Reference: Widow
American
A custom was prevalent in patriarchal times, Ge 38, and was afterwards confirmed by the Mosaic law, De 25:5-10, that a widow without children, in order to preserve the family name and inheritance, should marry the brother of her deceased husband; or he failing his nearest kinsman, Ru 3:12-13; 4:1-11; Mt 22:23-30. The high-priest was forbidden to marry a widow, Le 21:14. The humanity and justice of true religion are shown in the Bible, as might be expected, by numerous indications that God and the friends of God sympathize with the sorrows, supply the wants, and defend the rights of the widow, Ex 22:22-24; De 16:11; 24:17,19; Ps 68:5; Isa 1:17; 10:2; Jer 22:3; Mt 23:14. The apostolic church was not negligent in providing for widows, Ac 6:1-3; 1Ti 5:16; and James makes this duty an essential part of true piety, Jas 1:27. Heathenism, on the contrary, makes those who have been slaves to a husband's caprices during his life, either victims upon the funeral pile at his death, or forlorn and hopeless sufferers under destitution and contempt. The duties of Christian widows are specified in 1Ti 5:3-16.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Neither widow nor fatherless, shalt thou humiliate: if thou, do humiliate, him, when he in anywise crieth out unto me, I will, surely hear, his outcry: read more. so shall kindle mine anger, and I will slay you with the sword, - and your wives, shall become widows, and your, sons fatherless.
A widow or a divorced woman or one dishonoured - an unchaste woman, these, shall he not take, But, a virgin from among his own kinsfolk, shall he take to wife;
So shalt thou rejoice before Yahweh thy God - thou, and thy son and thy daughter and thy servant and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless and the widow who are in thy midst, - in the place which Yahweh thy God shall choose, to make a habitation for his name there.
Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the sojourner or the fatherless, - neither shalt thou take in pledge the garment of a widow;
When thou cuttest down thy harvest in thy field and forgettest a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not turn back to fetch it, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, shall it belong, - that Yahweh thy God, may bless thee, in all the Work of thy hands.
When brethren dwell together, and one of them dieth, having, no son, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside to a stranger, - her husband's brother, shall go in unto her, and take her unto him to wife and do for her as a husband's brother. And it shall be, that, the firstborn which she beareth, shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, - so shall his name not be wiped out from Israel. read more. But, if the man like not to take his sister-in-law, then shall his sister-in-law go up unto the gate, unto the elders, and say - My husband's brother hath refused, to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he is not willing to do as a husband's brother unto me. Then shall the elders of his city call him and speak unto him, - and he shall stand and say, I like not to take her. Then shall his brothers wife come near unto him in the presence of the elders, and draw his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, - and respond and say, Thus shall it be done unto the man who will not build up the house of his brother. And his name shall be called in Israel, - The house of him who had his shoe drawn off.
And, now, although it is true that, a kinsman, am I, yet is there a kinsman nearer than I. Tarry the night, and it shall be, in the morning, if he will act as kinsman to thee, well, let him so act, but, if he inclineth not to act as kinsman to thee, then will, I, so act to thee - by the life of Yahweh, - Lie still, until the morning.
Now, Boaz, went up to the gate, and sat him down there, and lo! the kinsman, passing by, of whom Boaz had spoken, so he said - Turn aside! and sit down here, such a one! And he turned aside, and sat down. Then fetched he ten men of the elders of the city, and said - Sit ye down here. And they sat down. read more. Then said he to the kinsman, The parcel of land that was our brother Elimelech's, is to be disposed of by Naomi, who hath returned out of the country of Moab; and, I, thought, I would unveil thine ear, saying - Take it over in presence of such as are here seated, and in presence of the elders of my people. If thou wilt act as kinsman, act as kinsman, but, if thou wilt not so act, only tell me - that I may know, for there is none who can set thee aside as kinsman, but, I, am after thee. And he said, I, will act as kinsman. Then said Boaz, What day thou takest over the land from the hand of Naomi, also, of Ruth the Moabitess, wife of the dead, dost thou take it , to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. Then said the kinsman - I cannot act as kinsman for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance, - do, thou, for thyself act as kinsman in my right, for I cannot so redeem. Now, this aforetime, was the way in Israel, at a redeeming, and at an exchanging, to confirm every word: A man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour, - yea, this, was the way of taking to witness, in Israel. So the kinsman said unto Boaz, Take it over for thyself, - and he drew off his shoe. Then said Boaz to the elders, and all the people - Witnesses, are ye to-day, that I have taken over all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's, and Mahlon's, - from the hand of Naomi: Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, wife of Mahlon, have I taken over, to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off - from among his brethren, and from the gate of his dwelling- place, - Witnesses, are ye to-day! Then said all the people who were in the gate, and the elders - Witnesses!, - Yahweh grant the woman who is coming into thy house, to be as Rachel, and as Leah, which two of them did build the house of Israel. Do thou bravely, then, in Ephrathah, and proclaim thou a name in Bethlehem,
The father of the fatherless, And the advocate of widows, Is God, in his holy habitation.
