24 After a moment the king said, "Bring me a sword." They brought the sword to the king. 25 Then he said, "Cut the living baby in two - give half to one and half to the other." 26 The real mother of the living baby was overcome with emotion for her son and said, "Oh no, master! Give her the whole baby alive; don't kill him!" But the other one said, "If I can't have him, you can't have him - cut away!" 27 The king gave his decision: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Nobody is going to kill this baby. She is the real mother." 28 The word got around - everyone in Israel heard of the king's judgment. They were all in awe of the king, realizing that it was God's wisdom that enabled him to judge truly.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 3:24-28
Commentary on 1 Kings 3:16-28
(Read 1 Kings 3:16-28)
An instance of Solomon's wisdom is given. Notice the difficulty of the case. To find out the true mother, he could not try which the child loved best, and therefore tried which loved the child best: the mother's sincerity will be tried, when the child is in danger. Let parents show their love to their children, especially by taking care of their souls, and snatching them as brands out of the burning. By this and other instances of the wisdom with which God endued him, Solomon had great reputation among his people. This was better to him than weapons of war; for this he was both feared and loved.