Solomon marries the daughter to the pharaoh of Egypt and solidifies an alliance. So, the slavery and Exodus from Egypt has been turned on its head and now Egypt sees Israel as having some political importance.
Solomon is still young. He worships God, but he still worships in the high places.
God appears to him in a dream and asks him what he wants. His reply - a discerning heart to know right from wrong. It is commonly assumed that he has asked for wisdom. I'm not sure if this is the exact same thing. God's response implies that it is not. God will grant him this discerning heart, but also wisdom, riches, and glory and will also extend his life if he follow God.
Immediately after in the test comes the famous example of Solomon's wisdom. I picture this probably happening relatively soon after this dream/promise from God. In other words, my hunch is Solomon is a teenager when he deals with this problem.
Two women who live in the same home gave birth to children at around the same time. One rolls over while sleeping and accidentally kills her child. The mother of the deceased then swapped out the dead child with the living one from the bed of the other woman. Then, she D
denies this happened. This comes before Solomon. He hears the story and both women claim the living child as her own.
Solomon asks for a sword so that the living child can be cut in two and both women will get a piece of the living child. The child's real mother asks for the child to be given to the other woman while the other woman agrees with Solomon's sentence. Solomon then hands the living child to the woman who protested its killing.
Like I said, I think this happened relatively early in Solomon's reign when he was still young. Hearing a pronouncement like this from a teenager would have been very powerful and increased his fame as a wise ruler, which the text does state is what happened.
It also provides credibility for a young king who had a contested ascension to the throne.
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