Learn to do well - Seek justice, Correct the oppressor, - Vindicate the fatherless, Plead the cause of the widow,
Turning aside from judgment, the poor, And robbing, of justice, the oppressed of my people, - So that, widows, become, their spoil, And of the fatherless, they make prey.
Thus, saith Yahweh, - Execute ye justice, and righteousness, And deliver the robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, - But the sojourner the fatherless, and the widow, do not oppress neither commit violence, And the blood of the innocent, do not ye shed, in this place.
On that day, there came unto him Sadducees, who say, there is, no resurrection - and they questioned him, saying - Teacher! Moses, said, If any man die not having children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. read more. Now there were, with us, seven brethren; and, the first, marrying, died, and not having seed, left his wife unto his brother. Likewise, the second also, and the third, - unto the seven. And, last of all, died, the wife. In the resurrection, therefore, - Of which of the seven, shall she be wife? For, all, had her. And Jesus answering, said - Ye are deceiving yourselves, knowing neither the Scriptures, nor yet the power of God. For, in the resurrection, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but, as messengers in the heaven, are they.
But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye are locking up the kingdom of the heavens before men, - for, ye, are not entering, neither, them who are entering, suffer ye to enter.
But, in these days, the disciples, multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, in that, their widows, were being overlooked in the daily ministry. And the Twelve, calling near the throng of the disciples, said - It doth not seem, right, that, we, forsaking the word of God, should be ministering unto tables. read more. But look out for yourselves, brethren, seven men from among you, who can be well-attested, full of Spirit and wisdom, - whom we will appoint over this need;
Widows, honour thou - who indeed are widows: - Howbeit, if, any widow, hath, children or grandchildren, let them be learning - first, unto their own house, to be shewing reverence, and, returns, to be making unto their progenitors; for, this, is acceptable before God; read more. But, she who is indeed a widow, and is left alone, hath turned her hope towards God, and is giving attendance unto the supplications and the prayers, night and day, - Whereas, she that runneth riot, while living, is, dead: And, these things, be giving in charge, that, without reproach, they may be; If, however, anyone, for his own, and specially them of his household, taketh not forethought, his faith, hath he denied, and is worse, than one without faith! Let, a widow, be put on the list - having become, not less than sixty years old, one man's, wife, In noble works, being well-attested; - if she hath nourished children, if she hath shewn hospitality, if, saints feet, she hath washed, if, them who were in tribulation, she hath succoured, if, in every good, work she hath followed on: But, younger widows, decline thou; for, as soon as they wax wanton against the Christ, to marry, are they determined, - Having, as sentence, - that, their first faith, they have set at nought; At the same time, to be idlers, are they learning, going about from house to house; and, not only idlers, but, gossips, also, and, busybodies, - saying the things they ought not, I am minded, therefore, that, the younger ones, marry, bear children, be mistress of the house, - giving, no single occasion, unto the opposer, as a cause, of reviling; For, already, some have turned aside after Satan: If any, believing woman, hath widows, let her be giving them succour, and not suffer the assembly to be burdened, - that, them who are indeed widows, it may itself succour.
Religious observance, pure and undefiled with our God and Father, is, this - to be visiting orphans and widows in their affliction, unspotted, to keep, himself, from the world.
Fausets
Cared for specially by the law, in the triennial tithes, etc. De 19:21; 24:17; 26:12; 27:19; Ex 22:22; Job 24:3; 29:13; Isa 1:17; Mt 23:14. God is "judge of the widows" (Ps 68:5; 146:9), therefore, the judge or righteous vindicator of His church, and of Israel especially (Isaiah 54), widowed by His physical absence, against her adversary Satan (Lu 18:1-7). For pious widows, see Anna, and the one who gave her all to the Lord's treasury (Lu 2:36-37; 20:47; 21:1-4). (See ANNA.) Three classes of widows are distinguished in 1 Timothy 5
(1) The ordinary widow.
