"It pleased the LORD that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, 'Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice,'" — God's response affirms Solomon's request: *va-yitab ha-dabar be-'eynay YHVH* (it pleased the LORD that Solomon had asked this). God explicitly *praises* Solomon for what he *did not ask for*: *'attah lo sha'alta l'kha yamim rabbim ve-'azel ve-nefeshot oyvekha* (you have not asked for long life or riches or the life of your enemies). The negations—what Solomon *didn't want*—frame the wisdom request as *selfless* and *other-directed*. Solomon sought not personal gain but *mishpat* (justice)—the capacity to govern righteously.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse