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 shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry. read more. And My wrath shall become hot, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your sons fatherless.
He shall not take a widow or a divorced woman, or profane, or a harlot, but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.
And you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your slave girl, and the Levite inside your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, those among you, in the place which Jehovah your God has chosen to place His name there.
You shall not pervert the rightful judgment of the stranger nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's clothing to pledge.
When you cut down your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to bring it. It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand.
If brothers live together, and one of them dies and has no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as a wife for himself, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And it shall be, the first-born whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his dead brother, so that his name may not be put out of Israel. read more. And if the man does not want to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate to the elders and say, My husband's brother refuses to raise up a name in Israel to his brother. He will not perform my levirate. Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. And if he stands and says, I do not desire to take her, then his brother's wife shall come to him in the presence of his elders, and take off his shoe from his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done to that man who will not build up his brother's house. And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him who has his shoe taken off.
And now it is true that I am your kinsman-redeemer. But there is also a kinsman nearer than I. Stay tonight, and it shall be in the morning, if he will redeem you, well; he will redeem. And if he does not delight to redeem you, as Jehovah lives, then I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.
And Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by. And he said, Such a one! Turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, Come sit down here. And they sat down. read more. And he said to the kinsman, Naomi, who has come again out of the country of Moab, sells a parcel of land which was our brother Elimelech's. And I said I will tell it in your ear, saying, Buy it before those who live here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem, redeem it. But if you will not redeem, tell me so that I may know. For there is none to redeem besides you. And I am after you. And he said, I will redeem. And Boaz said, In the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy also from the hand of Ruth of Moab, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance. You redeem my right to yourself, for I cannot redeem. And this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, to confirm everything. A man plucked off his sandal and gave it to his neighbor. And this was a testimony in Israel. Therefore the kinsman said to Boaz, Buy it for yourself. So he drew off his sandal. And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi. And also Ruth of Moab, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, so that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses this day. And all the people in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. May Jehovah make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, for these two built the house of Israel. And may you be blessed in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem.
In His holy dwelling God is the father of the fatherless, and the judge of the widows.
learn to do good; seek judgment, reprove the oppressor. Judge the orphan, plead for the widow.
to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to steal the right from the poor of My people, that widows may be their prey, and they rob the orphans!
So says Jehovah, Do judgment and righteousness, and deliver him who is robbed out of the oppressors's hand. And do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
On that day the Sadducees came to Him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked Him, saying, Master, Moses said, If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up seed to his brother. read more. Now there were with us seven brothers. And the first, when he had married a wife, died. And, having no issue, he left his wife to his brother. The second also did likewise, and the third, to the seventh. And last of all the woman also died. Therefore in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be, of the seven? For they all had her. Jesus answered and said to them, You 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 to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and pray at length as a pretense. Therefore you shall receive the greater condemnation.
And in those days, the disciples having multiplied, a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews occurred, because their widows were overlooked in the daily serving. And the Twelve called near the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not pleasing to us, leaving the Word of God, to serve tables. read more. Therefore, brothers, look out among you seven men being witnessed to, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this duty.
Honor widows who are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to be godly to their own house, and give back to their forebears what is due them; for that is good and pleasing before God. read more. But she being really a widow, and having been left alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who lives in self-pleasure has died while living. And command these things so that they may be blameless. But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. Do not let a widow be enrolled having become less than sixty years old, the wife of one man, well reported of for good works: if she brought up children, if she lodged strangers, if she washed the feet of saints, if she relieved the afflicted, if she followed after every good work. But refuse younger widows, for whenever they grow lustful against Christ, they desire to marry; having guilt because they have cast off the first faith. And with it all they also learn to be idle, going around the houses; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things they ought not. Therefore I want the younger ones to marry, bear children, guide the house, giving no occasion to the adversary because of reproach. For some have already turned aside after Satan. If any believing man or believing woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be charged, so that it may relieve those who are widows indeed.
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their afflictions, and to keep oneself unspotted 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
You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.
And your eye shall not pity. Life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
You shall not pervert the rightful judgment of the stranger nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's clothing to pledge.
