Abstract
The narrative of the King and the Two Prostitutes (1 Kgs 3:16–27) presents the reader with a riddle to identify the true mother of the living child. While the king knows and sees the true mother, the reader is to discover the same through the literary indications within the narrative. However, some translations of the bible explicitly affirm that the first woman is the mother of the living child. Such identification is seen in the Septuagint (LXX) and some modern English translations (NRSV, NEB, RSV). This essay, however, takes a different stand from the popular opinion expressed in these translations. The essay argues that paying attention to narratorial comment and its implications for reading the entire narrative leads the reader to conclude that the second woman could have been the true mother of the living child.
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