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
Every widow and orphan ye shall not afflict. If afflicting, thou shalt afflict him, if crying, he shall cry to me, hearing, I will hear his cry. read more. And my anger kindling, I killed you with the sword; and your wives were widows, and your sons orphans.
A widow, and the driven away, and profane, and an harlot, those he shall not take: but a virgin of his people shall he take a wife.
And rejoice before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy servant, and thy maid, and the Levite that is in thy gates, and the stranger, and the orphan and the widow, which are in the midst of thee in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.
Thou shalt not turn away the judgment of the stranger, the fatherless; and thou shalt not take as a pledge the garment of the widow.
When thou shalt reap thy harvest in thy field and didst forget a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not turn back to take it: to the stranger and to the orphan and to the widow shall it be; so that Jehovah thy God shall bless thee in all the doing of thy hands.
If brethren shall dwell together and one of them died, and a son not to him, the wife of the dead shall not be without to a man a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in to her, and he took her to him for a wife, and he acted the husband's brother to her. And it is the first-born which she shall bear shall rise up upon the name of his brother the dead, and his name shall not be wiped from Israel read more. And if the man shall not desire to take his brother's wife, and his brother's wife went up to the gate to the old men, and said, My husband's brother refused to raise up to his brother a name in Israel, and he would not act my husband's brother. And the old men of his city called to him and spake to him: and he stood and said, I desired not to take her. And his brother's wife drew near to him before the eyes of the old men, and drew off his shoe from his foot, and spit in his face, and answered and said, Thus shall it be done to the man who will not build up the house of his brother. And his name was called in Israel, The house of him having his shoe drawn off.
And now that truly if I a blood relation: and also there is a blood relation nearer than I. Lodge this night, and it being in the morning, if he will redeem thee, good; he shall redeem: and if he desire not to redeem thee, and I redeemed thee, Jehovah lives: lie down till morning.
And Boaz went up to the gate and sat there: and behold, the blood relation whom Boaz spake of, passing by; and he will say, Turn aside, sit down here; thou such a one. And he will turn aside, and sit down. And he will take ten men from the old men of the citv, and he will say, Sit ye down here. And they will sit down. read more. And he will say to the blood relative, The portion of the field which was to our brother Elimelech, Naomi turning back from the field of Moab, sells: And I said, I will reveal to thine ear, saying, Buy before the inhabitants, and before the old men of my people. If thou wilt redeem, redeem: and if thou wilt not redeem, announce to me, and I shall know: for none besides thee to redeem; and I after thee; and he will say, I will redeem. And Boaz will say, In the day of thy buying the field from the hand of Naomi, and from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, thou boughtest it to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the near relative will say, I shall not be able to redeem for me, lest I shall destroy my inheritance: redeem to thyself; thou the near relative: for I shall not be able to redeem. And this before in Israel upon redemption and upon exchange, to set up all the word; a man drew off his shoe and gave to his neighbor: and this the precept in Israel. And the blood relative will say to Boaz, Buy for thee. And he will draw off his shoe. And Boaz will say to the old men and all the people, Ye are witnesses this day that I bought all which was to Elimelech, and all which was to Chilion and Mahlon, from the hand of Naomi. And also Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I bought to me for a wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance; and the name of the dead shall not be cut off from his brethren and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day. And all the people which are in the gate will say, and the old men, Witnesses. Jehovah will give the woman coming into thy house as Rachel and as Leah, which they two built up the house of Israel: and make thou power in Ephratah, and call a name in the house of bread.
A father of orphans and a judge of widows, God in his holy habitation.
Learn to do good; seek out judgment, lead right the oppressor, judge the orphan, contend for the widow.
To turn away the judgment of the powerless, and to strip off judgment of the distressed of my people, for widows to be their plunder, and they will plunder orphans.
Thus said Jehovah, Do ye judgment and justice, and deliver him taken by force, from the hand of him oppressing: ye shall not be violent, ye shall not oppress the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, and ye shall not pour but innocent blood in this place.
In that day the Sadducees came to him, they saying there is to be no rising up: and they asked him, Saying, Teacher, Moses said, If any one die, not having children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. read more. And with us were seven brethren: and the first, having married, died; and having no seed, he left his wife to his brother. And likewise the second, and third, even till the seven. And after all died also the woman. Therefore in the rising up whose of the seven shall the woman be? for they all had her. And Jesus, having answered, said to them, Ye are led astray, not having known the writings, nor the power of God. For in the rising up they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the messengers of God in heaven.
Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for pretence, praying at great lengths; for this shall ye receive more distingnished judgment.
