Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.
Then came there two women. Eastern monarchs, who generally administer justice in person-at least in all cases of difficulty-having their seat in the gate of the city (Solomon afterward built "the porch of judgment," 1 Kings 7:7), often appeal to the principles of human nature when they are at a loss otherwise to find a clue to the truth, or see clearly their way through a mass of conflicting testimony. The modern history of the East abounds with anecdotes of judicial cases in which the decision given was the result of an experiment similar to this of Solomon, upon the natural feelings of the contending parties.