John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 9. [It is] better to dwell in a corner of the housetop , etc.] 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” f575 ; 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” f576 , 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).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 9 - It is best to shun bitter contention by pouring out the heart befor God. For by prudence and patience, with constant prayer, the cross ma be removed.
Original Hebrew טוב2896 לשׁבת3427 על5921 פנת6438 גג1406 מאשׁת802 מדינים4079 ובית1004 חבר׃2267
