1 Timothy 5:9

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.

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.

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.

Vers. 9, 10. Very few parts of this epistle have given rise to greater diversity of opinion than the instruction contained in these verses; and from the scantiness of our information respecting the domestic economy of the churches in the earliest times, it may be difficult to present a view of the passage which shall appear free from all appearance of strangeness or uncertainty. It is the more important, however, that we adhere strictly to the natural meaning of the words, and refrain from attempting, as has too often been done, to impose on them a sense derived from what belonged, or is supposed to have belonged, to a much later period. Let a widow be enrolled—so the verb καταλέγειν properly signifies: put on the list or register. The question is, what list? and for what specific purpose were names inserted in it? Was the list simply a catalogue of those who were formally recognised as widows of the church, and, as such, were held entitled to special oversight and support? Or was it as widows qualified and admitted to a kind of official position and service in the church?

These questions have been differently answered; and not a few, judging chiefly from the specifications afterwards given by the apostle as to age and character, have supposed that the list in question was composed of persons designated to a place of honour and responsibility—either that of deaconesses, or of trusted female ministrants, who were charged with much the same kind of oversight in respect to children and the members of their own sex, that was exercised by the elders over other portions of the community. This view has been held in its stronger form by the opponents of the genuineness of the epistle (Schleiermacher, De Wette, Baur, etc.), who would find here a class of female ecclesiastics of whom some partial and obscure notices occur in the third and fourth centuries, (Tertullian, de Vel. Virg. c. 9: “Ad quam sedem [viduarum] praeter annos LX. non tantum univirae, i.e. nuptae aliquando, eliguntur, sed et matres et quidem educatores filiorum.” Laodic. Concil. can. xi.: “Mulieres quae apud Graecos presbyterae appellantur, apud nos autem viduae seniores, univirae, et matriculariae nominantur, in ecclesia tanquam ordinatos constitui non debere.” Epiphanius, adv. Haer. L. iii. c. 79, § 4.: Παρατηρητίον δέ, ἄρχι διακονισσῶν τὸ ἐκκλησιαστικὸν ἐπεδεήθη τάγμα, χήρας τε ὠνόμαζε, καὶ τούτων τὰς γραοτέρας πρεσβύτιδας,—spoken, however, simply of deaconesses, some of whom were sometimes called widows, whether they really were such or not. Chrysostom, vol. iii. p. 273, Paris, ed. Gaume, speaks of there being anciently bands of widows, χηρῶν χοροί, as latterly of virgins; but he says nothing of consecration to office, or official work in the church.) but a class (the writers conceive) of too artificial a nature and too much associated with ascetic notions of excellence to have had a place in the apostolic church. There are others who reject the idea in this form, yet so far adopt it, that they regard the widows spoken of by the apostle as even in his time formed into a kind of distinct order, with the view of performing certain ministrations for the good of the church; so, for example, Mosheim, Wieseler, Conybeare and Howson, Huther, Alford, Ellicott. We may take as a specimen of this mode of representation the note of Conybeare and Howson, one of the most temperate of its kind: “We suppose that the list here mentioned was that of all the widows who were officially recognised as supported by the church; but was not confined to such persons, but included also richer widows, who were willing to devote themselves to the offices assigned to the proper widows. It has been argued that we cannot suppose that needy widows who did not satisfy the conditions of 1Ti 5:9 would be excluded from the benefit of the fund; nor need we suppose this. But since all could scarcely be supported, certain conditions were prescribed which must be satisfied before any one could be considered as officially entitled to a place on the hst. From the class of widows thus formed the subsequent order of widows (τάγμα χηρῶν) would naturally result.”

