1 Kings 3:16

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

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

▾

KJV

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

ASV

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

YLT

then come in do two women, harlots, unto the king, and stand before him,

DBT

Then came two women, harlots, to the king, and stood before him.

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Commentary voices

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Voices4

On this verse

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.

Jerome· Letter 74, 420patristic

Related commentary

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.

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832evangelical

Then came there two women--Eastern monarchs, who generally administer justice in person, at least in all cases of difficulty, often appeal to the principles of human nature when they are at a loss otherwise to find a clue to the truth or see clearly their way through a mass of conflicting testimony.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871reformed

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.

John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765evangelical

Voices on this verse

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Rabbinic commentary

How the Hebraic tradition has read this verse: and Marcus Brown’s own reading of it.

Cross-references

13 linked verses

The verses this one reaches12

Exodus 18:16
“Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me to judge between one man and another, and I make known to them the statutes and laws of God.”
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.
Job 29:16
I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.
Exodus 18:26
And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.
Deuteronomy 17:8
If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.
2 Samuel 15:2
He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out and ask, “What city are you from?” And if he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”
2 Chronicles 32:4
Many people assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said.
Deuteronomy 23:17
No daughter or son of Israel is to be a shrine prostitute.
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.
Leviticus 19:29
You must not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity.
Numbers 27:2
the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole congregation, and said,
Job 9:33
Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both.

1 more linked verses are grouped by book below ↓

Cross-references

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The quotation web

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Original language

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Around this verse

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

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

1 Kings: From Solomon's glory to the divided kingdom: then Elijah's confrontation with Ahab and Jezebel dominating the second half. The promise of the Davidic covenant unfolding through temple glory, then beginning to unravel as idolatry and political fragmentation take hold.

Canon: Old Testament
Author: Compiler anonymous; Jewish tradition attributes to Jeremiah (Bava Batra 15a). The book draws on court annals and prophetic records cited by name.
Date: Events c. 970–852 BC; compilation during the late Judahite monarchy or exile

More cross-references1 further linked verses, grouped by book▾ open

Every other verse the study tradition links to this one, in the Bible’s own order. The first links in each book carry a line of their text; every reference opens its full verse page.

Exodus1

Exodus 18:13The next day Moses took his seat to judge the people, and they stood…

Cross-references are drawn from classic Bible study tools and open, shareable Bible data.

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.

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

Where the connections lead

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