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Tim Maas
The reference to water in the cited passage is not speaking literally, but metaphorically -- likening water's support of life to the support to one's life that a spouse provides, and the sharing of water with strangers to adultery against or involving that spouse.
Joshua Fallaw
It's not just figurative but incredibly literal if you understand the importance of clean water in those days and the tactics used by enemies. Literally keep your water within your own walls, don't let it run through the streets where garbage is thrown and people with nefarious intentions can poison it. Not everything in the Bible has a deep, ineffable, undecipherable, theological meaning; it is full of common sense wisdom and can be understood by a child.
Jack Gutknecht
Look at the question in the verse just before the verse cited: "Should your springs be dispersed outside, your streams of water in the wide plazas?" It is a rhetorical question, and it expects a "no" answer. "Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you." "The point is that what is private is not to be shared with strangers; it belongs in the home and in the marriage. The water from that cistern is not to be channeled to strangers or to the public." bible.org The water is not literal; it is symbolic of the intimacy of sex within marriage. Water in the Middle East is in short supply. I know. I have been there. That makes it precious. You need it to keep you alive. Also, if you're fortunate to have a spouse, it is like having a precious treasure for you alone. You don't want to share that with strangers.
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