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Let no one be enrolled as a widow under sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, being approved by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has been hospitable to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently followed every good work.
But refuse younger widows, for when they have grown wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, having condemnation, because they have rejected their first pledge.
1 Timothy 5:9-12 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Don’t rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father; the younger men as brothers; the elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, in all purity. Honor widows who are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety toward their own family and to repay their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God. Now she who is a widow indeed and desolate, has her hope set on God, and continues in petitions and prayers night and day. But she who gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives. Also command these things, that they may be without reproach. But if anyone doesn’t provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. Let no one be enrolled as a widow under sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, being approved by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has been hospitable to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently followed every good work.
But refuse younger widows, for when they have grown wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, having condemnation, because they have rejected their first pledge. Besides, they also learn to be idle, going about from house to house. Not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not. I desire therefore that the younger widows marry, bear children, rule the household, and give no occasion to the adversary for insulting. For already some have turned away after Satan. If any man or woman who believes has widows, let them relieve them, and don’t let the assembly be burdened, that it might relieve those who are widows indeed.
Let no one be enrolled as a widow under sixty years old, having been the wife of one man,
being approved by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has been hospitable to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently followed every good work.
But refuse younger widows, for when they have grown wanton against Christ, they desire to marry,
having condemnation, because they have rejected their first pledge.
Let no wyddowe be chosen vnder threscore yere olde and soche a one as was the wyfe of one man
and well reported of in good workes: yf she have noresshed children yf she have bene liberall to straugers yf she have wesshed the saynctes fete yf she have ministred vnto them which were in adversite yf she were continually geve vnto all maner good workes.
The yonger widdowes refuse. For when they have begone to wexe wantone to the dishonoure of Christ then will they mary
havynge damnacion because they have broke their fyrst fayth.
Let not a widow be taken into the number vnder three score yeere olde, that hath beene the wife of one husband,
And well reported of for good woorkes: if shee haue nourished her children, if shee haue lodged the strangers, if shee haue washed the Saintes feete, if shee haue ministred vnto them which were in aduersitie, if shee were continually giuen vnto euery good woorke.
But refuse the yonger widowes: for when they haue begun to waxe wanton against Christ, they will marrie,
Hauing damnation, because they haue broken the first faith.
60 distinct cross-references across this passage (62 total citations).
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv9–12 9 Let a widow be chosen. He again points…
9 Let a widow be chosen. He again points out what kind of widows should be taken under the care of the Church; and more clearly than he had formerly done.
Not under sixty years of age First, he describes the age, sixty years; for, being supported at the public expense, it was proper that they should have already reached old age. Besides, there was another and stronger reason; for they consecrated themselves to the ministry of the Church, which would have been altogether intolerable, if there were still a likelihood of their being married. They were received on the condition that the Church should relieve their poverty, and that, on their part, they should be employed in ministering to the poor, as far as the state of their health allowed. Thus there was a mutual obligation between them and the Church. It was unreasonable that those who were under that age, and who were still in the vigor of life, should be a burden to others. Besides, there was reason to fear that they would change their mind and think of being married again. These are two reasons why he does not wish any to be admitted “under sixty years of age.”
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Who hath been the wife of one man As to the desire of marrying, that danger had been sufficiently guarded against, when a woman was more than sixty years old; especially if, during her whole life, she had not been married to more than one husband. It may be regarded as a sort of pledge of continence and chastity, when a woman has arrived at that age, satisfied with having had but one husband. Not that he disapproves of a second marriage, or affixes a mark of ignominy to those who have been twice married; (for, on the contrary, he advises younger widows to marry;) but because he wished carefully to guard against laying any females under a necessity of remaining unmarried, who felt it to be necessary to have husbands. On this subject we shall afterwards speak more fully.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9–11 That hath had no more husbands, but one at…
That hath had no more husbands, but one at one time.
The fourth rule: Let none under threescore years old, be taken into the number of widows, to serve the Congregations or Churches, and such as are free from all reproach of unchastity, and are well reported of for their diligence, charity, and integrity.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–12 9 Let not a widow be taken into the…
9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,
Ver. 9. The wife of one man] As Anna, Luk 2:36. Such are held to be more modest, to whom the thought of death hath been enough to forbid the banns of second marriage.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Let not a widow be taken, into the number…
Let not a widow be taken, into the number under threescore years old; what number he meaneth is very doubtful, whether he means the number of deaconesses, or the number of such as should receive alms from the church. Those who translate καταλεγεσθω here chosen seem to favour the former. They say, that in the primitive church there being a want of hospials and public places for the reception of people deceased in their estates, &c., they chose some old widows to take care of the poorer sort of women when they were sick, and these also were themselves maintained by the church, and served the church in that charitable employment. Whether this number, or the more general number of widows relieved by the church, be meant, the caution of their age was very prudent:
1. Because younger widows could work for their living, and needed not to burden the church.
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2. Because under those years they probably might marry again, and so become useless to the church.
