1 Kings 3:19 (DBY)

Passage

And this woman's child died in the night; because she had lain upon it.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 3:17 And the first woman said, Ah, my lord! I and this woman abode in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.

1 Kings 3:18 And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also; and we were together; no stranger was with us in the house, only we two were in the house.

1 Kings 3:19 And this woman's child died in the night; because she had lain upon it.

1 Kings 3:20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.

1 Kings 3:21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; and I considered it in the morning, and behold, it was not my son, whom I bore.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "woman's", "child", "died", "night", "lain", and "upon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "woman's" and "child", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "And it came to pass the third..." into verse 20's "And she arose at midnight and took...", so "woman's" and "child" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "woman's" and "child" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.