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.
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Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any manner, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; read more. and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
A widow or a divorced woman or profane or a harlot, these he shall not take, but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.
And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite that is within thy gates and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God has chosen to place his name there.
Thou shalt not twist the rights of the stranger nor of the fatherless nor take a widow's clothing for a pledge,
When thou doest reap thy harvest in thy field and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to bring it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, or for the widow, that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.
When brethren dwell together and one of them dies and has no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside unto a stranger; her husband's brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her. And it shall be that the firstborn which she bears shall be raised up in the name of his brother who is dead that his name be not blotted out of Israel. read more. And if the man does not desire to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders and say, My husband's brother refuses to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother. Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak unto him, and if he stands and says, I desire not to take her; then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders and loose his shoe from off his foot and spit in his face and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house. And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that is barefoot.
And now it is true that I am thy redeemer; however, there is another redeemer nearer than I (in kinship). Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning that if he will redeem thee, well, let him redeem thee, but if he does not wish to redeem, then I will redeem thee, as the LORD lives; lie down until the morning.
And Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and, behold, the redeemer of whom Boaz spoke came by unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! Come here and sit down. And he came and sat down. Then he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, Sit down here. And they sat down. read more. And he said unto the redeemer, Naomi, that is come again out of the field of Moab, sold a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's, and I decided to cause thee to know this and tell thee to take it before the inhabitants and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it, but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me that I may know, for there is no one to redeem it besides thee, and I after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. Then Boaz replied, The day that thou dost receive the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must also receive Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself lest I ruin my own inheritance; redeem thou; I cede my right to you, for I shall not be able to redeem it. Now for a long time in Israel there had been this custom concerning redemption or contracts, that for the confirmation of all matters: one plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbour, and this was a testimony in Israel. Therefore, the former owner of the right of redemption said unto Boaz, Buy it thyself. So he drew off his shoe. And Boaz said unto the elders and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi. Moreover, I also take Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance that the name of the dead not be cut off from among his brethren and from the gate of his place. Ye shall be witnesses of this today. And all the people that were in the gate and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, who built the house of Israel; and be thou a man of valour in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem;
A father of the fatherless and a defender of the widows is God in his holy habitation.
learn to do good; seek judgment; restore unto the oppressed; hear the fatherless in right judgment; protect the widow.
to turn aside the poor from right judgment and to take away the right from the afflicted of my people that widows may be their prey and that they may rob the fatherless!
Thus hath the LORD said: Execute judgment and righteousness and deliver the oppressed out of the hand of the oppressor and do not deceive, neither steal from the stranger nor from the fatherless nor from the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
The same day the Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, saying, Master, Moses said, If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up seed unto his brother. read more. Now there were with us seven brothers, and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no seed, left his wife unto his brother; likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. Then Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses and for a pretence make long prayer; therefore, ye shall receive the greater judgment.
And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, that their widows were neglected in the daily ministry. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, It is not right that we should leave the word of God and serve tables; read more. therefore, brethren, seek out among you seven men of whom you bear witness, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let those learn first to govern their house in piety and to recompense their parents, for this is honest and pleasing before God. read more. Now she that is a widow indeed and desolate, trusts in God, and is diligent in supplications and prayers night and day, but she that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. Therefore command these things, that they may be blameless. But if any provide not for his own and specially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Let a widow be placed on the list being not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, having a good testimony of good works, if she has brought up well her children, if she has exercised hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work. But the younger widows refuse, for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, having condemnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And reject also the idle, who have learned to wander about from house to house, and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I desire therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, govern the house, giving no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some are already turned back after Satan. If any faithful man or woman has widows, let them maintain them and let not the congregation be charged, that it may relieve those that are widows indeed.
The pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep thyself unspotted from this 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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Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.
And thine eye shall not pity, but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Thou shalt not twist the rights of the stranger nor of the fatherless nor take a widow's clothing for a pledge,
When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thy fruits the third year, which is the year of tithing and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates and be filled;
Cursed is he that twists the rights of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
They drive away the ass of the fatherless; they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
The blessing of the one that was ready to perish came upon me; and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
A father of the fatherless and a defender of the widows is God in his holy habitation.
The LORD preserves the strangers; he raises up the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.
learn to do good; seek judgment; restore unto the oppressed; hear the fatherless in right judgment; protect the widow.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses and for a pretence make long prayer; therefore, ye shall receive the greater judgment.
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; she was of a great age and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and she was a widow eighty-four years, who departed not from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.
And he spoke a parable unto them to this end, that it behooves us always to pray and not faint, saying, There was in a city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man; read more. and there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him, saying, Defend me from my adversary. And he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself, Though I do not fear God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will do her justice, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge says. And shall not God avenge his own elect who cry day and night unto him though he bears long regarding them?
who devour the houses of the widows and for a pretext make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.
And he looked up and saw the rich casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting two mites in there. read more. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you that this poor widow has cast in more than they all; for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God, but she out of her poverty has cast in all the living that she had.
And he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive.
To the weak I became as weak, that I might gain the weak; I am made all things to everyone, that I might by all means save some.
even as I please everyone in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
It is expedient, therefore, that the bishop be blameless, the husband of only one wife, vigilant, temperate, of worldly affections mortified, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
Honour widows that are widows indeed.
Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let those learn first to govern their house in piety and to recompense their parents, for this is honest and pleasing before God.
Let a widow be placed on the list being not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man,
Let a widow be placed on the list being not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, having a good testimony of good works, if she has brought up well her children, if she has exercised hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work. read more. But the younger widows refuse, for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they desire to marry,
He who is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children who can not be accused of dissoluteness, nor insubordinate.