3. Because after those years there could be no great fear of scandal from their wantonness and incontinency.
Having been the wife of one man: this condition seems harder to be understood; for though in former times, amongst the Jews and pagans, men were allowed more wives than one at the same time, yet no laws ever allowed the woman liberty of more husbands.
2. To understand it of women that had not been twice married, their first husbands being dead, seems hard, no law of God forbidding the second marriages of men and women successively.
3. Some therefore rather understand it of such widows as were become wives to second husbands, the first not being dead, but parted from them legally, either through their own fault, or through their voluntary desertion.
This the apostle seems to forbid, to avoid reproach and scandal to the church.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 Our apostle had given directions concerning such widows as…
Our apostle had given directions concerning such widows as were to be maintained by the church’s charity in the preceding verses; he speaks now of such widows as were to be admitted into the church’s service, under the name of deaconesses, whose office it was to take care of the aged and impotent, to be stayed monitors of the younger women, to attend poor women in labour, and to assist at the baptism of the female sex.
St. Paul advises, that none be admitted under threescore years of age, and none that was divorced from one husband, and married another: Let not a widow be taken into the number, that is, of church widows or deaconesses, under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man only.
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Next, St. Paul lays down the general and particular qualifications of such widows as should be elected into the church’s service; the general qualification is fruitfulness in good works: If she have diligently followed every good work.
Where note, It is not her age alone, nor her poverty alone, but her Christian behaviour before all, that gave her a right to the church’s service and maintenance.
The particular qualifications follow: if she has brought up children religiously, if she hath lodged strangers or christian travellers hospitably, if she has condescended to the meanest offices, not disdaining to wash the very feet of poor Christians in their journeyings; if according to her ability she has done all the good she possibly could, though much short of what she desired.
Note here, That in those hot countries persons travelled on foot, and without shoes, wearing only sandals, and having few or no inns for entertainment, or but little money to defray travelling charges, it was a very great work of pious charity to entertain Christian strangers, to receive and lodge them in their houses, to wash and cool, refresh and cleanse their feet, and to administer to their necessities; such widows as are thus qualified he directs may be taken into the church’s service, and partake of her maintenance.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Let not a widow be taken into the number,....…
Let not a widow be taken into the number,.... That is, of widows, to be maintained by the church; though some choose to understand these words of the number of such who were made deaconesses, and had the care of the poor widows of the church committed to them; and so the Arabic version renders it, "if a widow be chosen a deaconess"; but the former sense is best, for it appears from Ti1 5:1 that the apostle is still speaking of widows to be relieved: now such were not to be taken under the church's care for relief, under threescore years old: for under this age it might be supposed they would marry, and so not be desolate, but would have husbands to provide for them; or they might be capable of labour, and so of taking care of themselves. The age of sixty years was by the Jews (x) reckoned "old age", but not under.
Having been the wife of one man; that is, at one time; for second marriages are not hereby condemned, for this would be to condemn what the apostle elsewhere allows, Rom 7:2. Nor is the sense only, that she should be one who never had more husbands than one at once; for this was not usual for women to have more husbands than one, even where polygamy obtained, or where men had more wives than one: this rather therefore is to be understood of one who had never put away her husband, and married another, which was sometimes done among the Jews; see Mar 10:12, and this being a scandalous practice, the apostle was willing to put a mark of infamy upon it, and exclude such persons who had been guilty of it from the number of widows relieved by the church.
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(x) Pirke Abot, c. 5. sect. 21.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Let not a widow be chosen - Into the…
Let not a widow be chosen - Into the number of deaconesses, who attended sick women or travelling preachers. Under threescore - Afterwards they were admitted at forty, if they were eminent for holiness. Having been the wife of one husband - That is, having lived in lawful marriage, whether with one or more persons successively.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Verse 9. Taken into the number] Let her not…
Verse 9. Taken into the number] Let her not be taken into the list of those for which the Church must provide. But some think that the apostle means the list of those who were deaconesses in the Church; and that no widow was to be admitted into that rank who did not answer to the following character. See note on 1Ti 5:10.
Under threescore years] As it might be supposed that, previously to this age, they might be able to do something towards their own support. See note on 1Ti 5:10.
