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
" 'You will not afflict any widow or orphan. If you indeed afflict him, yes, if he cries out at all to me, I will certainly hear his cry of distress. read more. And {I will become angry}, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children orphans.
A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled [woman], a prostitute--these he must not take; he shall take only a virgin from his people [as] wife.
And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that [is] in your {towns} and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there.
You shall not subvert the rights of an alien [or] an orphan, and you shall not take as pledge [the] garment of a widow.
"When you reap your harvest in your field and you forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not return to get it, for it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
"When brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not become the wife of a {man of another family}; her brother-in-law {shall have sex with her}, and he shall take her {to himself} as wife, and he shall perform his duty as brother-in-law [with respect to] her. And then the firstborn that she bears {shall represent his dead brother}, so that his name is not blotted out from Israel. read more. But if the man [does] not want to take his sister-in-law, then his sister-in-law shall go up to the gate, to the elders, and she shall say, 'My brother-in-law refused {to perpetuate his brother's name} in Israel, [for] he is not willing {to marry me}.' Then the elders of his town shall summon him and speak to him, and [if] he persists and says, '{I do not desire to} marry her' [then] his sister-in-law shall go near him before the eyes of the elders, and she shall pull off his sandal from his foot, and she shall spit in his face, and she shall {declare} and she shall say, 'This is how it is done to the man who does not build the house of his brother.' And his {family} shall be called in Israel, 'The house where the sandal was pulled off.'
Now truly I [am] a redeemer, but there is also a redeemer [of a] closer relationship than me. {Stay tonight,} and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, good; but if he is not willing to redeem, {then as Yahweh lives,} I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning."
And Boaz had gone up [to] the [city] gate and sat there. And look, the redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken [was] passing by. And he said, "Come over here to sit, {friend}." And he came over and sat. And he took ten men from the elders of the city and said, "Sit here." And they sat. read more. And he said to the redeemer, "Naomi, who returned from the countryside [of] Moab, is selling the tract of land which [was] for our brother Elimelech. And I thought {I would tell you} and say, '{Buy it in the presence of} those sitting and before the elders of my people,' if you want to redeem [it], redeem [it]. But if you do not want to redeem, tell me so that I may know, for there is no one except you to redeem [it], and I [am] after you." And he said, "I want to redeem [it]." And Boaz said, "On the day of your acquiring the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the wife of the dead [man], [in order] to raise up [for] the name of the dead his inheritance." And the redeemer said, "I am not able to redeem for myself, lest I ruin my inheritance. You redeem for yourself my kinsman-redemption, for I am not able to redeem [it]." (Now this {was the custom in former times} in Israel concerning the kinsman-redemption and transfer of property: to confirm the matter, a man removed his sandal and gave [it] to his fellow countryman. This [was] the manner of attesting in Israel.) So the redeemer said to Boaz, "Acquire [it] for yourself," and he removed his sandal. And Boaz said to the elders and all of the people, "You [are] witnesses today that I have acquired all that [was] for Elimelech and that [was] for Kilion and Mahlon from the hand of Naomi. And also Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, I have acquired as a wife, to raise up the name of the dead over his inheritance, so that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his relatives and from the gate of his [birth] place. You [are] witnesses today." And all of the people who [were] at the gate and the elders said, "[We are] witnesses. May Yahweh make the woman coming into your house as Rachel and as Leah, who {together} built the house of Israel. May you have strength in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem.
A father to orphans and a judge for widows [is] God in his holy habitation.
Learn to do good! Seek justice! Rescue [the] oppressed! Defend [the] orphan! Plead for [the] widow!
to guide [the] needy away from legal claims, and to rob the justice from the poor of my people, to make widows their spoil; and they plunder orphans.
Thus says Yahweh, "Act [with] justice and righteousness, and deliver [the] one who has been seized from the hand of [the] oppressor. And you must not oppress [the] immigrant, [the] orphan, and [the] widow. And you must not shed innocent blood in this place.
On that day Sadducees--who say there is no resurrection--came up to him and asked him, saying, "Teacher, Moses said if someone dies without having children, his brother is to marry his wife and {father} descendants for his brother. read more. Now there were seven brothers with us. And the first died [after] getting married, and [because he] did not have descendants, he left his wife to his brother. So also the second and the third, up to the seventh. And last of all the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her [as wife]." But Jesus answered [and] said to them, "You are mistaken, [because] you do not know the scriptures or the power of God! For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.
