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, Gen 38:6-11. The law that appoints these marriages is Deu 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.
A custom was prevalent in patriarchal times, Gen 38:1-30, and was afterwards confirmed by the Mosaic law, Deu 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, Rth 3:12,13 4:1-11 Mat 22:23-30 . The high-priest was forbidden to marry a widow, Lev 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, Exo 22:22-24 Deu 16:11 24:17,19 Psa 68:5 Isa 1:17 10:2 Jer 22:3 Mat 23:14 .\par The apostolic church was not negligent in providing for widows, Mal 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 .\par
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, Deu 14:29; Deu 126:12, in leasing, Deu 124:19-21, and in religious feasts. Deu 116:11; Deu 116:14.
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. Deu 125:5-6; Mat 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, Act 6:1-6. Particular directions are given by St.Paul as to the class of persons entitled to such public maintenance. 1Ti 5:3-16.
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. 1Ti 5:9-10.
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.
Cared for specially by the law, in the triennial tithes, etc. Deu 19:29; Deu 24:17; Deu 26:12; Deu 27:19; Exo 22:22; Job 24:3; Job 29:13; Isa 1:17; Mat 23:14. God is "judge of the widows" (Psa 68:5; Psa 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 (Luk 18:1-7). For pious widows, see Anna, and the one who gave her all to the Lord’s treasury (Luk 2:36-37; Luk 20:47; Luk 21:1-4).
(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 (Act 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; 1Co 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).
WIDOW (
1. Anna of the tribe of Asher (Luk 2:36-38), a devout woman described as a prophetess, who had been a widow eighty-four years, and who constantly frequented the Temple, passing her time in fastings and prayers, and who, coming up at the moment of the presentation of the infant Saviour, moved by the spirit of prophecy, spake of Him to those present who were expecting the redemption of Jerusalem. The Lewis MS of the Syriac Gospels says that Anna lived only seven days with her husband, an alteration not improbably made by some scribe with the object of reducing Anna’s age to a less unusual limit. See also art. Anna.
2. The widow of Sarepta or Zarephath, referred to by our Lord in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luk 4:25-26) as an instance of a Gentile who had entertained Elijah, and had received a blessing by his means. It has been suggested by A. Meyer (Jesu Muttersprache, iv. 8) that the word ‘widow’ here may have been ‘Gentile’ in some Aramaic original, ܐܪܡܢܬܐ (armaitha), the feminine of ‘Gentile’ or ‘Syrian ‘having been confused with ܐܪܡܠܬܐ (armalta), ‘a widow.’ If this were so, then our Lord’s reference to Naaman the Syrian would be balanced by a reference to ‘a woman who was a Syrian’ or ‘Gentile.’
3. The widow of Nain (Luk 7:11-17), a little town situated a few miles to the south of Mount Tabor in Galilee, to whom our Lord uttered His compassionate ‘Weep not’ just before restoring her only son to life. The people who witnessed the miracle exclaimed that a great prophet had risen up among them, probably with reference to Elijah or Elisha, the former of whom, like Christ, had raised a widow’s son.
4. The poor widow who cast her two mites into the treasury (Mar 12:41-44, Luk 21:1-4), whom Christ commended. It should not be forgotten in practical applications of this incident and of our Lord’s praise of the widow, that she cast in ‘all her living,’ that is to say, her day’s entire income, or ‘all that she had to live upon until more should be earned’ (Swete), and that consequently the phrase ‘widow’s mite’ is incorrectly applied to small sums deducted, and more or less easily spared, from a daily income.
In addition to these four widows, who were actual persons, a widow is a character in one of our Lord’s parables (Luk 18:1-8), who, having no power to enforce the justice she claims, obtains it at length by her importunity; and from this our Lord draws His a fortiori conclusion that God will hear and answer those who cry day and night unto Him. Further, widows are referred to by Christ (Mat 23:14 [omitted by Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 ], Mar 12:40, Luk 20:47) as being often cruelly oppressed and defrauded by the Pharisees of His day.
It may be regarded as certain that our Lord’s mother was a widow during the time of His ministry, hence His recommendation of her, just before His death, to the beloved disciple (Joh 19:26 f.).
The honourable and important position which widows occupied in the early Church is entirely in harmony with the respectful and sympathetic tone in which they are referred to in the above places of the Gospels.
In the Lewis MS of the Syriac Gospels the Syrophœnician woman (Mar 7:26) is described as a widow. This may be another instance of the possible confusion of ‘widow’ and ‘Gentile’ alluded to above.