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Having been the wife of one man] Having lived in conjugal fidelity with her husband; or having had but one husband at a time; or, according to others, having never been but once married. But the former is the opinion of some of the most eminent of the Greek fathers, and appears to be that most consistent with the scope of the place, and with truth.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 1Ti 5:9-10. Let not a widow be taken into…
1Ti 5:9-10. Let not a widow be taken into the number — Καταλεγεσθω, taken upon the list of those who are to be maintained by the church, and to attend upon the sick poor, and teach the young; under threescore years old — It might, on many accounts, and for very obvious reasons, be proper that this office should be committed only to persons of an advanced age, and such as laid aside all thoughts of marrying again. Having been — Neither a harlot nor a concubine; but the wife of one man — At a time; or having chastely confined herself to one husband while in the married relation, and not divorced him and married another. See note on 1Ti 3:2. Well reported of for good works — Of different kinds; if she have brought up children — Religiously and virtuously, her own, or others who had been committed to her care; if, in her more prosperous days, she manifested a generous and hospitable disposition; and lodged Christian strangers — Who were at a loss for necessary accommodations on their journeys; if she have washed the saints’ feet — Has been ready to do the meanest offices for them; if she have relieved the afflicted — This, and some of the other good works mentioned by the apostle, being attended with great expense, the poor widows, who desired to be taken into the number, cannot be supposed to have performed them at their own charges. “I therefore suppose,” says Macknight, “the apostle is speaking of female deacons, who had been employed in the offices here mentioned at the common expense; consequently the meaning of the direction will be, that in choosing widows, Timothy was to prefer those who formerly had been employed by the church as deaconesses, and had discharged that office with faithfulness and propriety. For since these women had spent the prime of their life in the laborious offices of love mentioned by the apostle, without receiving any recompense but maintenance, it was highly reasonable, when grown old in that good service, to promote them to an honourable function, which required knowledge and experience rather than bodily strength, and which was rewarded with a liberal maintenance.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Let not a widow be taken into the number…
Let not a widow be taken into the number - Margin, “chosen.” The margin expresses the sense of the Greek more accurately, but the meaning is not materially different. Paul does not here specify into what “number” the widow is to be “taken,” or for what purpose she is to be “chosen,” but he speaks of this as a thing that was well understood. There can be no doubt, however, what he means. In the Acts of the Apostles 1Ti 6:1 we have this account: “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a complaining of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.” “It appears that from the first formation of the Christian church, provision was made out of the public funds of the society for the indigent widows who belonged to it;” see Patey’s Horae Paulinae on 1 Tim. No. 11. To this, as to a well-known practice, Paul here evidently refers. The manner in which he refers to it is such as to show that the custom had an existence. All that was necessary in the case, was, not to speak of it as if it were a new arrangement, but to mention those who ought to be re garded as proper subjects of the charity. It would seem, also, that it was understood that such widows, according to their ability, should exercise a proper watch over the younger females of the church. In this way, while they were supported by the church, they might render themselves useful.
Under threescore years old - For such reasons as those mentioned in 1Ti 5:11-14.
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Having been the wife of one man - There has been much diversity of opinion whether this means that she had never had but one husband, or whether she had been the wife of but one man at a time; that is, whether she had cast off one and married another; see Whitby, in loc. The same difficulty has been felt in regard to this as on the passage in 1Ti 3:2; see the notes on that verse. Doddridge, Clarke, and others, suppose that it means, “who had lived in conjugal fidelity to her husband.” The reason assigned for this opinion by Doddridge, is, that the apostle did not mean to condemn second marriages, since he expressly 1Ti 5:14 commends it in the younger widows. The correct interpretation probably is, to refer it to one who had been married but once, and who, after her husband had died, had remained a widow. The reasons for this opinion briefly are:
(1) That this is the interpretation most naturally suggested by the phrase;
(2) That it agrees better with the description of the one that was to be enrolled among the “number” - those who were “widows indeed” - as we should more naturally apply this term to one who had remained unmarried after the death of her husband, than to one who had been married again;
(3) That, while it was not unlawful or improper in itself for a widow to marry a second time, there was a degree of respect and honor attached to one who did not do it, which would not be felt for one who did; compare Luk 2:36-37, “She was a widow of great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years.” The same is true now. There is a higher degree of respect felt for such a widow than there is for one who has been married again, though she may be again a widow.
(4) Among the pagans, it was regarded as especially honorable to have been married to but one man, and such widows were the Pudicitioe Coronam, or crown of chastity; Val. Max. L. i. c. ii.; compare Livy, L. 10:c. 23; see Whitby.