Now in these days, [as] the disciples were increasing [in number], a complaint arose by the {Greek-speaking Jews} against the {Hebraic Jews} because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution [of food]. So the twelve summoned the community of disciples [and] said, "It is not desirable [that] we neglect the word of God to serve tables. read more. So, brothers, select from among you seven men {of good reputation}, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will put in charge of this need.
Honor widows [who are] truly widows. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to show profound respect for their own household first, and to pay back recompense to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. read more. But the widow [who is one] truly, and is left alone, has put her hope in God and continues in her petitions and prayers night and day. But the one who lives for sensual pleasure is dead [even though she] lives. And command these [things], in order that they may be irreproachable. But if someone does not provide for his own [relatives], and especially the members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Let a widow be put on the list [if she] is not less than sixty years [old], the wife of one husband, being well-attested by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has helped those who are oppressed, if she has devoted herself to every good work. But refuse younger widows, for whenever their physical desires lead them away from Christ, they want to marry, [thus] incurring condemnation because they have broken their former pledge. And at the same time also, going around from house to house, they learn [to be] idle, and not only idle, but also gossipy and busybodies, saying the things [that are] not necessary. Therefore I want younger [widows] to marry, to bear children, to manage a household, to give the adversary no opportunity for reproach. For already some have turned away [and followed] after Satan. If any believing woman has widows, she must help them, and the church must not be burdened, in order that it may help those [who are] truly widows.
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep oneself unstained by 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
" 'You will not afflict any widow or orphan.
{You must show no pity}: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."
You shall not subvert the rights of an alien [or] an orphan, and you shall not take as pledge [the] garment of a widow.
"When you are finished {giving a tithe}, all of the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give to the Levite, to the alien, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and they may be satisfied.
'Cursed be the one who deprives [the] alien, [the] orphan, and [the] widow of justice.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
They drive away [the] donkey of orphans; they take [the] widow's ox as a pledge.
[The] blessing of [the] wretched came upon me, and I caused [the] widow's heart to sing for joy.
A father to orphans and a judge for widows [is] God in his holy habitation.
Yahweh protects [the] strangers. He helps up [the] orphan and [the] widow, but [the] way of [the] wicked he {thwarts}.
Learn to do good! Seek justice! Rescue [the] oppressed! Defend [the] orphan! Plead for [the] widow!
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher (she was advanced {in years}, having lived with [her] husband seven years {after her marriage}, and herself [as] a widow up to eighty-four years) who did not depart from the temple with fastings and prayers, serving night and day.
And he told them a parable to [show that] they must always pray and not be discouraged, saying, "There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. read more. And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Grant me justice against my adversary!' And he was not willing for a time, but after these [things] he said to himself, 'Even if I do not fear God or respect people, yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end [by her] coming back!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them?
who devour the houses of widows and pray lengthy [prayers] for the sake of appearance. These will receive more severe condemnation!"
And he looked up [and] saw the rich putting their gifts into the contribution box, and he saw a certain poor widow putting in there two small copper coins. read more. And he said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow put in more than all [of them]. For these all put [gifts] into the offering out of their abundance, but this [woman] out of her poverty put in all the means of subsistence that she had."
And he gave her [his] hand [and] raised her up. And he called the saints and the widows [and] presented her alive.
To the weak I became weak, in order that I may gain the weak. I have become all [things] to all [people], in order that by all means I may save some.
just as I also please all [people] in all [things], not seeking my own benefit, but the [benefit] of the many, in order that they may be saved.
Therefore the overseer must be irreproachable, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching,
Honor widows [who are] truly widows.
Honor widows [who are] truly widows. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to show profound respect for their own household first, and to pay back recompense to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.
Let a widow be put on the list [if she] is not less than sixty years [old], the wife of one husband,
Let a widow be put on the list [if she] is not less than sixty years [old], the wife of one husband, being well-attested by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has helped those who are oppressed, if she has devoted herself to every good work. read more. But refuse younger widows, for whenever their physical desires lead them away from Christ, they want to marry,
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/leb'>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
[And he] executes justice for the orphan and widow, and [he is] one who loves [the] alien, to give to them food and clothing.