When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow (that they may eat inside your gates and be filled),
Cursed is he who perverts the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and 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 perishing came on me; and I caused the widow's heart to sing.
In His holy dwelling God is the father of the fatherless, and the judge of the widows.
Jehovah preserves the strangers; He relieves the orphan and widow, but the way of the wicked He turns upside down.
learn to do good; seek judgment, reprove the oppressor. Judge the orphan, plead for the widow.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and pray at length as a pretense. Therefore you shall receive the greater condemnation.
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in many days, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. And she was a widow of eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, serving God with fastings and prayers night and day.
And He also spoke a parable to them to teach it is always right to pray, and not to faint, saying, A certain judge was in a certain city, not fearing God, nor respecting man. read more. And a widow was in that city. And she came to Him, saying, Avenge me of my adversary. And he would not do so for a time. But afterward he said within himself, Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, that she not wear me down in the end. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge says. And shall not God avenge His own elect who cry day and night to Him, though He has been long-suffering over them?
who devour widows' houses, and make long prayers for a show; the same shall receive a more severe condemnation.
And looking up, He saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And He also saw a certain poor widow casting two lepta in there. read more. And He said, Truly I say to you that this poor widow has cast in more than all of them. For all these have cast in to the offerings of God from their abundance, but out of her poverty she has cast in all the living she had.
And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. And when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.
To the weak I became as the weak, so that I might gain the weak. I am made all things to all men, so that I might by all means save some.
even as I please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved.
Then it behooves the overseer to be without reproach, husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, well-ordered, hospitable, apt at teaching,
Honor widows who are widows indeed.
Honor widows who are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to be godly to their own house, and give back to their forebears what is due them; for that is good and pleasing before God.
Do not let a widow be enrolled having become less than sixty years old, the wife of one man,
Do not let a widow be enrolled having become less than sixty years old, the wife of one man, well reported of for good works: if she brought up children, if she lodged strangers, if she washed the feet of saints, if she relieved the afflicted, if she followed after every good work. read more. But refuse younger widows, for whenever they grow lustful against Christ, they desire 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/mkjv'>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 executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger in giving him food and clothing.
And the Levite, because he has no part nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied, so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
And you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your slave girl, and the Levite inside your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, those among you, in the place which Jehovah your God has chosen to place His name there.
And you shall rejoice in your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male slave, and your slave-girl, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow inside your gates.
You shall not pervert the rightful judgment of the stranger nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's clothing to pledge.
When you cut down your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to bring it. It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand.
When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow (that they may eat inside your gates and be filled),
Cursed is he who perverts the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. Therefore snares are all around you, and sudden fear troubles you;
The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be remembered no more; and injustice shall be broken like a tree. He ill-treats the women who bear no children; and does no good to the widow.
The blessing of the perishing came on me; and I caused the widow's heart to sing.
If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
God causes the lonely to live at home; He brings out those who are bound with chains; but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
They kill the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
Jehovah preserves the strangers; He relieves the orphan and widow, but the way of the wicked He turns upside down.
Jehovah will destroy the house of the proud, but He will set up the border of the widow.
learn to do good; seek judgment, reprove the oppressor. Judge the orphan, plead for the widow.
your rulers are rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves a bribe, and is pursuing rewards; they do not judge the orphan, nor does the cause of the widow come to them.
to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to steal the right from the poor of My people, that widows may be their prey, and they rob the orphans!
if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor 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, forever and ever.
So says Jehovah, Do judgment and righteousness, and deliver him who is robbed out of the oppressors's hand. And do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. For if you do this thing indeed, then there shall enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
Leave your orphans; I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in Me.
And do not crush the widow or the orphan, the alien or the poor. And do not devise evil in your heart, of a man against his brother.
But I stormed them away on all the nations whom they did not know. And the land has been wasted behind them, from passing and from returning; for they made the land of desire a waste.
And I will come near you to judgment. And I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those who extort from the hired laborer's wages, and turning away the widow, and the orphan, the alien, and not fearing Me, says Jehovah of Hosts.