(2) The widow indeed, i.e. destitute, and therefore to be relieved by the church, not having younger relatives, whose duty it is to relieve them (let them, the children or descendants, learn first, before calling the church to support them; to show reverent dutifulness toward their own elder destitute female relatives).
(3) The presbyteral widow (1Ti 5:9-11). Let none be enrolled as a presbyteral widow who is less than 60 years old. Not deaconesses, who were chosen at a younger age (40 was fixed as the limit at the council of Chalcedon) and who had virgins (latterly called widows) as well as widows among them, compare Dorcas (Ac 9:41). As expediency required presbyters to be but once married (1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:6), so also presbyteresses. (The feeling among Jews and Gentiles being against second marriages, the desire for conciliation in matters indifferent, where no principle was compromised, accounts for this rule in the case of bishops, deacons, and presbyteresses, whose aim was to be all things to all men that by all means they might save some: 1Co 9:22; 10:33.) The reference in 1Ti 5:9 cannot, as in 1Ti 5:3, be to providing church maintenance, for then the restriction to widows above 60 would be harsh, as many might need help at an earlier age.
So the rules that she should not have been twice married, and that she must have brought up children and lodged strangers, would be strange, if the reference were to eligibility for church alms. Tertullian ("De velandis Virginibus," 9), Hermas (Shepherd 1:2), and Chrysostom (Horn. 31) mention an order of ecclesiastical widows, not less than 60 years old, who ministered to widows and orphans. Their experimental knowledge of the trials of the bereaved adapted them for such an office and for general supervision of their sex. Age was a requisite, as in presbyters, to adapt them for influencing younger women; they were supported by the church, but were not the only widows so supported (1Ti 5:3-4).
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Neither widow nor fatherless, shalt thou humiliate:
neither shall thine eye pity, - life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the sojourner or the fatherless, - neither shalt thou take in pledge the garment of a widow;
When thou shalt make an end of tithing all the tithe of thine increase in the third year the year of tithing, - and shalt give unto the Levite unto the sojourner, unto the fatherless and unto the widow, and they shall eat within thy gates and be satisfied,
Cursed, be he that perverteth the right of the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow. And all the people shall say - Amen.
The ass of the fatherless, they drive off, they take in pledge the ox of the widow;
The blessing of him that was ready to perish, upon me was wont to descend, and, the heart of the widow, caused I to sing for joy;
The father of the fatherless, And the advocate of widows, Is God, in his holy habitation.
Yahweh, who preserveth sojourners, The fatherless and widows, he relieveth, - but, the way of the lawless, he overturneth.
Learn to do well - Seek justice, Correct the oppressor, - Vindicate the fatherless, Plead the cause of the widow,
But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye are locking up the kingdom of the heavens before men, - for, ye, are not entering, neither, them who are entering, suffer ye to enter.
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher; - the same, advanced in many days; having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, and, she, had been a widow for as long as eighty-four years, - who left not the temple, with fastings and supplications, rendering divine service night and day; -
And he was speaking a parable unto them, as to its being needful for them always to pray, and not be faint-hearted; saying - A certain judge, there was in a certain city, - having, for God, no reverence, and, for man, no respect. read more. And, a widow, there was, in that city; and she kept coming unto him, saying - Vindicate me from mine adversary! And he was unwilling for a time; but, after these things, he said within himself - Although, neither God, I reverence, nor man, I respect, Yet, if only because this widow annoyeth me, I will vindicate her, - lest, persistently coming, she wholly wear me out. And the Lord said - Hear ye what, the unrighteous judge saith; - And shall, God, in any wise not execute the vindication of his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, although he beareth long with regard to them?
Who devour the houses of widows, and, for a show, are a long time at prayer. These, shall receive, a heavier sentence.
And, looking up, he saw the, rich, who were casting their gifts into the treasury, - and he saw a certain poor widow, casting in thither two mites; read more. and he said - Of a truth, I say unto you - This destitute widow, more than they all, hath cast in; For, all these, out of their superfluity, have cast in among the gifts, but, she, out of her deficiency, all the living that she had, hath cast in.
And, giving her his hand, he raised her up; and, calling the saints and the widows, presented her, living.