(5) As these persons were not only to be maintained by the church, but appear also to have been entrusted with an office of guardianship over the younger females, it was of importance that they should have such a character that no occasion of offence should be given, even among the pagan; and, in order to that, Paul gave direction that only those should be thus enrolled who were in all respects widows, and who would be regarded, on account of their age and their whole deportment, as “widows indeed.” I cannot doubt, therefore, that he meant to exclude those from the number here referred to who had been married the second time.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12 Not under threescore years of age. Some think he…
Not under threescore years of age. Some think he speaks only of such a widow as was placed over all the rest: but the common exposition is of all such widows as were maintained in that manner, who made a vow of chastity, who assisted the ministers of the Church in looking to the poor, and in the administering baptism to women. --- Who hath been the wife of one husband; i.e. hath never been married but once. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Translate, "As a widow (that is, of the ecclesiastical…
Translate, "As a widow (that is, of the ecclesiastical order of widowhood; a kind of female presbytery), let none be enrolled (in the catalogue) who is less than sixty years old." These were not deaconesses, who were chosen at a younger age (forty was the age fixed at the Council of Chalcedon), and who had virgins (in a later age called widows) as well as widows among them, but a band of widows set apart, though not yet formally and finally, to the service of God and the Church. Traces of such a class appear in Act 9:41. Dorcas herself was such a one. As it was expedient (see on Ti1 3:2; Tit 1:6) that the presbyter or bishop should have been but once married, so also in her case. There is a transition here to a new subject. The reference here cannot be, as in Ti1 5:3, to providing Church sustenance for them. For the restriction to widows above sixty would then be needless and harsh, since many widows might be in need of help at a much earlier age; as also the rule that the widow must not have been twice married, especially since he himself, below (Ti1 5:14) enjoins the younger widows to marry again; as also that she must have brought up children. Moreover, Ti1 5:10 presupposes some competence, at least in past times, and so poor widows would be excluded, the very class requiring charity. Also, Ti1 5:11 would then be senseless, for then their remarrying would be a benefit, not an injury, to the Church, as relieving it of the burden of their sustenance. TERTULLIAN [On the Veiling of Virgins, 9], HERMAS [Shepherd, 1.2], and CHRYSOSTOM [Homily, 31], mention such an order of ecclesiastical widowhood, each one not less than sixty years old, and resembling the presbyters in the respect paid to them, and in some of their duties; they ministered with sympathizing counsel to other widows and to orphans, a ministry to which their own experimental knowledge of the feelings and sufferings of the bereaved adapted them, and had a general supervision of their sex. Age was doubtless a requisite in presbyters, as it is here stated to have been in presbyteresses, with a view to their influence on the younger persons of their sex They were supported by the Church, but not the only widows so supported (Ti1 5:3-4).
wife of one man--in order not to throw a stumbling-block in the way of Jews and heathen, who regarded with disfavor second marriages (see on Ti1 3:2; Tit 1:6). This is the force of "blameless," giving no offense, even in matters indifferent.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv9–12 9-15. What cases shall upon scrutiny be enrolled as…
9-15. What cases shall upon scrutiny be enrolled as widows indeed, 9, 10, and what cases not, 11-16.
9. First, the required age.
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Taken into the number—Of Church widows, to be supported by contributions. The Greek may signify, enrolled in a catalogue, and clearly implies a definite number; namely, genuine widows, Church-supported. There is here no intimation of their being deaconesses, or eldresses; or as being ordained, or having any duties to perform. They appear as simply beneficiaries of the Church bounty.
Threescore years old—Earlier than that age, there is a physical capability of self-support, and if a widow younger than that is in distress, she would be temporarily aided, not as an enrolled and permanent widow, but like any other immediately needy person.
Wife of one man—The 1Ti_5:9-10, prescribe what a true widow’s previous history is required to be. First, her marriage relations must be without complication; at any rate since her conversion. For the practice of polyandry, as Fairbairn shows, was by no means rare. President Wolsey says, that even after Christianity obtained ascendency in the Roman empire, “divorce by mutual consent kept its ground all the way down to Justinian.” When Justinian attempted to limit divorce by law to cases of unchastity, such marital plots and poisonings took place that he was obliged to relax the law in the interests of public morality. How in such states of society a woman became more than the wife of one man, is illustrated by the following words of Conybeare: “In the corrupt facility of divorce allowed by both Greek and Roman law, it was very common for man and wife to separate, and marry other parties during the life of each other. Thus, a man might have three or four living wives, or women who had successively been his wives. An example of this may be found in the English colony of Mauritius, where the French revolutionary law of divorce had been left unrepealed by the English Government; and it is not uncommon to meet in society three or four women who have all been wives of one man, and three or four men who have all been husbands of one woman. This successive rather than simultaneous polygamy is perhaps forbidden here.” See note, 1Ti_3:2.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–12 9. More definite direction is now given as to…
9. More definite direction is now given as to the honour and the qualification, Let not a widow be taken into the number. The position of the word ‘widow’ at the beginning of the sentence makes it probably part of the predicate, as R.V., Let none be enrolled as a widow. A roll or catalogue of widows for whom the alms of the Church were bespoken existed from the very first, Acts 6 and has been the care of each Church and each parish to a greater or less extent to the present day under varying forms and conditions:—the least satisfactory arrangement on a large scale being the provision made by Christian England of ‘The House’; the most satisfactory being the pleasant almshouses dotted over the country, and the pension moneys from our Church alms taken month by month as from Christ with delicate attention by our deacon curates themselves to the cottage homes. Those who have had to select from such a list in a parish will have found the hints for selection given here very useful and necessary; (1) ascertained impossibility of support from relatives; (2) good moral character as wife and widow; (3) a defined period for ‘old age’; (4) reputation as a good mother, a kind neighbour, a zealous Church worker.
under threescore years old] Lit. ‘who is found to be less than 60 years old,’ the participle belonging to the previous clause, according to the general usage: cf. Luk_2:42, ‘when he was twelve years old.’
