Solomon\u27s Sword: Adjudication of Child Custody Questions

It is significant that this story from the reign of King Solomon in the tenth century B.C. uses as its setting a battle over child custody to illustrate the legendary wisdom of Solomon. \u27 It is equally meaningful that after the passage of some three thousand years of civilization and supposed social progress, a twentieth century Amer- ican judge could remark that a judge agonizes more about reaching the right result in a contested custody issue than about any other type decision he renders. And this agony intrudes into an ever-increasing number of cases