I became, unto the weak, weak, - that, the weak, I might win; - to all men, have I become all things, that, by all means, some, I might save.
Even as, I also, in all things do please all, not seeking my own profit, but that of the many, that they may be saved.
It is needful, then, for, the overseer, to be irreproachable, a husband, of one wife, sober, of sound mind, orderly, hospitable, apt in teaching,
Widows, honour thou - who indeed are widows: -
Widows, honour thou - who indeed are widows: - Howbeit, if, any widow, hath, children or grandchildren, let them be learning - first, unto their own house, to be shewing reverence, and, returns, to be making unto their progenitors; for, this, is acceptable before God;
Let, a widow, be put on the list - having become, not less than sixty years old, one man's, wife,
Let, a widow, be put on the list - having become, not less than sixty years old, one man's, wife, In noble works, being well-attested; - if she hath nourished children, if she hath shewn hospitality, if, saints feet, she hath washed, if, them who were in tribulation, she hath succoured, if, in every good, work she hath followed on: read more. But, younger widows, decline thou; for, as soon as they wax wanton against the Christ, to marry, are they determined, -
Hastings
Widows from their poverty and unprotectedness, are regarded in OT as under the special guardianship of God (Ps 68:6; 146:9; Pr 15:25; De 10:18; Jer 49:11); and consequently due regard for their wants was looked upon as a mark of true religion, ensuring a blessing on those who showed it (Job 29:13; 31:16; Isa 1:17; Jer 7:6-7; 22:3-4); while neglect of, cruelty or injustice towards them were considered marks of wickedness meriting punishment from God (Job 22:9-10; 24:20-21; Ps 94:6; Isa 1:23; 10:2; Zec 7:10,14; Mal 3:5). The Book of Deut. is especially rich in such counsels, insisting that widows be granted full justice (De 24:17; 27:19), that they be received as guests at sacrificial meals (De 14:29; 16:11,14; 26:12 f.), and that they be suffered to glean unmolested in field, oliveyard, and vineyard (De 24:19 f.). See, further, Inheritance, i. 2 (c); Marriage, 6.
The earliest mention of widows in the history of the Christian Church is found in Ac 6:1, where the Grecian Jews murmured 'against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected' in the daily distribution of alms or food. In course of time these pensioners became an excessive burden on the finances of the Church. We thus find St. Paul dealing with the matter in 1Ti 5:3-16, where he charges relatives and Christian friends to relieve those widows with whom they are personally connected (1Ti 5:4,8,15), so that the Church might be the more able to relieve those who were 'widows indeed' (i.e. widows in actual poverty and without anyone responsible for their support) (5/3/type/emb'>1Ti 5:3,5,16). He further directs that 'none be enrolled as widows' except those who were sixty years of age, of unimpeachable character, and full of good works; and he adds that 'the younger widows' should be 'refused' (i.e. not enrolled); for experience had shown that they 'waxed wanton against Christ' and, re-marrying, 'rejected their first faith.' Since it could not have been the Apostle's wish that only widows over sixty should receive pecuniary help from the Church (for many young widows might be in great poverty), and since he could not describe the re-marriage of such a widow-pensioner as a rejection of her faith, it follows that the list of widows, from which the younger widows were to be excluded, was not the list of those who were in receipt of Church relief, but rather a list of those, from among the pensioner-widows, who were considered suitable by age and character to engage officially in Church work. Therefore we may see in this passage a proof of the existence thus early in the history of the Church of that ecclesiastical order of 'Widows' which we find mentioned frequently in post-Apostolic times.
Charles T. P. Grierson.
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executing the vindication of the orphan and the widow, - and loving sojourner, giving him food and raiment.
and the Levite shall come in - because he hath neither portion nor inheritance with thee - and the sojourner and the fatherless and the widow who are within thy gates, and they shall eat and be satisfied, - that Yahweh thy God may bless thee, in all the work of thy hand which thou shalt do.
So shalt thou rejoice before Yahweh thy God - thou, and thy son and thy daughter and thy servant and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless and the widow who are in thy midst, - in the place which Yahweh thy God shall choose, to make a habitation for his name there.
And thou shalt rejoice in thy festival, - thou, and thy son and thy daughter, and thy servant and thy handmaid, and the Levite and the sojourner, and the fatherless and the widow, who are within thy gates.
Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the sojourner or the fatherless, - neither shalt thou take in pledge the garment of a widow;
When thou cuttest down thy harvest in thy field and forgettest a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not turn back to fetch it, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, shall it belong, - that Yahweh thy God, may bless thee, in all the Work of thy hands.
When thou shalt make an end of tithing all the tithe of thine increase in the third year the year of tithing, - and shalt give unto the Levite unto the sojourner, unto the fatherless and unto the widow, and they shall eat within thy gates and be satisfied,
Cursed, be he that perverteth the right of the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow. And all the people shall say - Amen.
Widows, thou hast sent away empty, and, the arms of the fatherless, thou dost crush. For this cause, round about thee, are snares, and a dread startleth thee suddenly;
Maternal love shall forget him, the worm shall find him sweet, No more shall he be remembered, but perversity shall be shivered like a tree. He oppresseth the barren who beareth not, and, to the widow, he doeth not good;
The blessing of him that was ready to perish, upon me was wont to descend, and, the heart of the widow, caused I to sing for joy;
If I withheld - from pleasure - the poor, or, the eyes of the widow, I dimmed;
God, is he that causeth the solitary to dwell in a home, That bringeth out prisoners into prosperity, But, the rebellious, have made their habitation in a sunburnt land.
The widow and sojourner, they will slay, And, the fatherless, murder.
Yahweh, who preserveth sojourners, The fatherless and widows, he relieveth, - but, the way of the lawless, he overturneth.
The house of proud men, will Yahweh tear down, but he will maintain the boundary of the widow.
Learn to do well - Seek justice, Correct the oppressor, - Vindicate the fatherless, Plead the cause of the widow,
Thy rulers, are unruly, and companions of thieves, Every one of the people, loveth a bribe, and runneth after rewards, - The fatherless, they do not vindicate, And, the plea of the widow, reacheth them not.
Turning aside from judgment, the poor, And robbing, of justice, the oppressed of my people, - So that, widows, become, their spoil, And of the fatherless, they make prey.
The sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, shall not oppress, And innocent blood, shall not shed in this place, - And after other gods, shall not walk to your own hurt, Then will I cause you to dwell In this place, In the land which I gave to your fathers, - From one age even unto another,
Thus, saith Yahweh, - Execute ye justice, and righteousness, And deliver the robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, - But the sojourner the fatherless, and the widow, do not oppress neither commit violence, And the blood of the innocent, do not ye shed, in this place. For if ye, indeed do, this thing, then shall there enter into the gates of this house - kings, sitting for David upon his throne riding in chariots and on horses, he and his servants, and his people.
Leave thy fatherless children I, will preserve them alive, - And thy widows, In me, let them trust.
And, the widow and the fatherless, the sojourner and the humbled, do not ye oppress, - and, wickedness between one man and another, do not ye devise in your hearts.
But I whirled them over all the nations whom they had not known, and, the land, was made desolate after them, that none passed through and returned, - Yea they made of a delightful land - a desolation.
Therefore will I draw near unto you for judgment, and will become a swift witness against the mutterers of incantations, and against the adulterers, and against them that swear to a falsehood, - and against them who rob the hire of the hireling, the widow and the fatherless, and that drive away the sojourner, and do not revere me, saith Yahweh of hosts.
But, in these days, the disciples, multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, in that, their widows, were being overlooked in the daily ministry.
Widows, honour thou - who indeed are widows: -
Widows, honour thou - who indeed are widows: - Howbeit, if, any widow, hath, children or grandchildren, let them be learning - first, unto their own house, to be shewing reverence, and, returns, to be making unto their progenitors; for, this, is acceptable before God;
Howbeit, if, any widow, hath, children or grandchildren, let them be learning - first, unto their own house, to be shewing reverence, and, returns, to be making unto their progenitors; for, this, is acceptable before God; But, she who is indeed a widow, and is left alone, hath turned her hope towards God, and is giving attendance unto the supplications and the prayers, night and day, -
But, she who is indeed a widow, and is left alone, hath turned her hope towards God, and is giving attendance unto the supplications and the prayers, night and day, - Whereas, she that runneth riot, while living, is, dead: read more. And, these things, be giving in charge, that, without reproach, they may be; If, however, anyone, for his own, and specially them of his household, taketh not forethought, his faith, hath he denied, and is worse, than one without faith!