And [so] the Levite may come, because there is no plot of ground for him or an inheritance with you, and the alien [also may come] and the orphan and the widow that [are] in your {towns}, and {they may eat their fill}, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all [of] the work of your hand that you undertake."
And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that [is] in your {towns} and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there.
and you shall rejoice at your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite and the orphan and the widow that [are] in your {towns}.
You shall not subvert the rights of an alien [or] an orphan, and you shall not take as pledge [the] garment of a widow.
"When you reap your harvest in your field and you forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not return to get it, for it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
"When you are finished {giving a tithe}, all of the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give to the Levite, to the alien, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and they may be satisfied.
'Cursed be the one who deprives [the] alien, [the] orphan, and [the] widow of justice.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
You have sent widows away empty-handed, and [the] arms of orphans were crushed. Therefore trapping nets [are] all around you, and panic suddenly terrifies you,
[The] womb forgets him. [The] maggot feasts on him [until] he is no longer remembered, and wickedness is broken like a tree. [He] feeds on [the] barren, [who] does not have a child, and does no good to [the] widow.
[The] blessing of [the] wretched came upon me, and I caused [the] widow's heart to sing for joy.
"If I have withheld [the] desire of [the] poor from [them], or I have caused [the] widow's eyes to fail,
God settles the lonely in a home; he brings prisoners out into prosperity. But the rebellious abide in a barren land.
They kill widow and stranger, and they murder orphans,
Yahweh protects [the] strangers. He helps up [the] orphan and [the] widow, but [the] way of [the] wicked he {thwarts}.
The house of the proud, Yahweh will tear [it] down, but he will maintain the {property line} of the widow.
Learn to do good! Seek justice! Rescue [the] oppressed! Defend [the] orphan! Plead for [the] widow!
Your princes [are] rebels and companions of thieves. Every one loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not defend [the] orphan and [the] legal dispute of [the] widow does not come before them.
to guide [the] needy away from legal claims, and to rob the justice from the poor of my people, to make widows their spoil; and they plunder orphans.
you do not oppress [the] alien, [the] orphan, and [the] widow, you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and you do not go after other gods {to your harm}, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors {forever and ever}.
Thus says Yahweh, "Act [with] justice and righteousness, and deliver [the] one who has been seized from the hand of [the] oppressor. And you must not oppress [the] immigrant, [the] orphan, and [the] widow. And you must not shed innocent blood in this place. And if you indeed obey this word, then kings who sit for David on his throne will enter through the gates of this house, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
Leave your orphans. I will let [them] live. And your widows, let them trust in me."
You must not oppress [the] widow, [the] orphan, [the] foreigner, and [the] needy. You must not devise evil in your heart {against one another}.'
'And I scattered them with a wind among all the nations that they had not known; the land was made desolate behind them-- no one crossing through [it] or returning--and they made the desirable land a desolation.'"
"Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear {falsely}, and against the oppressors of [the] hired worker [with his] wages, [the] widow and [the] orphan, and {the abusers of} [the] alien, and [yet] do not fear me," says Yahweh of hosts.
Now in these days, [as] the disciples were increasing [in number], a complaint arose by the {Greek-speaking Jews} against the {Hebraic Jews} because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution [of food].
Honor widows [who are] truly widows.
Honor widows [who are] truly widows. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to show profound respect for their own household first, and to pay back recompense to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.
But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to show profound respect for their own household first, and to pay back recompense to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. But the widow [who is one] truly, and is left alone, has put her hope in God and continues in her petitions and prayers night and day.
But the widow [who is one] truly, and is left alone, has put her hope in God and continues in her petitions and prayers night and day. But the one who lives for sensual pleasure is dead [even though she] lives. read more. And command these [things], in order that they may be irreproachable. But if someone does not provide for his own [relatives], and especially the members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
But if someone does not provide for his own [relatives], and especially the members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Let a widow be put on the list [if she] is not less than sixty years [old], the wife of one husband, read more. being well-attested by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has helped those who are oppressed, if she has devoted herself to every good work. But refuse younger widows, for whenever their physical desires lead them away from Christ, they want to marry, [thus] incurring condemnation because they have broken their former pledge. And at the same time also, going around from house to house, they learn [to be] idle, and not only idle, but also gossipy and busybodies, saying the things [that are] not necessary. Therefore I want younger [widows] to marry, to bear children, to manage a household, to give the adversary no opportunity for reproach. For already some have turned away [and followed] after Satan.
