In the course of Western iconography this theme was a metaphor of a wise judge who uses his psychological insight to determine the truth. For Herman Wald this image became a metaphor for the dispute over the partition of Palestine. King Solomon in his regal garb, mantle and crown is seated before the two women. His hands hover axe-like over the featureless infant in his lap which is reminiscent of Herman Wald’s Akeda, the Sacrifice of Isaac where in which the son to be sacrificed lies on the lap of his father.