And in those days, the disciples multiplying, there was a murmuring of the Greeks against the Hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily service. And the twelve having called the multitude of the disciples, said, It is not pleasing for us, having left the word of God, to serve tables. read more. Therefore, survey, brethren, seven men of you, being witnesses full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom ye shall set over this need.
Honour widows, truly widows. And if any widow have children or descendants, let them learn first to be pious to their own house, and to return recompenses to their progenitors: for this is good and acceptable before God. read more. And she truly a widow, and forsaken, has hoped in God, and remains in supplications and prayers night and day. And she living luxuriously is dead, living. And these things proclaim, that they might be irreprehensible. And if any for his own, and chiefly for his own household provide not, he has denied the faith, and is worse than the unbelieving. Let not a widow be chosen less than sixty years, having been wife of one man, Testified of in good works; if she have brought up children, if she lodged strangers, if she washed the feet of the holy, if she relieved the pressed, if she followed every good work. And the younger widows reject: for when they conduct themselves arrogantly against Christ, they wish to marry: Having judgment, for they put away the first faith. And at the same time also they learn to be idle, going round about the houses; and not only idle, but also indulging in idle talk, and occupied with unnecessary things, speaking things not becoming. I wish therefore the younger to marry, to bear children, to rule the house, to give no occasion to him opposing for reproach. For already have some turned aside after Satan. If any man or woman faithful have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be loaded; that it may relieve the truly widows.
Religion pure and unpolluted before God and the Father is this, To take a view of the orphans and widows in their pressure, to keep himself free from stain 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).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Every widow and orphan ye shall not afflict.
And thine eye shall not pity; soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot
Thou shalt not turn away the judgment of the stranger, the fatherless; and thou shalt not take as a pledge the garment of the widow.
When thou shalt finish to tithe all the tenth part of thy produce, in the third year the year of the tenth part, and thou gavest it to the Levite and to the stranger and to the orphan and to the widow, and they ate in thy gates and were satisfied.
Cursing he turning away the judgment of the stranger, the orphan and the widow: and all the people said, Amen.
They will lead away the ass of the orphans, and they will take for pledge, the widow's ox.
The praise of him perishing will come upon me, and I shall cause the heart of the widow to rejoice.
A father of orphans and a judge of widows, God in his holy habitation.
Jehovah watched the strangers he will restore the orphan and the widow, and he will overturn the way of the unjust
Learn to do good; seek out judgment, lead right the oppressor, judge the orphan, contend for the widow.
Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for pretence, praying at great lengths; for this shall ye receive more distingnished judgment.
And Anna was a prophetess, daughter of flannel, of the tribe of Aser : she advanced in many days, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; And she a widow of about eighty-four years, who departed not from the temple, with fastings and supplications serving night and day.
And he spake to them a parable, that they must always pray, and not lose courage; Saying, There was a certain judge in a certain city, fearing not God, and not occupied about man: read more. And a widow was in that city; and she came to him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a time: and after these he said in himself, And if I fear not God, and am not occupied about man; Yet because this widow produces fatigue to me, I will avenge her, lest in the end, coming, she give me a blow under the eyes. And the Lord said, Hear ye what the judge of injustice says. And shall not God do the avenging of his chosen, crying to him day and night, being slow to anger toward them?
Who devour widows' houses, and for a pretence pray at great length; these shall receive more abundant judgment.
And having looked np, he saw the rich casting their gifts into the royal treasury. And he also saw a certain poor widow casting there two small coins. read more. And he said, Truly I say to you, that this poor widow has cast in more than all: For all they, of that abounding to them, have cast in to the gifts of God: and she from her want cast in all the living which she had.
And having given her the hand, he raised her up, and having called the holy ones and the widows, he placed her living before them.
I became to the weak as weak, that I might gain the weak: I have been all things to all, that altogether I might save some.
As I also please in all things to all, not seeking my advantage, but that of many, that they might be saved.
Therefore an overseer must be irreprehensible, husband of one wife, sober, of sound mind, well arranged, hospitable, giving instruction;
Honour widows, truly widows.
Honour widows, truly widows. And if any widow have children or descendants, let them learn first to be pious to their own house, and to return recompenses to their progenitors: for this is good and acceptable before God.
Let not a widow be chosen less than sixty years, having been wife of one man,
Let not a widow be chosen less than sixty years, having been wife of one man, Testified of in good works; if she have brought up children, if she lodged strangers, if she washed the feet of the holy, if she relieved the pressed, if she followed every good work. read more. And the younger widows reject: for when they conduct themselves arrogantly against Christ, they wish to marry:
If any be irreproachable, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not in accusation of licentiousness, or disorderly.
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/juliasmith'>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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
He did the judgment of the orphan and the widow, and he loved the stranger to give to him bread and a garment
And the Levite came (because no portion and inheritance to him with thee) and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow which is in thy gates, and ate and were satisfied; so that Jehovah thy God shall bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou shalt do.