Albert Bonus.
By: Executive Committee of the Editorial Board., Lewis N. Dembitz
Prerogatives of a Widow.
The law of Israel treats the widow as a privileged person, and seeks to indemnify her in some degree for the loss of her natural protector. Thus the movable property of a widow can not be attached for debt (Deut. xxiv. 17), whether she be rich or poor, though the text speaks only of her garment (see Execution). To meet the monition of Isaiah (i. 17), "Judge the fatherless, plead for the widow," it became the rule, in arranging the order of cases in a court, to take up the complaints of widows next after those of the fatherless (see Procedure in Civil Causes). The duty of judges to do full justice to the complaining widow is emphasized by the assertion that God Himself "doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow" (Deut. x. 18), and that "a father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation" (Ps. lxviii. 6). Widowhood "after marriage" gives to a daughter complete independence of her father; she becomes, in legal language, "an orphan during the father’s lifetime." This principle is thus broadly laid down (Ket. iv. 2): "After he has given her in marriage the father has no power over her," though it is different where the husband dies after betrothal, but before marriage.
Under the sacerdotal law (Lev. xxi. 14) a widowis not a suitable wife for the high priest, but she may marry an ordinary priest ("kohen hedyoṭ"). Yet, according to the Rabbis, where the latter has married a widow, and is thereafter appointed high priest, he may retain her as his wife (Yeb. 77a). Ezekiel (xliv. 22), in his scheme of a hierarchy, forbade to the ordinary priest marriage with a widow, unless her first husband had been a priest; but his scheme was never accepted as law.
Remarriage.
In marrying again, a widow naturally is not favored as highly as a maiden. The smallest jointure for the latter is 200 zuzim; for the former, only a mina, or 100 zuzim (Ket. i. 2). Marriage with a maiden is generally celebrated on Wednesday; with a widow, on Thursday (Ket. i. 1). The rights of the widow in the husband’s estate have, in the main, been set forth under Ketubah, and are secured by the contract. The question of priority in payment between the widow’s dues and the bond creditors of the husband, or between several widows of a polygamous husband, has been treated under Priority. In the opinion of R. Akiba, prevailing over that of R. Ṭarfon, there is no "marshaling of assets" from outstanding deposits or demands in favor of the widow or of creditors; but the heirs are allowed to collect them, or to take possession (Ket. ix. 2, 3). The reason given is that no one can collect a demand against the decedent’s estate without an oath (if such is required by the heirs) that he has not received it before, either in whole or in part.
Notwithstanding the difference between the customs of Jerusalem and Galilee on the one hand, and of Judea on the other, mentioned in Ket. iv. 12, the rule was recognized at an early day that the widow may dwell in her late husband’s house, and receive her support from his estate, as long as she remains his widow and until she judicially demands payment of her dowry and jointure, or accepts such payment (see Bertinoro ad loc.).
The husband can not, at the time of entering upon the contract, confine the wife to any one fund out of which she may as a widow collect her ketubah; nor can he say to her, "Here, laid out on this table, is thy [due under the] ketubah"; for the whole of his estate is bound for it, including what he acquires by inheritance from his brothers after marriage.
As Executrix.
Where the widow is, under the husband’s appointment, guardian of his infant children, an oath can be demanded by the heirs as to her management, unless the husband has in writing freed her from rendering such an oath (Ket. ix. 5); but if from her husband’s grave she goes back to her father’s house, or to the house of her father-in-law, and is not appointed guardian afterward, she owes an oath only as to the future, not as to her previous receipts (Ket. ix. 6). A widow who lessens her ketubah (i.e., collects a part thereof) can not thereafter demand further payments, except upon an oath as to the amount received; she must take the oath, also, if one witness testifies that she has been paid. So where land, sold or encumbered to third parties, is needed to satisfy the ketubah, the oath required in all these cases is taken in the most solemn form (Ket. ix. 7, 8).
Where the widow claims support from the estate in the hands of the heirs, her earnings belong to them. The husband’s heirs are not bound for the expenses of her burial; these fall upon those who inherit her ketubah (Ket. xi. 1).
The widow, even if the husband died after betrothal, but before marriage, may, without the aid of a court, sell enough of his landed estate to satisfy her ketubah; and if the proceeds of the first sale are not sufficient, she may sell more until the full amount is realized. She may do the same thing to secure her support, if that is not given her. But this method of self-help seems not to have been practised in later times (Shulḥan ’Aruk, Eben ha-’Ezer, 96, 5). However, if she sells lands [that have a known value?] for less than their value, her sale is void; for in doing so she exceeds her powers, though the sale would hold good if it had been made under a decree of court (Ket. xi. 4, 5, where some dissenting views are recorded).