If, however, anyone, for his own, and specially them of his household, taketh not forethought, his faith, hath he denied, and is worse, than one without faith! Let, a widow, be put on the list - having become, not less than sixty years old, one man's, wife, read more. In noble works, being well-attested; - if she hath nourished children, if she hath shewn hospitality, if, saints feet, she hath washed, if, them who were in tribulation, she hath succoured, if, in every good, work she hath followed on: But, younger widows, decline thou; for, as soon as they wax wanton against the Christ, to marry, are they determined, - Having, as sentence, - that, their first faith, they have set at nought; At the same time, to be idlers, are they learning, going about from house to house; and, not only idlers, but, gossips, also, and, busybodies, - saying the things they ought not, I am minded, therefore, that, the younger ones, marry, bear children, be mistress of the house, - giving, no single occasion, unto the opposer, as a cause, of reviling; For, already, some have turned aside after Satan:
For, already, some have turned aside after Satan: If any, believing woman, hath widows, let her be giving them succour, and not suffer the assembly to be burdened, - that, them who are indeed widows, it may itself succour.
If any, believing woman, hath widows, let her be giving them succour, and not suffer the assembly to be burdened, - that, them who are indeed widows, it may itself succour.
Smith
Widow.
Under the Mosaic dispensation no legal provision was made for the maintenance of widows. They were left dependent partly on the affection of relations, more especially of the eldest son, whose birthright, or extra share of the property, imposed such a duty upon him, and partly on the privileges accorded to other distressed classes, such as a participation in the triennial third tithe,
De 14:29; 26:12
in leasing,
De 24:19-21
and in religious feasts.
De 16:11,14
With regard to the remarriage of widows, the only restriction imposed by the Mosaic law had reference to the contingency of one being left childless in which case the brother of the deceased husband had a right to marry the widow.
De 25:5-6; Mt 22:23-30
In the apostolic Church the widows were sustained at the public expense, the relief being daily administered in kind, under the superintendence of officers appointed for this special purpose,
Particular directions are given by St.Paul as to the class of persons entitled to such public maintenance.
Out of the body of such widows a certain number were to be enrolled, the qualifications for such enrollment being that they were not under sixty years of age; that they had been "the wife of one man," probably meaning but once married; and that they had led useful and charitable lives. vs.
We are not disposed to identify the widows of the Bible either with the deaconesses or with the presbutides Of the early Church. The order of widows existed as a separate institution, contemporaneously with these offices, apparently for the same eleemosynary purpose for which it was originally instituted.
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and the Levite shall come in - because he hath neither portion nor inheritance with thee - and the sojourner and the fatherless and the widow who are within thy gates, and they shall eat and be satisfied, - that Yahweh thy God may bless thee, in all the work of thy hand which thou shalt do.
So shalt thou rejoice before Yahweh thy God - thou, and thy son and thy daughter and thy servant and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless and the widow who are in thy midst, - in the place which Yahweh thy God shall choose, to make a habitation for his name there.
And thou shalt rejoice in thy festival, - thou, and thy son and thy daughter, and thy servant and thy handmaid, and the Levite and the sojourner, and the fatherless and the widow, who are within thy gates.
When thou cuttest down thy harvest in thy field and forgettest a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not turn back to fetch it, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, shall it belong, - that Yahweh thy God, may bless thee, in all the Work of thy hands. When thou beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not glean after thee, - to the sojourner to the fatherless and to the widow, shall it belong, read more. When thou cuttest off the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not go about picking after thee, - to the sojourner to the fatherless and to the widow, shall it belong:
When brethren dwell together, and one of them dieth, having, no son, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside to a stranger, - her husband's brother, shall go in unto her, and take her unto him to wife and do for her as a husband's brother. And it shall be, that, the firstborn which she beareth, shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, - so shall his name not be wiped out from Israel.
When thou shalt make an end of tithing all the tithe of thine increase in the third year the year of tithing, - and shalt give unto the Levite unto the sojourner, unto the fatherless and unto the widow, and they shall eat within thy gates and be satisfied,
On that day, there came unto him Sadducees, who say, there is, no resurrection - and they questioned him, saying - Teacher! Moses, said, If any man die not having children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. read more. Now there were, with us, seven brethren; and, the first, marrying, died, and not having seed, left his wife unto his brother. Likewise, the second also, and the third, - unto the seven. And, last of all, died, the wife. In the resurrection, therefore, - Of which of the seven, shall she be wife? For, all, had her. And Jesus answering, said - Ye are deceiving yourselves, knowing neither the Scriptures, nor yet the power of God. For, in the resurrection, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but, as messengers in the heaven, are they.