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having been the wife of one man] ‘Having been,’ if retained should be put as by R.V. in italics, marking it as an English insertion; the phrase ‘wife of one man’ is precisely the same as in 1Ti_3:2, where see note. The clear and indisputable meaning here of the words is that of having been faithful to one husband all his lifetime instead of leaving him for another or adding another, ‘no bigamist or adulteress.’ She is to be ‘enrolled’ as such. Many of the N.T. exhortations on this point are startling to us as implying even in the circle of Christians very lax principles and habits still. And yet English ministerial knowledge could tell of many startling views and habits that prevail among us now in respect of the sanctity and purity of the married state. It is no ‘counsel of perfection’ but the plain elementary pledge ‘to live together—till death’s parting—after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony,’ that St Paul here commends. And it still needs much commending.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–12 (9) Let not a widow be taken into the…
(9) Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old.—The question respecting the assistance to be afforded to the poor and destitute widows of the great Asian Church reminded St. Paul of an organisation, consisting of widowed women, which had grown out of the needs of Christianity. He would lay down some special rules here to be observed by his friend and disciple. What, now, is this organisation commended to Timothy in these special directions? Here, and here only in the New Testament, do we find it alluded to; but the instructions in this passage are so definite, so precise, that it is impossible not to assume in the days of Timothy and of Paul, in some, if not in all the great churches, the existence of an official band of workers, consisting of widows, most carefully selected from the congregation of believers, of a somewhat advanced age, and specially distinguished for devotion—possessing, each of these, a high and stainless reputation—they were an official band of workers, a distinct order, so to speak; for these widows, formally entered on the Church’s list, could not possibly represent those poor and desolate widows, friendless and destitute, spoken of above. The minimum age of sixty years would also exclude many; and the advice of St. Paul to the younger ones to marry again could never have been addressed to women wanting even many years of the requisite “sixty.” Were these poor souls to be formally shut out from receiving the Church’s alms? Again, those on the list could never be the same persons whom we hear of as deaconesses (Rom_16:1, and in the Christian literature of the second century). The active duties of the office would have been utterly incompatible with the age of sixty, the minimum age at which these were to be entered on the list. We then conclude these “widows” were a distinct and most honourable order, whose duties, presbyteral rather than diaconic, apparently consisted in the exercise of superintendence over, and in the ministry of counsel and consolation to, the younger women.—That they sat unveiled in the assemblies in a separate place by the presbyters; that they received a special ordination by laying on of hands; that they wore a peculiar dress—were distinctions probably belonging to a later age.
Having been the wife of one man.—Of the conditions of enrolment in this “order,” the first—that of age—has been alluded to; the second—“having been the wife of one man”—must not be understood in the strictly literal sense of the words. It is inconceivable that the hope of forming one of the highly honoured band of presbyteral women depended on the chance of the husband living until the wife had reached the age of sixty years. Had he died in her youth, or comparative youth, the Apostle’s will was that the widow should marry again. (See 1Ti_5:14, where St. Paul writes, “I will that the younger women marry,” &c.)
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The right interpretation of the words is found in some such paraphrase as, “If in her married life she had been found faithful and true.” The fatal facility of divorce and the lax state of morality in Pagan society, especially in the Greek and Asiac cities, must be taken into account when we seek to illustrate and explain these directions respecting early Christian foundations.
While unhesitatingly adopting the above interpretation of the words “wife of one man,” as faithfully representing the mind of St. Paul, who was legislating here, it must be remembered, for the masses of believers whose lot was cast in the busy world (see his direct command in 1Ti_5:14 of this chapter, where the family life is pressed on the younger widow, and not the higher life of solitude and self-denial), still those expositors who adopt the stricter and sterner interpretation of “wife of one man”—viz., “a woman that has had only one husband”—have, it must be granted, a strong argument in their favour from the known honour the univircæ obtained in the Roman world. So Dido, in Æn. iv. 28, says—
“Ille meos, primus qui me sibi junxit, amores
Abstulit, ille habeat secum, servetque sepulcher.”
Compare, too, the examples of the wives of Lucan, Drusus, and Pompey, who, on the death of their husbands, devoted the remainder of their lives to retirement and to the memory of the dead. The title univiræ graved on certain Roman tombs shows how this devotion was practised and esteemed. “To love a wife when living is a pleasure, to love her when dead is an act of religion,” wrote Statius—
“Uxorem vivam amare voluptas
Defunctam religio.”
—Statius, Sylv. v., in Proæmio.