WIDOW.—Widows from their poverty and unprotectedness, are regarded in OT as under the special guardianship of God (Psa 68:6; Psa 146:9, Pro 15:25, Deu 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; Job 31:16, Isa 1:17, Jer 7:6-7; Jer 22:3-4); while neglect of, cruelty or injustice towards them were considered marks of wickedness meriting punishment from God (Job 22:9-10; Job 24:20-21, Psa 94:6, Isa 1:23; Isa 10:2, Zec 7:10; Zec 7:14, Mal 3:5). The Book of Deut. is especially rich in such counsels, insisting that widows be granted full justice (Deu 24:17; Deu 27:19), that they be received as guests at sacrificial meals (Deu 14:29, Deu 16:11; Deu 16:14, Deu 26:12 f.), and that they be suffered to glean unmolested in field, oliveyard, and vineyard (Deu 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 Act 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; 1Ti 5:8; 1Ti 5:15), 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) (1Ti 5:3; 1Ti 5:5; 1Ti 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.
I. Canonical prescriptions concerning widows in the Old Testament refer mainly to the question of remarriage. If a man died without children, his widow was obliged to marry her deceased husband’s brother, and if the latter refused to take her to wife he was put to shame before the people (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). The high- priest was forbidden to marry a widow (Leviticus 21:14), but other members of the priesthood were at liberty to take to wife the widow of another priest, but not the widow of a layman (Ezekiel 44:22). Outside of these prescriptions, there is no law in the Old Testament restricting a widow’s remarriage. The support of widows was commended to the charity of the Israelites, and they were to have the gleanings of the cornfields, olive trees, and vineyards (Deuteronomy 24:19-22). In the third year of tithes (or the great tithe) widows were to have their share of the offering (Deuteronomy 26:12), and at the three principal solemnities of the year they were to be invited to feast with the nearest house-holder (Deuteronomy 16:11). In the times of the Machabees money was deposited and provisions were kept in the Temple at Jerusalem for the subsistence of widows (2 Maccabees 3:10), and the spoils of battle were also shared with them (2 Maccabees 8:28). For their protection, there was a prohibition against taking their garments in pawn (Deuteronomy 24:17). In the Book of Job the taking away of a widow’s ox for a pledge is considered a wicked action (xxiv,3), from which commentators generally gather that the law of Deuteronomy was later extended to all a widow’s possessions. Besides legal prescriptions for the protection of widows, the Old Testament contains many general precepts commending them to the reverence and benevolence of the chosen people and bitter denunciations of their oppressors and defrauders. The lot of the widow in Old Testament times was generally a hard one, and Christ refers to the widow’s mite as an offering from the poorest of the poor (Mark 12:44). He also strongly denounces the Pharisees: "because you devour the houses of widows" (Matthew 23:14). Under the Old Dispensation some widows devoted themselves to a life of special religious observance, as is recorded of Anna the Prophetess, "who departed not from the temple by fastings and prayers serving night and day" (Luke ii, 37).II. In primitive Christian times the support of widows was made a special duty by the Apostles, who collected alms for them and gave care of them to the deacons (Acts 6:1). This support of needy widows has always been considered a particular charge of the ministers of the Christian Church and many decrees of popes and councils make mention of it as specially incumbent on bishops, parish priests, and holders of benefices. In Apostolic times widows were employed in certain capacities in the ministry of the Church, directing that one to be chosen must be "of no less than threescore years of age, who hath been the wife of one husband. Having testimony for her good works", and some see in this reference to the order of deaconess, while others do not. Shortly after, however, the office of deaconess was referred to as "widowhood" (St. Ignat., "Ep. ad Smyrn.", viii, 1). As to the remarriage of widows in the Christian Church, though St. Paul declares that widowhood is preferable to the married state (1 Corinthians 7:8), yet he does not forbid remarriage (loc. cit., 39). Second nuptials are valid by ecclesiastical law if the first marriage bond has been really dissolved and if there is no canonical impediment, as is the case for clerics in major orders in the Oriental rites. In the mind of the Church, however, second nuptials are less honourable than a first marriage (Conc. Aneur., c. 19; Conc, Laodic., c. 1), and the state of widowhood is more commendable (Conc. Trid., sess. xxiv, de matr., can. 10) as a more perfect good. (See WOMAN.)----------------------------------- THOMASSIN, Vet. et noval disciplina (Paris, 1688); WERNZ, Jus decret., IV (Rome, 1904). WILLIAM H.W. FANNING Transcribed by Lives of Widows Dedicated to Maxine M. Strouts The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XVCopyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
The word is first mentioned in the New Testament in Act 6:1: “There arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.” Paul charges that they be particularly cared for, especially those that are “widows indeed,” i.e. poor, without support and old (1Ti 5:2-16). Some try to find proof in this passage of that ecclesiastical order of widows mentioned in post-apostolic writings. See LITERATURE, SUB-APOSTOLIC; WOMAN, IV, 5.
