Thematic Bible: Riddle
Thematic Bible
Riddle » By agur
The leech has two daughters: "Give" and "Give". Three things will never be satisfied; four will never say "Enough" - The afterlife, the barren womb, earth that still demands water, and fire they never say, "Enough".
Three things cause wonder for me; four are beyond my understanding: The way an eagle flies in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman. This is what an immoral woman is like: she eats, wipes her mouth, then says "I've done nothing wrong." read more.
Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot remain steady: Under a slave when he becomes a king, a fool when he is overfed, an unloved woman when she finds a husband, and a servant girl who inherits from her mistress. Four things on earth are small, but they are very, very wise: Ants aren't a strong species, yet they prepare their food in the summer. The rock badgers aren't a strong species either, yet they build their dens in the rocks. Locusts have no king, but they all swarm in ranks. Spiders can be caught by the hand, yet they're found in kings' palaces. Three things are stately in procession, four which are stately in their gait: The lion, mighty among the beasts, retreats before nothing. The strutting rooster, as well as the goat, and a king with his army.
Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot remain steady: Under a slave when he becomes a king, a fool when he is overfed, an unloved woman when she finds a husband, and a servant girl who inherits from her mistress. Four things on earth are small, but they are very, very wise: Ants aren't a strong species, yet they prepare their food in the summer. The rock badgers aren't a strong species either, yet they build their dens in the rocks. Locusts have no king, but they all swarm in ranks. Spiders can be caught by the hand, yet they're found in kings' palaces. Three things are stately in procession, four which are stately in their gait: The lion, mighty among the beasts, retreats before nothing. The strutting rooster, as well as the goat, and a king with his army.
Riddle » Used as a test of wit: at samson's feast
"Let me tell you a riddle," Samson told them. "If you can solve it during this week-long festival, I'll give you 30 linen garments and 30 formal garments. But if you don't solve it, then you'll give me 30 linen garments and 30 formal garments." "Tell us your riddle and we'll solve it," they responded. So he told them: From the eater came something edible; from the strong something sweet. For three days they couldn't solve the riddle. read more.
The next day, they told Samson's wife, "Coax your husband to explain the riddle or we'll set fire to your father's house with you in it! You've invited us here to make us paupers, haven't you?" So Samson's wife cried in front of him and accused him, "You only hate me. You don't love me. You've told a riddle to my relatives, but you haven't told the solution to me." Samson responded, "Look, I haven't told my parents, either. Why should I tell you?" So she kept on crying in front of him for the entire seven days of the wedding party. On the seventh day he told the solution to her because she nagged him, and then she told the solution to the riddle to her relatives. Then the men of the city answered him just before sunset on the seventh day: "What is sweeter than honey? What are stronger than lions?" Samson responded, "If you hadn't plowed with my heifer, you wouldn't have solved my riddle."
The next day, they told Samson's wife, "Coax your husband to explain the riddle or we'll set fire to your father's house with you in it! You've invited us here to make us paupers, haven't you?" So Samson's wife cried in front of him and accused him, "You only hate me. You don't love me. You've told a riddle to my relatives, but you haven't told the solution to me." Samson responded, "Look, I haven't told my parents, either. Why should I tell you?" So she kept on crying in front of him for the entire seven days of the wedding party. On the seventh day he told the solution to her because she nagged him, and then she told the solution to the riddle to her relatives. Then the men of the city answered him just before sunset on the seventh day: "What is sweeter than honey? What are stronger than lions?" Samson responded, "If you hadn't plowed with my heifer, you wouldn't have solved my riddle."