And see, for other instances, Lecky, Hist. of European Morals, chap. 5.
But it seems highly improbable that the delicate and touching feeling, which had taken root certainly in some (alas! in only a small number) of the nobler Roman minds, influenced St. Paul, who, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, was laying down rules for a great and world-wide society, which was to include the many, not the few, chosen souls—was legislating for the masses, to whom such an expressed wish would indeed be “a counsel of perfection” rarely to be carried out; and so, without hesitation, we adopt the more practical interpretation given above.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Let none be enrolled as a widow for let…
Let none be enrolled as a widow for let not a widow be taken into the number, A.V Let none be enrolled, etc. The proper translation seems certainly to be (Ellicott, Alford, Huther, etc.), let a woman be enrolled as a widow not under sixty years old; i.e. chra a is the predicate, not the subject. It follows that the word "widow" here is used in a slightly different sense from that in the preceding verses, viz. in the technical sense of one belonging to the order of widows, of which it appears from the word katalegesqw there was a regular roll kept in the Church. We do not know enough of the Church institutions of the apostolic age to enable us to say positively what their status or their functions were, but doubtless they were the germ from which the later development (of which see Bingham, bk. 7. 1 Timothy 4.) took its rise. We may gather, however, from the passage before us that their lives were specially consecrated to the service of God and the Church; that they were expected to be instant and con-slant in prayer, and to devote themselves to works of charity; that the apostle did not approve of their marrying again after their having embraced this life of widowhood, anti therefore would have none enrolled under sixty years of age; and generally that, once on the roll, they would continue there for their life. Enrolled (katalegesqw); only here in the New Testament or (in this sense) in the LXX; but it is the regular classical word for enrolling, enlisting, soldiers, etc. Hence our word "catalogue." In like manner, in the times of the Empress Helena, the virgins of the Church are described as ajnagegrammenav ejn tw thv ejkklhsiav kanoni (Socr., 1:17), "registered in the Church"s register," or list of virgins. Under three score years old. A similar rule was laid down in several early canons, which forbade the veiling of virgins before the age of forty. This care to prevent women from being entangled by vows or engagements which they had not well considered, or of which they did not know the full force, is in striking contrast with the system which allows young girls to make irrevocable vows. The participle gegonuia, "being," belongs to this clause (not as in the A.V to the following one), as Alford clearly shows, and as the R.V also indicates, by putting having been in italics; though it does not translate gegonuia in this clause, unless possibly the word "old" is considered as representing gegonuia. It should be, Let none be enrolled as widows, being under sixty years of age. The wife of one man; see above, 1Ti_3:2, the similar phrase, "the husband of one wife" (which likewise stands without any participle) and the note there. To which may be added that it is hardly conceivable that St. Paul should within the compass of a few verses (see ver. 14) recommend the marriage of young widows, and yet make the fact of a second marriage an absolute bar to a woman being enrolled among the Church widows.
Vers. 9, 10.
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Particular directions as to the class of widows commended to the Church"s sympathy and support.
These persons are variously regarded by commentators as simply destitute widows, or as deaconesses, or as presbyteresses. The most simple and natural explanation is that they belonged to the first class, for the directions here given apply to what the Church is to do for such widows, not what duty is required of them in the Church administration.
I THE ENROLMENT OF WIDOWS IN THE ALMONER"S LIST OF THE CHURCH. "Let none be enrolled as a widow under threescore years old.
1. The existence of such a list is implied in Act_6:1, where a murmuring is said to have arisen because "the widows were neglected in the dally ministration." There are also traces of such a list in the earlier Christian writers.
2. Such a class would be recruited from the ordinary vicissitudes of life, from the special persecutions that followed the gospel, and perhaps also from the separations from polygamous husbands brought about through the influence of Christianity.
II THE QUALIFICATIONS OF WIDOWS FOR A PLACE IN THE CHURCH"S LIST.
1. As to age. "Not under threescore years old." As this age marks a relatively greater degree of senility in the East than in the West, the widows must be regarded as of the infirm class, and therefore as not in any degree able for the active duties of limb. This one consideration inclines us to believe that they did not belong to the order of deaconesses or presbyteresses. If widows had been enrolled at a much earlier age, they must have become a serious burden for a great length of time upon the Church"s liberality. Therefore young widows were not to be enrolled at all.
2. As to her previous married life. "The wife of one man.
(1) This does not mean that she should not have been twice married, because
(a) the apostle counsels the younger women to marry again (ver. 14), and sanctions second marriages; (Rom_7:1)
(b) because the ascetic idea of married life, which some would associate with widows holding a certain ecclesiastical rank, received no sanction from the apostle.
(2) It does not mean that she should not have had several husbands at one time, for polyandry was quite unusual.
(3) It signifies that she should never have stood related but to one living husband; not divorced from one husband and then married to another a chaste and faithful spouse, true to her marriage vow.
