Haftara Miketz

I Kings 3.15-4.1

Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem. He stood before the ark of God’s covenant and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

Then two women came to the king, and stood before him. One woman said, “My master, we live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. The third day after I had my child, this woman also gave birth; and we were together; there was no one in the house. And this woman’s child died at night, because she lay on it. She got up at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while your maidservant slept, laid it on her bosom and laid her dead child on my bosom. When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, it was dead; but when I looked at it closely in the morning, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.”

The other woman said, “No, the living son is mine and the dead one is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead son is yours, and the living one is mine.” Thus they argued before the king.

Then the king said,”The one says: ‘My son is the one who is alive and your son is dead;’ and the other says, ‘No, your son is dead, and my son is the living one.'” And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword to the king. The king said, “Divide the living child in two, give one half to one, and the other half to the other.”

Then the woman whose child was the living one said, because her heart yearned for her son, “My Master, give her the living child but do not kill it.” But the other said, “Let it be neither mine nor yours; divide it.”

Then the king answered, “Give the first woman the living child; do not kill it; for she is the mother.”

All of Israel heard the judgement which the king had rendered and they stood in awe of the king; for they saw that God’s wisdom was in him, to render justice.

And King Solomon was king over all Israel.