At Gibeon early in his reign, Solomon had asked God not for long life, riches, or the death of his enemies, but for 'an understanding mind to discern good and evil' to govern his people. God gave him 'a wise and discerning mind, such as none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.'
Soon two prostitutes came before him with an infant. Both lived in the same house; both had given birth around the same time. One woman's child had died in the night; she had switched her dead child for the other woman's living son. 'No, the living son is mine,' the other insisted. Solomon called for a sword and ordered the living child to be cut in two and divided. The true mother cried out: 'Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means slay it.' The other said: 'It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.' Solomon said: 'Give the first woman the living child, and by no means slay it; she is its mother.' All Israel heard of the judgement and stood in awe of the king, 'because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him.'