3. As to her reputation for good works. "Well reported of in respect to good works." There must not only be no evil spoken of her, but she must have a reputation for good works. This reputation covers live facts of goodness.
(1) "If she hath brought up children." This would imply self-sacrifice, sympathy and zeal for youthful training. She would train her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, commanding them like Abraham to keep the way of the Lord, from which they would not so easily depart in after-life.
(2) "If she hath lodged strangers." She may have seen better days, and had frequent opportunities of showing hospitality to Christian travelers moving from place to place. The readiness to welcome strangers was most characteristic of the early Christians.
(3) "If she hath washed the saints" feet," in token, not only of conventional hospitality, but of deep humility after the highest of all examples.
(4) "If she hath relieved the afflicted." Not by mere gifts, but by matronly sympathy and encouragement, implying the visitation of the distressed in their homes.
(5) "If she hath diligently followed every good work." She must not have wearied in well-doing, but have followed that which was good with eagerness, constancy, and true fidelity to God and man. T.C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv9–12 9, 10. Let not a widow be taken. Into…
9, 10. Let not a widow be taken. Into the order of widows supported by the church and engaged in its work. Under threescore. None but the aged. Having been the wife of one man. Not having had more than one husband living at the same time, as was very common in those days of easy divorce.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v9 The Care of Widows on the Part of the…
The Care of Widows on the Part of the Congregation.
v. 9. Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,
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v. 10. well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
v. 11. But the younger widows refuse; for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;
v. 12. having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
v. 13. And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
v. 14. I will, therefore, that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
v. 15. For some are already turned aside after Satan.
v. 16. if any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged, that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.
Having given his definition of a widow that is in need and actually forsaken, he now proceeds to show in what manner the congregation should make arrangements for the support of the true widows: A widow should not be entered in the list (of dependents) unless she has reached the age of sixty, (having been) the wife of one man. It seems that the incident related in Act 6:1-15 caused the various Christian congregations to prepare a list of such widows as were entitled to the support of the congregation. It is with reference to this list that St. Paul makes the rule, placing the age of widows to be supported at sixty years, not less, this being the age at which they probably would no longer be able to support themselves. But Paul names also other requisites. First of all, she must have been the wife of one man, that is, her married life must have been unattended by any scandal; she must have been a faithful wife to the husband with whom she had been joined in wedlock.
But the apostle has also other conditions: Well-spoken of for good works, if she have brought up children, if she have been hospitable, if she have washed the feet of saints, if she have brought relief to distressed (people), if she have diligently followed every good work. St. Paul demanded that widows that were to be maintained at the expense of the congregation should be well reported, well-spoken of, have an excellent reputation so far as good works are concerned. He wanted the names of only such women in the lists as were generally known to be women of a good moral, of a strictly Christian character. Their sphere of activity was to be that of good works. The apostle offers some suggestions as to the manner in which an investigation as to the fitness of a candidate might be conducted. Did she bring up her children, if God granted her any, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Did she show a heart full of merciful love toward strangers? Was she willing to show hospitality to some poor sojourning Christian brother? Was she ready to show the saints that entered her home special acts of kindness and courtesy which custom demanded, which gave evidence of her unselfish humility? Was she ready to bring relief in word and deed to such as were in distress? Was it her constant endeavor to be of assistance in any case of trouble according to ability? Was she always zealous and interested in every good work? Did she, in other words, devote her entire life to the service of her neighbor, giving evidence of the faith of her heart in unselfish love? If these and similar points could be established by a tactful investigation, then such a widow might be enrolled in the list of the congregation, among those that were entitled to the support which was regularly given to such as were actually in need of help.
The apostle now describes another class of widows whom he very emphatically does not want to be included in the catalog of those that were entitled to maintenance: But the younger widows refuse; for if they feel the desire of the flesh over against Christ, they want to marry, having the condemnation that they have cast off their first faith. For denying the younger widows the right to be enrolled in the list of those that were supported by the congregation the apostle gives a simple reason. The younger women were still in possession of their full intellectual and bodily vigor, with all that this implies. As long as they were busy with their own support, there would be sufficient outlet for their superfluous energy, and they would not so easily be inclined to get into mischief. Should they receive their full support from the congregation, however, there would not be a convenient outlet for their natural rigor. Idleness would be apt to increase the impulse of their bodily desires, they would be in danger of seeking sensual satisfaction, of becoming addicted to dissipation and voluptuousness. This behavior, in turn, would place them in the strongest opposition to Christ. Even if they should then take the opportunity to get married and escape from the temptations to wickedness, the accusation would still stand that by means of the support received from the congregation they had taken the opportunity to become addicted to various vices. They would come under the judgment of condemnation that they had lost their faith by indulging in such sins of the flesh. Even marriage, in itself a holy state, would in their case only be the result of their having indulged in a life of ease which intensified the natural passions and made the gratification of their sex impulse the only reason for their entering it again.
