1 Kings 3:16 BSB — MannaFest

1 Kings 3:16

At that time two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Then there came two women that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

KJV

Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

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Commentary

4 voices

Jerome

Letter 74 (420)

The interpretation of Solomon's judgment on the quarrel of two harlot women (1 Kings 3) is clear as far as the simple history is concerned: that a boy of twelve years judged with an affection beyond his age for the depths of human nature. Hence, he was both admired and feared by all Israel, because he would not miss what was so skillfully concealed.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Harlots - Or, victuallers: for the Hebrew words signifies both. Yet that they are unmarried persons, seems probable, both because there is no mention of any husbands, whose office it was, if there were any such, to contest for their wives; and because they lived a solitary life in one house.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Then came there two women - harlots - The word זנות zonoth, which we here, and in some other places, improperly translate harlots, is by the Chaldee (the best judge in this case) rendered פונדקין pundekayan, tavern-keepers. (See on Jos 2:1 (note)). If these had been harlots, it is not likely they would have dared to appear before Solomon; and if they had been common women, it is not likely they would have had children; nor is it likely that such persons would have been permitted under the reign of David.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

9 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
אָ֣ז	'az	then	H227 →
תָּבֹ֗אנָה	ta.Vo.nah	they came	H935 →
שְׁתַּ֛יִם	she.Ta.yim	two	H8147 →
נָשִׁ֥ים	na.Shim	women	H802 →
זֹנ֖וֹת	zo.Not	prostitutes	H2181 →
אֶל־	'el-	to	H413 →
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ	ha.Me.lekh	the king	H4428 →
וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֖דְנָה	va.ta.'a.Mo.de.nah	and they stood	H5975 →
לְפָנָֽיו׃	le.fa.Nav	<to> before him	H6440 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

H227ʾazthen141×

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Joshua 2:1
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
leads to
- Hebrews 11:31
  By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
- James 2:25
  In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?
Through
Judges 11:1
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.
leads to
- Hebrews 11:32
  And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,
- Judges 6:12
  And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
- 2 Kings 5:1
  Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. And…
Through
Deuteronomy 23:17
No daughter or son of Israel is to be a shrine prostitute.
leads to
- 2 Kings 23:7
  He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the house of the LORD, where the women had woven tapestries for Asherah.
- Leviticus 19:29
  You must not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity.
- 1 Kings 14:24
  There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the abominations of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

Featured studies on this passage

On 1 Kings 3:16

Solomon and the Two Mothers — 1 Kings 3

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About 1 Kings

The Judgment of Solomon — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

1 Kings: the study guide →Read chapter 3 →The featured study →

Continue: 1 Kings 3 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 1 Kings

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 1 Kings