And in those days, the disciples having multiplied, a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews occurred, because their widows were overlooked in the daily serving.
Honor widows who are widows indeed.
Honor widows who are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to be godly to their own house, and give back to their forebears what is due them; for that is good and pleasing before God.
But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to be godly to their own house, and give back to their forebears what is due them; for that is good and pleasing before God. But she being really a widow, and having been left alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.
But she being really a widow, and having been left alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who lives in self-pleasure has died while living. read more. And command these things so that they may be blameless. But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. Do not let a widow be enrolled having become less than sixty years old, the wife of one man, read more. well reported of for good works: if she brought up children, if she lodged strangers, if she washed the feet of saints, if she relieved the afflicted, if she followed after every good work. But refuse younger widows, for whenever they grow lustful against Christ, they desire to marry; having guilt because they have cast off the first faith. And with it all they also learn to be idle, going around the houses; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things they ought not. Therefore I want the younger ones to marry, bear children, guide the house, giving no occasion to the adversary because of reproach. For some have already turned aside after Satan.
For some have already turned aside after Satan. If any believing man or believing woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be charged, so that it may relieve those who are widows indeed.
If any believing man or believing woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be charged, so that it may relieve those who 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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the Levite, because he has no part nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied, so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
And you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your slave girl, and the Levite inside your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, those among you, in the place which Jehovah your God has chosen to place His name there.
And you shall rejoice in your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male slave, and your slave-girl, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow inside your gates.
When you cut down your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to bring it. It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again. It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. read more. When you gather the grapes from your vineyard, you shall not glean afterward. It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
If brothers live together, and one of them dies and has no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as a wife for himself, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And it shall be, the first-born whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his dead brother, so that his name may not be put out of Israel.
When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow (that they may eat inside your gates and be filled),
On that day the Sadducees came to Him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked Him, saying, Master, Moses said, If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up seed to his brother. read more. Now there were with us seven brothers. And the first, when he had married a wife, died. And, having no issue, he left his wife to his brother. The second also did likewise, and the third, to the seventh. And last of all the woman also died. Therefore in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be, of the seven? For they all had her. Jesus answered and said to them, You 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, the disciples having multiplied, a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews occurred, because their widows were overlooked in the daily serving. And the Twelve called near the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not pleasing to us, leaving the Word of God, to serve tables. read more. Therefore, brothers, look out among you seven men being witnessed to, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this duty. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. And the saying pleased all the 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 Nicholas, a proselyte of Antioch. They set these before the apostles. And having prayed, they laid hands on them.
Honor widows who are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to be godly to their own house, and give back to their forebears what is due them; for that is good and pleasing before God. read more. But she being really a widow, and having been left alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who lives in self-pleasure has died while living. And command these things so that they may be blameless. But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. Do not let a widow be enrolled having become less than sixty years old, the wife of one man,
Do not let a widow be enrolled having become less than sixty years old, the wife of one man, well reported of for good works: if she brought up children, if she lodged strangers, if she washed the feet of saints, if she relieved the afflicted, if she followed after every good work.
well reported of for good works: if she brought up children, if she lodged strangers, if she washed the feet of saints, if she relieved the afflicted, if she followed after every good work. But refuse younger widows, for whenever they grow lustful against Christ, they desire to marry; read more. having guilt because they have cast off the first faith. And with it all they also learn to be idle, going around the houses; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things they ought not. Therefore I want the younger ones to marry, bear children, guide the house, giving no occasion to the adversary because of reproach. For some have already turned aside after Satan. If any believing man or believing woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be charged, so that it may relieve those who 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 first-born, whose name was Tamar. And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah. And Jehovah killed him. read more. And Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to your brother. And Onan knew that the seed would not be his. And it happened when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled on the ground, not giving seed to his brother. And what he did was evil in the eyes of Jehovah. Therefore He killed him also. Then said Judah to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at your father's house until Shelah my son is grown. For he said, Lest perhaps he die also, as his brothers did. And Tamar went and lived in her father's house.
If brothers live together, and one of them dies and has no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as a wife for himself, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.