but with dissimilar affection, and with unequal effect, the mother of Antoninus Caracalla and Geta the Caesars, as Herodian says, in order to unite them, being at discord and dividing the empire, asked to be divided from them, so that each of them might have his part in his own kingdom. But in vain; for Caracalla, fearing his brother Geta, as one pleasing to the people, killed him in his mother's bosom, and in order to cover the crime with the veil of piety, he enrolled him among the Deified, saying: "That he may not be alive, let him be Divine."
3:27
27. And the king answered and said: Give the living child to this woman, and let it not be killed: for this is his mother. For nature and natural compassion certainly indicate that this woman is the mother. See here the cleverness and wisdom of Solomon. "And so not undeservedly, says St. Ambrose, book II of On Duties, chapter VIII, the intellect of God was esteemed to be in him, in whom are the hidden things of God. But what is more hidden than the testimony of the inner bowels, into which the intellect of the wise man, as it were a certain arbiter of piety, descended, and drew forth, as it were, a certain voice of the generative womb, by which maternal affection was laid bare—she who had chosen that her son should live even with a stranger rather than be slain in the sight of his mother. It was therefore the part of Wisdom to distinguish hidden consciences, to draw forth truth from secret things, and as it were with a certain sword, so with the sword of the spirit to penetrate not only the womb, but also the bowels of the soul and mind. And also of Justice, so that she who had slain her own should not take away another's, but the true mother should receive her own. Finally, Scripture also pronounced this: For all Israel heard the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared before the face of the king, because they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
3:1
… or Ethiopian stock also prevailed: among others the Libyan Shoshenq (v. SESAC) of the XXII dynasty, who reestablished ties with Palestine after King Solomon (975-935) married a daughter of the king of Egypt and received the city of Gezer as her dowry (I Kings 3:1; 9:16); this would be Psusennes I, son of Smendes, the second ruler of the XXI dynasty in the Delta; from that time on it seems that relations between Egypt and Palestine became more …
… testimonies of Scripture suffice: in the Old Testament: the call and the promises made to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-22), the revelation of the burning bush and of Sinai (Ex. 3:1-17; 19:1 ff.; 24:1), the call and the teaching of the prophets (1 Kings 3:1-21; Is. 1:2; 2:1; Jer. 1:4-19). In the New Testament the existence of a divine revelation is clearly taught by Jesus Christ himself: "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one …
3:2
Bamah (Heb. "height"; plural Bāmāth)
The Yahwistic b., whose cult was in keeping with monotheism, and erected in places consecrated by theophanies or by the presence of the Mosaic tabernacle (that of Gibeon: "the great b."; cf. I Reg. 3:2-5; I Par. 16:39; 21:29; II Par. 1:3, 13) or of the Ark, or because designated by the prophets or by tradition (Shiloh, Ramah, Gilgal, Bethel, Gibeah, Hebron, Carmel: cf. I Sam. …
3:4
The "high place of the Lord in G.," where the descendants of Saul were killed (II Sam. 21:6), visited by Solomon to offer sacrifices there before the tabernacle (I Kings 3:4; I Chron. 16:39; 21:29), probably corresponds to Nebi Simeuil which, two km. to the south, dominates the plain of el-Gib with its 150 m. summit.
… They change, for example, I Kings 3, 4 into II Chron. 1, 3; II Sam. 24, 1. 16 ff. into I Chron. 21, 1. 15 f. 26. But such anthologies are well resolved by Catholic commentators. …
… On that occasion God, appearing to the King in a dream, granted his request to have "a mind docile to govern his people, to discern good from evil," conceding to him "a wise and perspicacious mind" and also other goods that he had not asked for: a long reign and riches (1 Kings 3, 4-14). The famous "judgment of S." soon afterward gave an example of the King's wisdom (ibid. 3, 16-28), which became proverbial.
Tabernacle (Tent) of Meeting (Hebrew 'Ohel, usually followed by Me'eth: "Tabernacle of Convene")
… from the desert to the Holy Land: at Gilgal (Josh. 4:19; 5:10; 9:6; 10:6 ff. 9:15, 43; 14:6); at Shiloh (ibid. 18:1; 19:51; Judg. 18:31; 21:19; 1 Sam. 1-4; 14:3; Ps. 78:60); at Nob (1 Sam. 21:1); at Gibeon (1 Chron. 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chron. 1:3); on Zion (1 Kings 3:4). After the Temple was built, it was preserved as a relic in an upper room of it. Jeremiah would have hidden it together with the ark in a cave of Mt. Nebo before the fall of Jerusalem …
… Solomon consecrated the middle of the court, and God appeared to him again (I Kings 9:2; 3:4). The Mosaic tabernacle from Gibeon was kept in the new temple, which was to be the sole sanctuary of the people of Israel. …
3:5
… imposed tribute (stele, lines 5-8). Control over Moab was strengthened under King Ahab; and although already in the last years of this king the Moabites had attempted to shake off the yoke, the actual revolt (according to the clear notice of I Kings 1:1; 3:5) occurred after the death of Ahab, during the ephemeral reign of Ahaziah. …
3:9
… It has its origin in God (Ex. 28:3; 1 Kings 3:9; 5:9; Is. 28:26; Ecclus. 38:6); its basis is the "fear of God" (Prov. 1:7; 9:10; Job 28:28; Ecclus. 1:16-22; Ps. 110:10). Especially after the exile, wisdom became the …
3:16
… to discern good from evil," conceding to him "a wise and perspicacious mind" and also other goods that he had not asked for: a long reign and riches (1 Kings 3, 4-14). The famous "judgment of S." soon afterward gave an example of the King's wisdom (ibid. 3, 16-28), which became proverbial.
3:18
… Jésus-Christ, II, Paris 1923, p. 29: "l'amour doit être l'objet final ou même le sujet de sa prière"), and the prayer of abandonment to the divine will, which reaches its most perfect exemplar in that of Jesus on the Cross (Lk 23:46; cf. Jb 13:15; 1 Kings 3:18). St. Paul
3:20
In this second sense "bosom" is used in the Babylonian language (Code of Hammurabi, XL, 49 ff.: the king carries his subjects in his bosom) and in the Hebrew language (Num. 11, 12; 1 Kings 3, 20; 17, 19; Lam. 2, 12).
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.