He was the author of three thousand proverbs.
"Then said the king: 'The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is dead; and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.'"
"And the king said, 'Bring me a sword.' And they brought a sword before the king."
"And the king said, 'Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.'"
Then the woman, who was really the mother of the living baby, said to the king, for she was heart-broken to think that her child should be killed, "O my Lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it!"
"'But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.'"
Then the king turned to the first woman, and gave his verdict: "Give her the living child," he said, "and in nowise slay it: she is the mother thereof!"
And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they saw that the wisdom of God was with him to do justice among them.
And it was not only in the affairs of the State that Solomon was so wise.
His fame spread to all the nations round about; and his wisdom exceeded all the wisdom of the East. He was the author of three thousand proverbs and many songs. He was learned in trees—from the great cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that springs out of the wall.