I don’t know if it’s intended to be taken literally: it’s an almost certainly apocryphal account of Solomon’s wisdom in being able to “think outside the square” as marketing managers would say - similar to Alexander and the Gordian knot {although I still have a nagging feeling Alex cheated on that one: I’ll have to read the contest rules}.
Well, there are two versions of the story of Alexander and the Gordian Knot. In one version (the more famous), he simply cut the strands with his sword. In the other, he removed the pin that held the knot on the shaft of Gordias’ ox-cart and pulled it off the shaft, making the ends of the cord on the inside of the shaft accessible, then untied the knot from the inside. Either way, it would be an example of “thinking outside the box.” But I would regard the latter as a more elegant solution.
This story or variations thereof (for instance, it’s not necessarily a baby that is the disputed “prize”) appears in a number of tales. I used to assume that these tales were inspired by the biblical story. But recently, as I was reading yet another version of it, I suddenly thought that maybe the story could have been widespread before the time when the bible was writen. And, amongst the Hebrews, attributed to the legendary king Solomon.
In which case, the story wouldn’t have been told “outside its cultural milieu” but would simply have been known in many different milieus. Does the painting you’re refering to mention Solomon, or does it simply shows a scene similar to Solomon’s story?
Given that Alexander was a conqueror, the classical version where he cuts the knot with his sword is symbolically much more elegant.
An interesting point to me is the way the story assumes that we’ve correctly identified the true mother. To my way of thinking, we may have demonstrated that one of the women is a better candidate for motherhood, but not that she’s the real mother. This may of course be the point of the story.
Your homework for this weekend is to explore the possible links between the 2000 presidential election and the Judgment of Solomon (sorry couldn’t resist).
That has always been my take as well. He didn’t do it so much to reveal the false mother, but to find the real mother who was willing to make a sacrifice (losing him to keep him alive) for the good of her child.
I don’t know if this got any air time elsewhere, but in one of the places affected by the tsunami, a baby was found alive after several days.
9 different couples claimed it.
Thanks to DNA testing, the real parents were found… but (and this is the bit that made me think of King Solomon) until the judge said to go for DNA testing, each claimant stuck to his guns firmly. Once the judge said “let’s get the test,” only one couple stayed around. The test showed them to be the kid’s parents - the judge still decided to go on with the test, in case they just happened to be more stubborn.
The way I have always heard the story interpreted matches Greenback’s explanation. The woman who was willing to give up the child was the one who cared about him, therefore the real mother.
The novel Declare by Tim Powers has a damn interesting take on the story that not only makes Solomon’s decision make sense but ties it into the other thing that he’s famous for. Given the placement of this bit in the novel it not only gives an interesting take on the Biblical story but also makes the whole damn thing chilling.
For those that don’t give a damn about being spoiled:
In Declare djinn are real and hard to interact with. Encountering a djinn before the age of reason splits a child into two beings, which facilitates communication between the child and the djinn. In the novel Solomon is said to be proposing exposing the infant to one of the djinn he bound, making a child that can be with both mothers. The fake mother thinks this is fine. The real mother would rather her child remain sane and normal than be split, even if it means she gets no version of the child. The misunderstanding of the story comes from the euphamism for djinn being close to the word for sword, according to the novel’s logic.