1. A tragedy and a dilemma (16-22)

Two prostitutes came to Solomon with a tragic story. The women shared a house. Each had a newborn baby. During the night, one of the women accidentally killed her son. The woman got up and exchanged her dead baby with the other woman's baby. When the woman woke up in the morning, she saw the dead baby but realized it was not her child. But each woman claimed that the living baby was hers. Solomon faced an impossible situation.

2. Solomon's wisdom (23-28)

God gave Solomon wisdom. Solomon asked for a sword to cut the living baby in two. Each mother would receive half. Cutting the baby in two would obviously kill the baby. The real mother loved her son and would rather give him to the other woman than see him die. The other woman, out of spite, would rather have the child cut in two. The real mother was revealed and received her son.