Lam 1:1 (b) By this we understand the condition of Jerusalem and Israel who had turned their backs on GOD (the husband), and sought other lovers, idolatrous nations, upon whom they lavished their gifts and affections.
Rev 18:7 (b) This is Babylon. It is a term which is used to describe the great unrighteous religious world, which boasts that she has sufficient prosperity and power to take care of herself. Because of this she denies that she is like a widow, who has no support, no one to love her, nor care for her. She really lives independent of GOD.
In Bible times widows usually found life difficult, partly because they were defenceless against people able to take advantage of them. Without anyone to support and protect them, many widows became lonely and poor. The law of Moses recognized that widows needed special protection against social injustice (Exo 2:22; Deu 24:17; Jer 7:5-7; Mar 12:40-44; Luk 18:1-5).
Throughout the Bible God shows a special concern for widows and he expects people in general to have similar concern (Deu 10:18; Deu 14:29; Deu 24:19; Psa 68:5; Psa 146:9; Pro 15:25; Isa 1:17; Jas 1:27). Christians in the Jerusalem church showed such concern when they organized a daily distribution of food to the widows among them (Act 6:1-3). Later, other churches followed their example, though some families abused the system by using the church’s welfare program as a way of avoiding their responsibilities. Paul therefore suggested that the church support only those widows who were over sixty years of age and who had no other means of support. Widows in Christian families were to be supported by those families (1Ti 5:3-16).
Paul reminded Christians that a widow in the church was free to remarry, provided she married another Christian and provided the circumstances were favourable (Rom 7:2-3; 1Co 7:26-27; 1Co 7:39-40). In the case of younger widows, he advised in favour of remarriage (1Ti 5:11-15).
A custom in Old Testament times was that when a man died having no children, his brother had the duty of producing a son through the widow. Legally this child was considered to be the son of the dead man and so carried on his family name and inheritance. If the living brother refused to do his duty, he was publicly disgraced for allowing his brother’s family name to die out (Gen 38:8-10; Deu 25:5-10; Rth 1:1-14; Ruth 3; Rth 4:1-12; Mat 22:24).
A woman whose husband has died. The Scriptures often list widows with the fatherless and orphans (Deuteronomy 14:29; 16:11; 24:19–20; 26:12; Psalm 94:6). There were laws to make special provision for this group. The laws protected them against people who tried to mistreat them. The primary law had to do with levirate marriage. This meant that the closest relative would marry the widow if she had no son. This was so the family line could continue (see discussion under Marriage).
Widows in Israel
Many Old Testament laws recognized the difficulties of the widow. God designed these laws to protect and ensure the survival of the widow. God was her legal protector (Psalm 68:5). He made sure she had the essentials of food and clothing (Deuteronomy 10:18). God pronounced a curse on those who denied her justice (27:19). At harvest-time, the widow could glean the grain in the fields. She was also allowed some grapes and olives (Deuteronomy 24:19; Ruth 2:2, 7, 15–19). The law also qualified her to receive some help from the third-year tithe. Yet, widows were often poor and given cruel treatment. Frequent references in the Bible attest to this widespread abuse (Job 24:21; Psalm 94:6; Isaiah 1:23; Malachi 3:5). A special law ordered that the garment of a widow could not become security for a loan (Deuteronomy 24:17).
Widows in the Early Church
In the early Christian church there was a recognized group of widows. The church qualified them to receive charity. There were several requirements that qualified them. These women need to be at least 60 years of age. They must have been a faithful wife. The church also required that they be poor with no relatives to support them. The church required them to be blameless and devoted to Christian good works (1 Timothy 5:9–16).
See also Family Life and Relations; Marriage.
Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.