Drip

A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one's right hand. Proverbs 27:15-16 ESV 

 This is a bit of a theme for polygamous Solomon. I'm sure some of his seven hundred wives fit this bill. I think I must have memorised a bit of a paraphrase, because I always remember these proverbs as "a nagging wife is like a dripping tap!"

 Repeated dripping on a rainy day reminds me of a "Chinese water torture". This is where irregular drips of water are dripped on the victim's face. In other words, a nagging wife is torture apparently, thankfully I wouldn't know personally! 

Solomon uses a couple of other illustrations for the nagging wife. Restraining her is like restraining the wind- in other words a hopeless task. I'm also reminded of old king Canute who tried to hold back the tide.

 The other illustration is of grabbing oil in your hand. Oil of course is extremely slippery. Of course, by comparing a nagging wife to oil, Solomon isn't being very politically correct. But sadly, he probably is being very apt for some people!

 "Dear Yahweh, don't let us nag, and so to torture people and make their lives miserable and seemingly futile. Also, don't let us give cause for people to nag us! In Christ's name, amen"

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