Proverbs 21:9

9 It is better to live on a corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.

Proverbs 21:9 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 21:9

[It is] better to dwell in a corner of the housetop
The roofs of houses in Judea were that, encompassed with battlements, whither persons might retire for solitude, and sit in safety: and it is better to be in a corner of such a roof alone, and be exposed to scorching heat, to blustering winds, to thunder storms and showers of rain, than with a brawling woman in a wide house;
large and spacious, full of rooms, fit for a numerous family: or, "an house of society" F21; where many families might dwell and live sociably with each other; or a house where a man, his wife and family, might dwell together, and have communion with each other; it is opposed to the corner of the housetop, and the solitariness of it; as the scolding of the brawling woman, or "a woman of contentions" F23, who is always noisy and quarrelsome, her violent passions, her storming language, and thundering voice, are to the inclemencies of the heavens, to which a man on the housetop is exposed; and yet these are more eligible than the other; see ( Proverbs 21:19 ) ( 17:1 ) ( 19:13 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F21 (rbx tybw) "domo societatis", Montanus, Vatablus, Baynus, Mercerus, Michaelis, "et domus societatis", Schultens.
F23 (Mynwdm tvam) "prae muliere contentionum", Montanus, Schultens.

Proverbs 21:9 In-Context

7 The harmful things that evil people do will drag them away. They refuse to do what is right.
8 The path of those who are guilty is crooked. But the conduct of those who are not guilty is honest.
9 It is better to live on a corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.
10 A sinful person longs to do evil. He doesn't show his neighbor any mercy.
11 When you punish someone who makes fun of others, childish people get wise. If you teach a person who is already wise, he will get even more knowledge.
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