(16) Later two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. (17) The first woman said, “Please, my lord! This woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. (18) On the third day after I was delivered, this woman also gave birth to a child. We were alone; there was no one else with us in the house, just the two of us in the house. (19) During the night this woman’s child died, because she lay on it. (20) She arose in the night and took my son from my side while your maidservant was asleep, and laid him in her bosom; and she laid her dead son in my bosom. (21) When I arose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead; but when I looked at him closely in the morning, it was not the son I had borne.” (22) The other woman spoke up, “No, the live one is my son, and the dead one is yours!” But the first insisted, “No, the dead boy is yours; mine is the live one!” And they went on arguing before the king. (23) The king said, “One says, ‘This is my son, the live one, and the dead one is yours’; and the other says, ‘No, the dead boy is yours, mine is the live one.’ (24) So the king gave the order, “Fetch me a sword.” A sword was brought before the king, (25) and the king said, “Cut the live child in two, and give half to one and half to the other.” (26) But the woman whose son was the live one pleaded with the king, for she was overcome with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she cried, “give her the live child; only don’t kill it!” The other insisted, “It shall be neither yours nor mine; cut it in two!” (27) Then the king spoke up. “Give the live child to her,” he said, “and do not put it to death; she is its mother.”
(28) When all Israel heard the decision that the king had rendered, they stood in awe of the king; for they saw that he possessed divine wisdom to execute justice.
(4) The woman of Tekoa came to the king, flung herself face down to the ground, and prostrated herself. She cried out, “Help, O king!” (5) The king asked her, “What troubles you?” And she answered, “Alas, I am a widow, my husband is dead.
א"ר אלעזר בג' מקומות הופיע רוח הקודש בבית דינו של שם ובבית דינו של שמואל הרמתי ובבית דינו של שלמה...
The Gemara cites a somewhat similar statement. Rabbi Elazar says: In three places the Divine Spirit appeared before all to affirm that the action taken was appropriate: In the court of Shem, in the court of Samuel the Ramathite, and in the court of Solomon...
This occurred in the court of Solomon, when the Divine Spirit appeared in the dispute between two prostitutes over who was the mother of the surviving child, as it is written: “And the king answered and said: Give her the living child, and do not slay him; she is his mother” (I Kings 3:27). How did Solomon know that she was the mother? Perhaps she was devious and was not the mother of the surviving child at all. Rather, a Divine Voice emerged and said: She is his mother.
Rava said: From where do you draw these conclusions? None of these proofs is absolute. ..
With regard to Solomon, perhaps he reasoned that due to the fact that this woman is merciful and seeks to spare the baby and this woman is not merciful, it is evident that the former is its mother. Rather, Rava concludes: There is no proof from the verses that a Divine Spirit appeared in those circumstances; rather, there is a tradition that this is the case.
ותאמר האשה האחרת לא כי בני החי ובנך המת וזאת אומרת לא כי בנך המת ובני החי, ספר הכתוב כי בדברם, אמרה הנתבעת בלשון בני החי ובנך המת והתובעת אמרה בהפך בנך המת ובני החי, וכלל בלשון שהאדם יקדים תמיד מה שהוא העקר ויאחר את הטפל, ולפ''ז הסברא נותנת שהאשה שדקדקה להקדים בלשונה בני החי קודם, עקר מגמתה שיהיה החי בנה, והמקדמת בלשונה בנך המת עקר מגמתה שיהיה המת בן חברתה, לא שיהיה החי בנה, ומזה כבר היה יכול להבין ולהכריע מי אמו,
And the other woman said, "No, my son is the living one and yours is the dead one", and this one replied, "no, because your son is the dead one and mine is the live one".
This part of the story is recounted, as one woman says, "my son is the live one and yours is dead", while the other says the opposite, "your son is the dead one while mine is alive". The general principle in language is that people start with what is of primary importance to them, and follow up with what is extraneous. Therefore, reason indicates that the woman who started by saying, "my son is alive" first, is primarily focused on her son, who is alive. The other woman, who began by saying, "your son is dead" is primarily focused on the dead child. From this, it was already possible for Shlomo to discern who the true mother was.
This is the woman who began by saying, "my son is the live one", she's the one who requests that the child not be killed,
And all of Israel heard the judgment that he had rendered: They heard about how he was able to arrive at his conclusion, and how he was able to discern from the very beginning who was telling the truth, and they feared him because they saw that the wisdom of God was present among them.
(23) Joab was commander of the whole army [of] Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the Cherethites and the Pelethites; (24) Adoram was in charge of taxes; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; (25) Sheva was scribe; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests. (26) Ira the Jairite also served David as priest.
(2) These were his officials: Azariah son of Zadok—the priest; (3) Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha—scribes; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud—recorder; (4) Benaiah son of Jehoiada—over the army; Zadok and Abiathar—priests; (5) Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the provinces; Zabud son of Nathan the priest—companion of the king; (6) Ahishar—in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda—in charge of the forced labor.