Judgment of Solomon
The Judgment of Solomon refers to a story from the Hebrew Bible in which King Solomon of Israel ruled between two women both claiming to be the mother of a child by tricking the parties into revealing their true feelings. It has become an archetypal example of a judge displaying wisdom in making a ruling.
Biblical narrative
The story is recounted in 1Kings 3:16-28. Two young women who lived in the same house and who both had an infant son came to Solomon for a judgment. One of the women claimed that the other, after accidentally smothering her own son while sleeping, had exchanged the two children to make it appear that the living child was hers. The other woman denied this and so both women claimed to be the mother of the living son and said that the dead boy belonged to the other.
After some deliberation, King Solomon called for a sword to be brought before him. He declared that there was only one fair solution: the live son must be split in two, each woman receiving half of the child. The liar, in her bitter jealousy, exclaimed, "It shall be neither mine nor yours—divide it!" However, upon hearing this terrible verdict, the boy's true mother cried out, "Oh Lord, give the baby to her, just don't kill him!" The king gave the baby to the real mother. King Solomon's judgment became known throughout all of Israel and was considered an example of profound wisdom.
Jewish interpretation
According to the Midrash, the two women were sisters-in-law, both of whom had borne sons, and whose husbands had died. The baby was actually the lying woman's nephew. Therefore, when Solomon suggested that the infant be split in half, the lying woman, jealous of her nephew and sister-in-law, agreed. Thus was Solomon able to know who the real mother was.[1]
"Splitting the baby"
The expressions "splitting the baby" or "cutting the baby in half" are sometimes used in the legal profession for a form of simple compromise: solutions which "split the difference" in terms of damage awards or other remedies (e.g. a judge dividing fault between the two parties in a comparative negligence case).[2]
Representations in art
The Judgment of Solomon has long been a popular subject for artists and is often chosen for 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
- The Judgement of Solomon by William Blake
- Etching by Gustave Doré
- Woodcut by the school of Michael Wolgemut in the Nuremberg Chronicle
- Paintings by Andrea Mantegna, Poussin and Franz Caucig
- Relief sculpture on the Doge's Palace in Venice by an unknown artist (near the exit into St. Mark's Square)
Other media
The scene has been the subject of television episodes of Dinosaurs, Recess, The Simpsons (where the baby was substituted by a pie), Seinfeld (see The Seven), and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. It has influenced other artistic disciplines, e.g. Bertolt Brecht's play The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Ronnie snatching Kat's baby in EastEnders.
The HIM (Finnish band) song "Shatter Me With Hope" includes the line "We'll tear this baby apart, wise like Solomon".
Footnotes
- ^ http://www.jlaw.com/Commentary/solomon.html
- ^ Stephanie E. Keer and Richard W. Naimark, Arbitrators Do Not “Split-the-Baby”: Empirical Evidence from International Business Arbitrations from the Energy Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Judgment of Solomon |
- D. L. Ashliman, Child Custody: folktales of Aarne-Thompson type 926, variants on the tale
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