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/j2000'>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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he executes the rights of the fatherless and the widow and also loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.
And the Levite, who has no part nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within thy gates, shall come and shall eat and be satisfied, that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands which thou doest.
And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite that is within thy gates and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God has chosen to place his name there.
And thou shalt rejoice in thy solemn feast, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are within thy gates (or within thy towns).
Thou shalt not twist the rights of the stranger nor of the fatherless nor take a widow's clothing for a pledge,
When thou doest reap thy harvest in thy field and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to bring it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, or for the widow, that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.
When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thy fruits the third year, which is the year of tithing and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates and be filled;
Cursed is he that twists the rights of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Thou hast sent the widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. Therefore, snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubles thee
The Merciful One shall forget them; the worm shall feed sweetly on them; they shall never be remembered again; and iniquity shall be broken as a tree. He afflicted the barren woman that did not conceive and never did good unto the widow.
The blessing of the one that was ready to perish came upon me; and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
If I have disturbed the desire of the poor or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
God sets the solitary in families; he brings out those who are bound with chains, but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
They slay the widow and the stranger and murder the fatherless.
The LORD preserves the strangers; he raises up the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.
The LORD will destroy the house of the proud, but he will establish the inheritance of the widow.
learn to do good; seek judgment; restore unto the oppressed; hear the fatherless in right judgment; protect the widow.
Thy princes are rebellious and companions of thieves; every one loves bribes and follows after rewards; they do not hear the fatherless in judgment, neither does the cause of the widow come unto them.
to turn aside the poor from right judgment and to take away the right from the afflicted of my people that widows may be their prey and that they may rob the fatherless!
if ye do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed no innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers for ever and ever.
Thus hath the LORD said: Execute judgment and righteousness and deliver the oppressed out of the hand of the oppressor and do not deceive, neither steal from the stranger nor from the fatherless nor from the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. For if ye effectively obey this word, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house the kings seated by David upon his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, he and his slaves and his people.
Leave thy fatherless children; I will raise them; and thy widows shall trust in me.
and do not oppress the widow nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
but I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the Gentiles whom they did not know. Thus the land was desolate after them that no man passed through nor returned; for they laid the desirable land desolate.
And I will come near unto you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against false swearers and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and do not fear me, said the LORD of the hosts.
And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, that their widows were neglected in the daily ministry.
Honour widows that are widows indeed.
Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let those learn first to govern their house in piety and to recompense their parents, for this is honest and pleasing before God.
But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let those learn first to govern their house in piety and to recompense their parents, for this is honest and pleasing before God. Now she that is a widow indeed and desolate, trusts in God, and is diligent in supplications and prayers night and day,
Now she that is a widow indeed and desolate, trusts in God, and is diligent in supplications and prayers night and day, but she that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. read more. Therefore command these things, that they may be blameless. But if any provide not for his own and specially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
But if any provide not for his own and specially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Let a widow be placed on the list being not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, read more. having a good testimony of good works, if she has brought up well her children, if she has exercised hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work. But the younger widows refuse, for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, having condemnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And reject also the idle, who have learned to wander about from house to house, and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I desire therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, govern the house, giving no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some are already turned back after Satan.
For some are already turned back after Satan. If any faithful man or woman has widows, let them maintain them and let not the congregation be charged, that it may relieve those that are widows indeed.
If any faithful man or woman has widows, let them maintain them and let not the congregation be charged, that it may relieve those that are widows indeed.
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, who has no part nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within thy gates, shall come and shall eat and be satisfied, that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands which thou doest.
And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite that is within thy gates and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God has chosen to place his name there.
And thou shalt rejoice in thy solemn feast, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are within thy gates (or within thy towns).
When thou doest reap thy harvest in thy field and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to bring it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, or for the widow, that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. read more. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
When brethren dwell together and one of them dies and has no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside unto a stranger; her husband's brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her. And it shall be that the firstborn which she bears shall be raised up in the name of his brother who is dead that his name be not blotted out of Israel.
When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thy fruits the third year, which is the year of tithing and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates and be filled;
The same day the Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, saying, Master, Moses said, If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up seed unto his brother. read more. Now there were with us seven brothers, and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no seed, left his wife unto his brother; likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. Then Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, that their widows were neglected in the daily ministry. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, It is not right that we should leave the word of God and serve tables; read more. therefore, brethren, seek out among you seven men of whom you bear witness, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. And we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch: these they set before the apostles, and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let those learn first to govern their house in piety and to recompense their parents, for this is honest and pleasing before God. read more. Now she that is a widow indeed and desolate, trusts in God, and is diligent in supplications and prayers night and day, but she that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. Therefore command these things, that they may be blameless. But if any provide not for his own and specially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Let a widow be placed on the list being not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man,
Let a widow be placed on the list being not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, having a good testimony of good works, if she has brought up well her children, if she has exercised hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.
having a good testimony of good works, if she has brought up well her children, if she has exercised hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work. But the younger widows refuse, for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, read more. having condemnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And reject also the idle, who have learned to wander about from house to house, and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I desire therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, govern the house, giving no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some are already turned back after Satan. If any faithful man or woman has widows, let them maintain them and let not the congregation be charged, that it may relieve those that are widows indeed.
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, whose name was Tamar. And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD and the LORD slew him. read more. Then Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife and marry her and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed would not be his, and it came to pass when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he corrupted it on the ground, to not give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD, and he slew him also. Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at thy father's house until Shelah, my son, is grown; for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
When brethren dwell together and one of them dies and has no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside unto a stranger; her husband's brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her.