And rejoice before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy servant, and thy maid, and the Levite that is in thy gates, and the stranger, and the orphan and the widow, which are in the midst of thee in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.
And rejoice in thy festival, thou and thy son and thy daughter, and thy servant, and thy maid, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, which are in thy gates:
Thou shalt not turn away the judgment of the stranger, the fatherless; and thou shalt not take as a pledge the garment of the widow.
When thou shalt reap thy harvest in thy field and didst forget a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not turn back to take it: to the stranger and to the orphan and to the widow shall it be; so that Jehovah thy God shall bless thee in all the doing of thy hands.
When thou shalt finish to tithe all the tenth part of thy produce, in the third year the year of the tenth part, and thou gavest it to the Levite and to the stranger and to the orphan and to the widow, and they ate in thy gates and were satisfied.
Cursing he turning away the judgment of the stranger, the orphan and the widow: and all the people said, Amen.
Thou didst send away widows empty, and the arms of the orphans will be broken. For this, snares are round about thee, and sudden fear will terrify thee;
The womb shall forget him; the worm sucked him; he shall be no more remembered: and iniquity shall be broken as a tree. He did evil to the barren; she will not bear: andhewill not do good to the widow.
The praise of him perishing will come upon me, and I shall cause the heart of the widow to rejoice.
If I shall withhold from the desire of the poor, and cause the eyes of the widow to fail;
God setting the only ones in the house, bringing forth the bound into prosperities, but those turning away dwelt in a dry land.
The widow and the stranger they will slay, and they will kill the orphan.
Jehovah watched the strangers he will restore the orphan and the widow, and he will overturn the way of the unjust
The house of the proud will Jehovah sweep away, and he will set up the bound of the widow.
Learn to do good; seek out judgment, lead right the oppressor, judge the orphan, contend for the widow.
Thy chiefs turning away, and associates of thieves: every one loving a gift and following recompenses: the orphan they will not judge, and the cause of the widow will not come to them.
To turn away the judgment of the powerless, and to strip off judgment of the distressed of my people, for widows to be their plunder, and they will plunder orphans.
Ye shall not oppress the stranger, the orphan and the widow, and innocent blood ye shall not pour out in this place, and after other gods ye shall not go, for evil to you; And I caused you to dwell in this place, in the land which I gave to your fathers from forever even to forever.
Thus said Jehovah, Do ye judgment and justice, and deliver him taken by force, from the hand of him oppressing: ye shall not be violent, ye shall not oppress the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, and ye shall not pour but innocent blood in this place. For if doing, ye shall do this word, and kings came into the gates of this house, sitting to David upon his throne, riding in chariots and upon horses, he send his servants and his people.
Leave thine orphans, I will preserve alive, and thy widows shall trust upon me.
And the widow and the orphan, the stranger and the poor, ye shall not oppress; and ye shall not purpose evil in your heart a man to his brother.
And I will toss them about among all the nations which they knew not: and the land was desolate after them from passing through and from turning back: and they shall set the land of desire for a desolation.
And I came near to you for judgment: and I was a swift witness against those practicing magic, and against those committing adultery, and against those swearing to falsehood, and against those oppressing the hire of the hireling, the widow and the orphan, and those turning aside the stranger, and they feared not me, said Jehovah of armies.
And in those days, the disciples multiplying, there was a murmuring of the Greeks against the Hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily service.
Honour widows, truly widows.
Honour widows, truly widows. And if any widow have children or descendants, let them learn first to be pious to their own house, and to return recompenses to their progenitors: for this is good and acceptable before God.
And if any widow have children or descendants, let them learn first to be pious to their own house, and to return recompenses to their progenitors: for this is good and acceptable before God. And she truly a widow, and forsaken, has hoped in God, and remains in supplications and prayers night and day.
And she truly a widow, and forsaken, has hoped in God, and remains in supplications and prayers night and day. And she living luxuriously is dead, living. read more. And these things proclaim, that they might be irreprehensible. And if any for his own, and chiefly for his own household provide not, he has denied the faith, and is worse than the unbelieving.
And if any for his own, and chiefly for his own household provide not, he has denied the faith, and is worse than the unbelieving. Let not a widow be chosen less than sixty years, having been wife of one man, read more. Testified of in good works; if she have brought up children, if she lodged strangers, if she washed the feet of the holy, if she relieved the pressed, if she followed every good work. And the younger widows reject: for when they conduct themselves arrogantly against Christ, they wish to marry: Having judgment, for they put away the first faith. And at the same time also they learn to be idle, going round about the houses; and not only idle, but also indulging in idle talk, and occupied with unnecessary things, speaking things not becoming. I wish therefore the younger to marry, to bear children, to rule the house, to give no occasion to him opposing for reproach. For already have some turned aside after Satan.
