Proverbs 25:24
in Proverbs 25Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, Than with a contentious woman in a wide house.
KJV
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
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This verse in Proverbs 25
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWhat necessity rests upon me to run the risk of the wife I marry proving good or bad? "It is better," [Solomon] says, "to dwell in a desert land than with a contentious and passionate woman." He who is married knows how seldom we find a wife without these faults. Hence that sublime orator, Varius Geminus, says well, "The man who does not quarrel is a bachelor." [In fact], "it is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop than with a contentious woman in a house in common."
This site's exposition
Better to live on a corner of the roof
"Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife" echoes 21:9 almost word for word. The repetition is honest about strife at home. A cramped corner of the roof is preferable to a house filled with constant contention.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop," etc. A housetop is a high and secret place. For what in Greek is called doma, in Latin is called a roof. Accordingly, in the Acts of the Apostles, where it is written that …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house. See Gill on Pro 21:9.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
It is better to dwell in a corner - See the note on Pro 21:9 (note).
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ט֗וֹב | tov | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| שֶׁ֥בֶת | shevet | to dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פִּנַּת־ | pinat- | [the] corner of | H6438 → | 29 times |
| גָּ֑ג | gag | a roof | H1406 → | |
| מֵאֵ֥שֶׁת | meeshet | more than a woman of | H802 → | 781 times |
| מִ֝דְיָנִ֗ים | midonim | contentions | H4079 → | 10 times |
| וּבֵ֥ית | uveit | and a house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| חָֽבֶר׃ | chaver | association | H2269 → |
ט֗וֹב[is] good
tovH2896 →538 times
שֶׁ֥בֶתto dwell
shevetH3427 →1079 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פִּנַּת־[the] corner of
pinat-H6438 →29 times
גָּ֑גa roof
gagH1406 →
מֵאֵ֥שֶׁתmore than a woman of
meeshetH802 →781 times
מִ֝דְיָנִ֗יםcontentions
midonimH4079 →10 times
וּבֵ֥יתand a house of
uveitH1004 →2046 times
חָֽבֶר׃association
chaverH2269 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 21:19Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:9
Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 55:6–7
I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.
- Proverbs 21:9
Through
Proverbs 21:9Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:19
Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
- Proverbs 19:13
A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
- Proverbs 27:15–16
A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—
- Proverbs 12:4
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but she who causes shame is like decay in his bones.
- Proverbs 17:1
Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.
- Proverbs 21:19
Through
Proverbs 19:13A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
it leads to
- Proverbs 27:15
A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—
- Proverbs 27:15
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 1.28; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.