For already some have turned away [and followed] after Satan. If any believing woman has widows, she must help them, and the church must not be burdened, in order that it may help those [who are] truly widows.
If any believing woman has widows, she must help them, and the church must not be burdened, in order that it may help those [who are] 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 [so] the Levite may come, because there is no plot of ground for him or an inheritance with you, and the alien [also may come] and the orphan and the widow that [are] in your {towns}, and {they may eat their fill}, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all [of] the work of your hand that you undertake."
And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that [is] in your {towns} and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there.
and you shall rejoice at your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite and the orphan and the widow that [are] in your {towns}.
"When you reap your harvest in your field and you forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not return to get it, for it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat off the fruit of your olive trees you shall not search through the branches afterward, for it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. read more. When you harvest [grapes], you shall not glean your vineyards {again}; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.
"When brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not become the wife of a {man of another family}; her brother-in-law {shall have sex with her}, and he shall take her {to himself} as wife, and he shall perform his duty as brother-in-law [with respect to] her. And then the firstborn that she bears {shall represent his dead brother}, so that his name is not blotted out from Israel.
"When you are finished {giving a tithe}, all of the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give to the Levite, to the alien, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and they may be satisfied.
On that day Sadducees--who say there is no resurrection--came up to him and asked him, saying, "Teacher, Moses said if someone dies without having children, his brother is to marry his wife and {father} descendants for his brother. read more. Now there were seven brothers with us. And the first died [after] getting married, and [because he] did not have descendants, he left his wife to his brother. So also the second and the third, up to the seventh. And last of all the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her [as wife]." But Jesus answered [and] said to them, "You are mistaken, [because] you do not know the scriptures or the power of God! For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.
Now in these days, [as] the disciples were increasing [in number], a complaint arose by the {Greek-speaking Jews} against the {Hebraic Jews} because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution [of food]. So the twelve summoned the community of disciples [and] said, "It is not desirable [that] we neglect the word of God to serve tables. read more. So, brothers, select from among you seven men {of good reputation}, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will put in charge of this need. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." And the statement pleased the whole group, 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 Nicolaus (a convert from Antioch), whom they stood before the apostles. And they prayed [and] placed [their] hands on them.
Honor widows [who are] truly widows. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to show profound respect for their own household first, and to pay back recompense to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. read more. But the widow [who is one] truly, and is left alone, has put her hope in God and continues in her petitions and prayers night and day. But the one who lives for sensual pleasure is dead [even though she] lives. And command these [things], in order that they may be irreproachable. But if someone does not provide for his own [relatives], and especially the members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Let a widow be put on the list [if she] is not less than sixty years [old], the wife of one husband,
Let a widow be put on the list [if she] is not less than sixty years [old], the wife of one husband, being well-attested by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has helped those who are oppressed, if she has devoted herself to every good work.
being well-attested by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has helped those who are oppressed, if she has devoted herself to every good work. But refuse younger widows, for whenever their physical desires lead them away from Christ, they want to marry, read more. [thus] incurring condemnation because they have broken their former pledge. And at the same time also, going around from house to house, they learn [to be] idle, and not only idle, but also gossipy and busybodies, saying the things [that are] not necessary. Therefore I want younger [widows] to marry, to bear children, to manage a household, to give the adversary no opportunity for reproach. For already some have turned away [and followed] after Satan. If any believing woman has widows, she must help them, and the church must not be burdened, in order that it may help those [who are] 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 took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name [was] Tamar. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him. read more. Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to the wife of your brother and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother." But Onan knew that the offspring would not be for him, so whenever he went in to the wife of his brother he would waste [it] on the ground so as not to give offspring to his brother. And what he did was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so he killed him also. Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Stay a widow in your father's house until Shelah my son grows up," for {he feared he would also die} like his brother. So Tamar went and stayed in the house of her father.
"When brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not become the wife of a {man of another family}; her brother-in-law {shall have sex with her}, and he shall take her {to himself} as wife, and he shall perform his duty as brother-in-law [with respect to] her.