John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO FIRST KINGS 3 This chapter relates the marriage of Solomon with Pharaoh's daughter, 1 Kings 3:1; his piety and devotion, 1 Kings 3:2; his prayer for wisdom and understanding, which was acceptable to God, who promised to grant his request, with an addition to it, 1 Kings 3:5; an instance and proof of the wisdom given him in determining a case between two harlots brought before him,...
John Gill
And the king said, bring me a sword,.... The design of which might not at first appear to the court, and it might be thought strange, and greatly wondered at: what should be the meaning of it: and they brought a sword before the king; his commands were obeyed.
Matthew Henry
Solomon's reign looked bloody in the foregoing chapter, but the necessary acts of justice must not be called cruelty; in this chapter it appears with another face. We must not think the worse of God's mercy to his subjects for his judgments on rebels. We have here, I. Solomon's marriage to Pharaoh's daughter, ver. 1. II. A general view of his religion, ver. 2-4. III. A particular account of his...