But the apostle has still another reason for excluding younger widows from the support of the congregation: At the same time, on the other hand, being at leisure, they learn to run about from house to house, not only idle, however, but also garrulous and inquisitive, speaking things which they should not. With their maintenance assured, the younger widows might soon find time heavy on their hands. They would have too much leisure and at the same time too much energy. If they had devoted themselves to works of mercy, if they had spent the time at their disposal in growing in Christian knowledge, all might yet have been well. But the apostle’s experience had shown him that they employed their time in an altogether different manner. They gadded about from house to house, without definite aim and purpose. Their idleness in itself was bad enough under the circumstances, but they also became gossipers, tattlers, they killed time with empty talk; they pried into affairs which were not their business, they managed to worm out family secrets from unsuspecting matrons. Naturally they got into the habit of repeating things which should have remained secret, their garrulousness being unrestrained by common sense; in a word, they developed into first-class talebearers. The application of the words of the apostle to circumstances of our day is so obvious that every reader may easily add his own comment.
The apostle now proposes a remedy for such conditions: I ordain, then, that the younger (widows) marry, bear children, manage a household, in no way give occasion to an opponent in favor of railing; for already some are turned aside after Satan. In order to avoid offense both within and outside of the congregation, the apostle here establishes a rule which may well be followed more frequently also in our days. The danger, as experience has shown, being such as pictured by St. Paul, the remedy lies in this, that younger widows enter holy matrimony for the second time before there is any chance for offense. And since marriage, by the blessing of God, should naturally be fruitful, the bearing of children should follow as a matter of course. That marriage, in our days, is often regarded only as a silly, voluptuous game, in which the blessing of children is excluded from the outset, is a damnable perversion of God’s ordinance. The younger widows, having married again, would at any rate be engaged in managing their own households, in bringing up their children, and in taking care of the business end of the home. In the position of mother and mistress of a household a woman will best fulfill her calling in the world, will come nearest to meeting the ideal which the Bible praises. In this double office as mother and mistress of her household the woman, then, is so busily engaged that she has no time for gadding and for voluptuousness, and opponents will hardly find occasion for justified criticism and raillery which might throw a bad light on the Christian religion, on the faith and doctrine which the believers confess, upon which they pride themselves. The apostle’s apprehension in this respect was not without good foundation, since some widows had already gone wrong, they had yielded to temptation, had forgotten chastity and decency, had left the way of sanctification, had denied the faith.
At the close of this paragraph the apostle once more takes up the matter of the maintenance of the widows: If a man or a woman among the believers have widows (among his or her relatives), let him assist them; the congregation is not to be burdened with them, in order that those widows that are really in need may be served with help. It seems that the care of the widows in the congregations was a burning question in those days, making it necessary for St. Paul to pay so much attention to its solution. His summary is that no person related to a widow should be permitted to evade the duty resting upon him; everyone should see to it that such a lonely widow is taken care of, that she is given the support which she needs. The congregation as such should not be burdened with her support, except in case of absolute necessity. Note: The congregations of our day may yell learn to take care of their benevolences in a well-ordered manner, which includes tactful investigation of all such cases in which support seems to be demanded.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 11 be enrolled as a widow
be enrolled as a widow
There seems to have been a list, written or not, of widows. The church members met these women's needs for shelter, clothing, and food, and these women were expected to devote their lives to serving the Christian community.
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who is not younger than sixty
As Paul will explain in 1Ti 5:11-16, widows who were younger than 60 years old might get married again. Therefore the Christian community was to care only for widows who were older than 60. (See: Numbers)
a wife of one husband
Possible meanings are 1) she was always faithful to her husband or 2) she had not divorced her husband then married another man.
She must be known for good deeds
This can be stated in active form. AT: "People must be able to attest to her good deeds" (See: Active or Passive)
has been hospitable to strangers
"has welcomed strangers into her home"
has washed the feet of the saints
Washing the dirty feet of people who have been walking in the dirt and mud is one way of meeting other people's needs and making life more enjoyable for them. This probably means she did humble work in general. AT: "has done common work to help other believers" (See: Metonymy)
saints
Some versions translate this word as "the believers" or "God's holy people." The essential idea is to refer to Christian believers.
has relieved the afflicted
Here "the afflicted" is a nominal adjective that can be stated as an adjective. AT: "has helped those who are suffering" (See: Nominal Adjectives)
has been devoted to every good work
"has given herself to doing all kinds of good deeds"
translationWords
good
works
believe
afflicted
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9–11 5:9 at least sixty: Young widows required a different…
5:9 at least sixty: Young widows required a different approach (5:11-15). Young and old were customarily divided at around forty; elders would probably have been over fifty (see Titus 2:2). • was faithful to her husband (literally was the wife of one husband): The grammar is identical in 1 Tim 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.