It is guardedly put, and yet in one leading point it seems to go beyond what there is any distinct warrant for in the passage itself; namely, in its speaking of “the offices assigned to the proper widows.” Of such offices the text makes no mention; and the existence of them can only be regarded as matter of more or less probable presumption and inference, from the conditions attached to the reception of individuals into the widow list. Yet a conclusion drawn from such premises must obviously be very uncertain, especially if the requisite characteristics be only such as respectable elderly females in a Christian community might be expected generally to possess. For, in that case, why might they not have been prescribed as a necessary safeguard against the abuse of the church’s benefactions?—a security that those whom it sought to embrace and cherish as its peculiar charge from the Lord, were really worthy of the honour? And nothing more than this apparently is either indicated in the apostle’s language, or needed to explicate its meaning. It is certain, first of all, that here, and in all he says respecting widows, such as he calls widows indeed, it is simply what the church is called to do for them, not anything it might exact of them, that he brings formally into notice: they are contemplated throughout as the fitting objects or recipients of a special kind of beneficent treatment from the religious community. It is certain, also, that from the commencement of the church, and pre-eminently in that mother church which in such things crave the tone and impulse to the other churches, widows merely as such were brought prominently into view; and that not only was adequate provision made for the relief of their necessities, but a special class of officers also appointed to see that the provision was properly administered: so far from being required to do anything like deacon work, they were themselves the subjects in whose behalf such work was called into operation. Further, it is undoubted that all the earlier commentators understood the apostle’s description of widows merely as the almswomen of the church (Chrysostom, Jerome, Theodoret, Œc., and Theophylact): the conditions specified for enrolment were viewed by them merely as the traits of character which qualified those who possessed them for being the accredited pensioners of the church’s bounty. And in a matter of this sort, which touches upon the general sense and usage of the church, the concurrent testimony of those ancient expositors is entitled to the greatest weight, and is far more than sufficient to counterbalance some obscure allusions or stray usages appearing in particular localities. Finally, the age at which the enrolment of widows was to be made—not under sixty, a period of life in such a district as Asia Minor relatively much higher than in our cooler and healthier climate—confirms the supposition that, as a rule, no active labour was expected of them. They were already of the aged and infirm class; and if they were expected to serve the interests of the church, it must have been chiefly by the more contemplative and quiet exercises of piety—“by supplications and prayers night and day.” These were, no doubt, important services, and are the only ones in the least hinted at by the apostle; but they were such as belonged to the private sphere of the Christian life, and required no ecclesiastical consecration or official standing to authorize and sanction them. (Such, also, was the view taken by Neander: “Since Paul only distinguished them (i.e. the widows in question) as persons supported by the church, without mentioning any active service as devolving on them; since he represents them as persons who, as suited their age and condition, were removed from all occupation with earthly concerns, and dedicated their few remaining days to devotion and prayer; and since, on the contrary, the office of deaconess certainly involved much active employment, we have no ground whatever for finding in this passage deaconesses, or females out of whose number deaconesses were chosen.”—Planting of Christian Church, B. iii. c. 5.) In short, from the whole tenor of the apostle’s description, viewed in connection with what is known of the circumstances of the time, there seems no reason for supposing any other class of persons to have been meant under the designation of enrolled widows, than those commonly known by the name of widows; yet only such of that class as from their advanced age and approved character were deemed worthy of the church’s affectionate care and support. After the lapse of some centuries, notices occur of a particular dress, and a separate place in the church, being assigned to such widows; but Scripture and the earlier church records know nothing of this, nor of any specific work of a diaconal or presbyteral kind, having been by the church generally required of them. Younger widows, we have good grounds for believing, were not unfrequently accepted to the office of deaconess; but there is no proper evidence whatever to show that such widows as those here mentioned by the apostle were invested with any sort of office, or were called to do anything but such pious and free-will service as their own hearts might prompt, and their limited opportunities might enable them to perform. (In this I state merely the general result, and consider it unnecessary to examine the few passages in detail which are relied on by those who hold another view, but which are far too vague and general for their purpose.)

In regard now to the particular qualifications indicated by the apostle for the widows who were to be put on the list, it is to be borne in mind that, while the persons possessing them were alone to have the full recognition and enjoyment of what was due to the church’s almswomen, there is nothing in his instructions to warrant the supposition that widows who in some respects fell short of them might not be admitted to occasional relief, and receive all proper ministrations of kindness. Such, for example, as were comparatively young—far from having reached the age of sixty—might for a time require very great sympathy and liberal support; but it would have been a misfortune, rather than a benefit for them, if an apostolic injunction had been issued, giving them something like an abiding claim on the church’s beneficence, and entitling them henceforth to rank among its objects of charity. That would have only served to paralyze personal exertion, and relax the ties of family relationships. The regular widow list—the list of such as were really desolate, infirm, and helpless—was wisely associated with a comparatively advanced age.—As to the construction, the γεγονυῖα should undoubtedly be connected with what precedes: who is, or has become, not less than sixty years old; comp. Luk 2:42. Our translators, after Jerome, Luther, Calvin, etc., joined it with what follows.

