Solomon’s wisdom is shown in Kings 3:5-14 when he suggests dividing a disputed child between two women, revealing the true mother’s love. “Splitting the baby” refers to an unreasonable decision to unearth the truth, often used in custody cases. The story is also an allegory for the split in the Jewish monarchy.
Dividing the child is a reference to an Old Testament story in Kings 3:5-14, concerning a decision by Solomon that shows his wisdom when given a difficult task. Solomon as king was often asked to judge between people with difficult problems, and his solutions were considered very wise. The term is often used to describe an unreasonable solution that can be used as a way to find an underlying truth.
In Kings, two women approach Solomon, both claiming to be the mother of the same child. Indeed, a woman suffocated her own child in her sleep and took the child of another woman with whom she shares the house. Waking up, the mother of the living baby discovers that she is holding the dead baby, which she knows is not hers. As she fails to persuade the dead child’s mother to return her son to her, they go to Solomon for her judgment.
Solomon’s solution is quite unique. He feels both sides, which are identical, and decides it’s best to cut the baby in half so both mothers have a side. To do this, however, is to kill the child. The mother who has already lost a child is happy with the solution, but the real mother cries out and begs Solomon to let the other woman raise her child alive.
When the real mother protests the solution and is willing to give up her rights as a mother to preserve her child’s life, Solomon hands the child over to her. Her reaction is the key to determining true parentage and the depth of her love for her child would allow her to waive her rights as long as the child is alive.
Splitting the baby is essentially an unreasonable decision and could refer to any judgments that need to be made when the details are hard to determine. It’s actually not a solution, but a threat that tries to unearth the truth of a situation, in order to make the wisest decision.
In some custody cases, you might hear a judge say, “Well, we can’t exactly split the child,” referring to a child’s custody decision. In this sense, Solomon’s perplexity is still felt throughout the world in the family courts.
Furthermore, the phrase means that a decision can only be made in favor of one party without destroying the value of the disputed object. Someone can’t really split a child in half. Instead, it must decide that only one person is the true owner of the disputed property. Solomon’s decision asks, “Who deserves or is entitled to this?”
Some suggest that the story is also an allegory for the split in the Jewish monarchy that occurred after Solomon’s death. The Qur’an tells this story, throwing Solomon as a child into David’s court. After hearing the women’s story, he proceeds to draw a knife to cut the child in half, with the same results as in the Old Testament.
In fact, David thinks Solomon’s action is insane and orders the judges to determine his sanity. The judges are surprised by his wisdom and intelligence. The act of dividing the child is the beginning of the Wisdom of Solomon, according to the Koran.
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