For already have some turned aside after Satan. If any man or woman faithful have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be loaded; that it may relieve the truly widows.
If any man or woman faithful have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be loaded; that it may relieve the truly widows.
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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the Levite came (because no portion and inheritance to him with thee) and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow which is in thy gates, and ate and were satisfied; so that Jehovah thy God shall bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou shalt do.
And rejoice before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy servant, and thy maid, and the Levite that is in thy gates, and the stranger, and the orphan and the widow, which are in the midst of thee in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.
And rejoice in thy festival, thou and thy son and thy daughter, and thy servant, and thy maid, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, which are in thy gates:
When thou shalt reap thy harvest in thy field and didst forget a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not turn back to take it: to the stranger and to the orphan and to the widow shall it be; so that Jehovah thy God shall bless thee in all the doing of thy hands. When thou shalt beat thine olive thou shalt not go over the boughs after thee: to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow it shall be. read more. And when thou shalt gather thy vineyard thou shalt not glean after thee; to the stranger, and to the orphan, and to the widow it shall be.
If brethren shall dwell together and one of them died, and a son not to him, the wife of the dead shall not be without to a man a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in to her, and he took her to him for a wife, and he acted the husband's brother to her. And it is the first-born which she shall bear shall rise up upon the name of his brother the dead, and his name shall not be wiped from Israel
When thou shalt finish to tithe all the tenth part of thy produce, in the third year the year of the tenth part, and thou gavest it to the Levite and to the stranger and to the orphan and to the widow, and they ate in thy gates and were satisfied.
In that day the Sadducees came to him, they saying there is to be no rising up: and they asked him, Saying, Teacher, Moses said, If any one die, not having children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. read more. And with us were seven brethren: and the first, having married, died; and having no seed, he left his wife to his brother. And likewise the second, and third, even till the seven. And after all died also the woman. Therefore in the rising up whose of the seven shall the woman be? for they all had her. And Jesus, having answered, said to them, Ye are led astray, not having known the writings, nor the power of God. For in the rising up they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the messengers of God in heaven.
And in those days, the disciples multiplying, there was a murmuring of the Greeks against the Hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily service. And the twelve having called the multitude of the disciples, said, It is not pleasing for us, having left the word of God, to serve tables. read more. Therefore, survey, brethren, seven men of you, being witnesses full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom ye shall set over this need. And we will persevere in prayer, and the service of the word. And the word pleased before all the multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the sent: and having prayed, they put hands upon them.
Honour widows, truly widows. And if any widow have children or descendants, let them learn first to be pious to their own house, and to return recompenses to their progenitors: for this is good and acceptable before God. read more. And she truly a widow, and forsaken, has hoped in God, and remains in supplications and prayers night and day. And she living luxuriously is dead, living. And these things proclaim, that they might be irreprehensible. And if any for his own, and chiefly for his own household provide not, he has denied the faith, and is worse than the unbelieving. Let not a widow be chosen less than sixty years, having been wife of one man,
Let not a widow be chosen less than sixty years, having been wife of one man, Testified of in good works; if she have brought up children, if she lodged strangers, if she washed the feet of the holy, if she relieved the pressed, if she followed every good work.
Testified of in good works; if she have brought up children, if she lodged strangers, if she washed the feet of the holy, if she relieved the pressed, if she followed every good work. And the younger widows reject: for when they conduct themselves arrogantly against Christ, they wish to marry: read more. Having judgment, for they put away the first faith. And at the same time also they learn to be idle, going round about the houses; and not only idle, but also indulging in idle talk, and occupied with unnecessary things, speaking things not becoming. I wish therefore the younger to marry, to bear children, to rule the house, to give no occasion to him opposing for reproach. For already have some turned aside after Satan. If any man or woman faithful have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be loaded; that it may relieve the truly widows.
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 will take a wife for Er his first-born, and her name Tamar And Er, Judah's first-born, will be evil in the eyes of Jehovah: and Jehovah will kill him. read more. And Judah will say to Onan, go in to thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan will know that not to him will be the seed; and it was when he went in to his brother's wife, he destroyed upon the earth, not to give seed to his brother. And it will be evil in the eyes of Jehovah, what he did, and he will kill him also And Judah will say to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Sit a widow in thy father's house, till Shelah my son shall be great; (for he said, Lest this also shall die as his brethren.) And Tamar will go and will sit in her father's house.
If brethren shall dwell together and one of them died, and a son not to him, the wife of the dead shall not be without to a man a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in to her, and he took her to him for a wife, and he acted the husband's brother to her.