But, in these days, the disciples, multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, in that, their widows, were being overlooked in the daily ministry. And the Twelve, calling near the throng of the disciples, said - It doth not seem, right, that, we, forsaking the word of God, should be ministering unto tables. read more. But look out for yourselves, brethren, seven men from among you, who can be well-attested, full of Spirit and wisdom, - whom we will appoint over this need; But, we, unto prayer and unto the ministry of the word, will give constant attention. And the word was pleasing in the sight of all the throng; and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicholaus, a proselyte of Antioch; Whom they set before the Apostles, and, praying, they laid upon them their hands.
Widows, honour thou - who indeed are widows: - Howbeit, if, any widow, hath, children or grandchildren, let them be learning - first, unto their own house, to be shewing reverence, and, returns, to be making unto their progenitors; for, this, is acceptable before God; read more. But, she who is indeed a widow, and is left alone, hath turned her hope towards God, and is giving attendance unto the supplications and the prayers, night and day, - Whereas, she that runneth riot, while living, is, dead: And, these things, be giving in charge, that, without reproach, they may be; If, however, anyone, for his own, and specially them of his household, taketh not forethought, his faith, hath he denied, and is worse, than one without faith! Let, a widow, be put on the list - having become, not less than sixty years old, one man's, wife,
Let, a widow, be put on the list - having become, not less than sixty years old, one man's, wife, In noble works, being well-attested; - if she hath nourished children, if she hath shewn hospitality, if, saints feet, she hath washed, if, them who were in tribulation, she hath succoured, if, in every good, work she hath followed on:
In noble works, being well-attested; - if she hath nourished children, if she hath shewn hospitality, if, saints feet, she hath washed, if, them who were in tribulation, she hath succoured, if, in every good, work she hath followed on: But, younger widows, decline thou; for, as soon as they wax wanton against the Christ, to marry, are they determined, - read more. Having, as sentence, - that, their first faith, they have set at nought; At the same time, to be idlers, are they learning, going about from house to house; and, not only idlers, but, gossips, also, and, busybodies, - saying the things they ought not, I am minded, therefore, that, the younger ones, marry, bear children, be mistress of the house, - giving, no single occasion, unto the opposer, as a cause, of reviling; For, already, some have turned aside after Satan: If any, believing woman, hath widows, let her be giving them succour, and not suffer the assembly to be burdened, - that, them who are indeed widows, it may itself succour.
Watsons
WIDOW. Among the Hebrews, even before the law, a widow who had no children by her husband was to marry the brother of her deceased spouse, in order to raise up children who might inherit, his goods and perpetuate his name and family. We find the practice of this custom before the law in the person of Tamar, who married successively Er and Onan, the sons of Judah, and who was likewise to have married Selah, the third son of this patriarch, after the two former were dead without issue, Ge 38:6-11. The law that appoints these marriages is De 25:5, &c. Two motives prevailed to the enacting of this law. The first was, the continuation of estates in the same family: and the other was to perpetuate a man's name in Israel. It was looked upon as a great misfortune for a man to die without an heir, or to see his inheritance pass into another family. This law was not confined to brothers-in-law only, but was extended to more distant relations of the same kind; as we see in the example of Ruth, who married Boaz after she had been refused by a nearer kinsman. See SANDALS.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Judah took a wife, for Er his firstborn, - and, her name, was Tamar. And it came to pass that Er, Judah's firstborn was displeasing in the eyes of Yahweh, - so Yahweh put him to death, read more. Then said Judah to Onan, Go in unto thy brothers wife, and fulfil the duty of a brother-in-law unto her, - and raise up seed, to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed would not be his, - and so although he did go in unto his brothers wife, yet made he waste upon the ground, so as not to give seed to his brother. And it was displeasing, in the eyes of Yahweh what he had done, - so he put, him also, to death, Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-in-law - Remain a widow in the house of thy father until Shelah my son grow up. For he said, Lest, he also, die, like his brethren. So Tamar went her way, and remained in the house of her father.
When brethren dwell together, and one of them dieth, having, no son, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside to a stranger, - her husband's brother, shall go in unto her, and take her unto him to wife and do for her as a husband's brother.