Wife of one man. The proper determination of the term widow, as here used by the apostle, may be said to carry along with it a corresponding explanation also of this expression—to establish for it a freer, in opposition to the more stringent, sense sometimes put on it. For nearly all the arguments and authorities which are adduced in favour of its being understood of absolute monogamy, proceed on the supposition that the class of persons referred to were not simply widows of advanced age, but of ecclesiastical rank, invested with a measure of sacerdotal dignity, and hence called to a somewhat peculiar sanctity. We have already seen that this notion rests on no solid ground, that the persons in question were merely the desolate and helpless widows whom God’s providence had thrown on the bounty of the faithful—the aged almswomen of the church. And of such persons, surely the whole that could justly be required, either by the dictates of reason or by the great principles of Scripture on the subject of marriage, was that they should be chargeable with no indecency in their married life, and never stood related to but one living husband. This much was necessary to their occupying the position of exemplary widows; but one cannot say more, whether the matter is viewed with respect to the law of God or to the known usages of society. The correct sense, therefore, I believe to be that given by Theodoret: (Καὶ ἐντεῦθεν δῆλον, ὡς οὐ τὴν διγαμίαν ἐκβαλλει, ἀλλὰ τὸ σωφρόνως ἐν γάμῳ βιοῦν νομοθετεῖ. Οὐ γὰρ ἄνω τὸν δεύτερπον γάμον νομοθετήσας σωματικῆς ἀπολαῦσαι θεραπείας ἐκωλυσε τὴν δευτέροις ὁμιλήσασειν γάμοις, ὅς γε τὸ ἀγαθὸν ποιεῖν πρὸς πάντας διαγορεύει.) “It is hence manifest that he (the apostle) does not reject second marriages, but ordains that they live chastely in matrimony; for, having before established the lawfulness of a second marriage, he did not prohibit her that had entered into a second marriage from enjoying her bodily nurture—he, namely, who clearly exhibits what is good for all.” And Chrysostom, though, from a misapprehension as to the position and duties of those designated widows, he supposed the expression before us intended to exclude second marriages of any kind, yet did so only on the ground of affording leisure for increased spiritual activity: (Διὰ τί γἀρ, εἰπέ μοι, δευτέρος οὐχ ὁμιλῆσαι γάμοις προτρέπει; Ἅρα κατέγων τοῦ πράγματος; Οὐδαμῶς· τοῦτο γὰρ αἱρετικῶν· ἀλλʼ ἀπησχολῆσθαι βουλόμενος λοιπὸν αυʼτὴν ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀρετὴν μεταταξασθαι· οὐ γὰρ ἀκαθαρσίας ἀλλὰ ἀσχολίας ὁ γάμος.) “Why, I ask, does he not permit second marriages to be contracted? Is it because he disapproved of the thing? By no means. For to do that was the part of heretics; but that the widow might be able to devote herself to spiritual things, and be occupied with virtue: for it is not impurity, but want of leisure, which marriage brings along with it.”

