What is the meaning of "va'Esbonen Elav ba'Boker"?
Rashi: I put my mind to look at him.
Malbim: This was immediately, in the morning. Do not say that his form changed after death!
Why did she need to say "Asher Yaladti"?
Malbim: The other's baby was born three days later. It was evident that the dead baby was born only now; one can distinguish a newborn from a baby born three days ago 1 .
The other woman did not argue about when the babies were born. We must say that they did not go to Shlomo the day the baby died (they needed to recover from birth before traveling, or it took days to get to Yerushalayim, or first they went to judges in their city; after those judges could not decide, they went to Shlomo). If not, it would be evident whose baby died! Or, perhaps Shlomo could tell; he commanded to bring a sword to make the truth clear to all. (PF)
Why did she not say that she recognized that the live baby is hers?
Malbim: This is not a good proof, for perhaps the babies' faces were similar. 1 However, since the dead baby is not hers, surely the live baby is hers. There was no one else there to switch babies, and no one else knew about the birth!