It is needless to go into any detailed proof on the subject; for what is said here in respect to widows is but another aspect of the same question which has already been discussed at some length in respect to ministers at 1Ti 3:2, and much of the proof which was advanced there is à fortiori applicable here. A considerable show of proof for the opposite view can no doubt be produced, and has been produced, in particular by Vitringa (Synag. Vet. L. iii. P. i. c. 4), and others who have followed in the same line. But the passages chiefly relied on are greatly more numerous than cogent. One large class of them—the one most directly bearing on the point—originated in the heretical asceticism of the second century, and owes its ecclesiastical form and prevalence mainly to the vigorous Montanism of Tertullian. All passages of that class should be put entirely aside. Then the rest, being those which celebrate the superior merit of women who were univirae, and as such were alone deemed fit for performing certain rites in the Cerealia,—passages chiefly relating to earlier Roman feeling and usage,—have respect to an essentially different sphere from that which concerns the constitution and government of the church of Christ. They relate partly to the conscious worth, sometimes proud self-assertion, of Roman matrons, grounding itself on the strength and constancy of attachment to a loved and honoured spouse, and partly to the conviction of special honour and felicity belonging to such as had enjoyed an unbroken conjugal relationship. As more peculiarly favoured by the gods, ceremonies performed by these were naturally supposed to be more acceptably and auspiciously done than by others. But for the time and region in connection with which the apostle here wrote,—for the class of persons in respect to whom he wrote, and the interests he had more immediately in view,—for all this there is no proof that can justly be said to bear upon the point at issue; none, that is, tending to show that second marriages by women were per se, and apart from anything illegal and indecent in the mode of contracting them, deemed so questionable in their relation to female honour and virtue, as to debar the persons who contracted them from a title, in their old age, to the respect, and sympathy, and beneficence of the better portion of society. In the absence of all proof of this description, and on the great principle set forth by the apostle himself here and in other parts of his writings, we hold that the specification, wife of one man, should be taken as expressive simply of a chaste and faithful spouse—one true to her marriage vow while the person to whom it was made lived, whether that vow might be taken once merely, or again.

The other qualifications are: well reported of in respect to good works, if she brought up children, if she entertained strangers, if she washed the feet of saints, if she relieved the distressed, if she followed after every good work. The things mentioned call for no particular explanation or defence; they are the prominent characteristics of an exemplary Christian matron, partly under the distinctive forms suited to those ancient times, but in spirit applicable to all times. The verbs are all in the indefinite past—implying if at any time a widow has so acted—if her past conduct has been of such a kind! The bringing up of children must refer to the members of her own family, and, of course, could only be intended as a qualification in the cases where such a family existed—not excluding those who might in all other respects have maintained the most blameless deportment, but wanted the opportunity of proving themselves to be good nurses and trainers of children. Viewed generally, the things required of those who in old age and dependent circumstances were to receive the esteem and support of the church, were such as gave evidence of a faithful, kindly, maternal disposition amid the ordinary duties of domestic life.

Patrick Fairbairn — An Exposition of Ezekiel (1851), Jonah (1849), and The Pastoral Epistles (1874) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

1Ti 5:9. Καταλεγέσθα) let not a widow be taken into the number.—μὴ ἔλαττον ἐτῶν ἑξήκοντα) The genitive here does not depend on the comparative, for in that case it would have been written ἔλαττων,[40] but on ΧΉΡΑ; ἜΛΑΤΤΟΝ (for ΚΑΤᾺ ἜΛΑΤΤΟΝ, as Lat. summum, minimum, for ad summum, ad minimum, at most, at least) is used adverbially. So Plato, τάλαντα οὐκ ἔλαττον ἑκατόν (at least a hundred talents; literally, a hundred talents—not less).—ἐτῶν ἑξήκοντα, of sixty years) The antithesis is in 1Ti 5:11. Even virgins of this age might be reckoned among widows. But the apostle would by no means praise those who would thrust their younger daughters into monasteries, where they may remain from their youth up to their death.—ἑνὸς, of one) i.e. who has been lawfully married, or has had one husband, or one and afterwards a second.

[40] A widow having attained the age of sixty years—not less.—ED.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ti_5:9 ff. From this point the apostle takes up a special class of widows, viz. those who had been placed by the church on a formal list, and who accordingly possessed a certain position of honour in the church. From 1Ti_5:16 it is to be inferred that it was the duty of the church to care for them so long as they lived, while from 1Ti_5:10 it appears that they had to perform for the church certain labours of love suited to them. The various views regarding them have already been given in the Introduction, § 5; each has its special difficulties. Still Mosheims view is the most probable,[176] only what the apostle says of these widows does not justify us in transplanting into the apostolic age the ecclesiastical institution of the χῆραι (πρεσβύτεραι, πρεσβύτιδες) in the same form as it had at a later date. We have here only the tendencies from which the institution was gradually developed. Though the apostle takes it for granted that the church takes care of these widows, we cannot conclude that, as the older expositors assume,[177] he means by the ΚΑΤΑΛΕΓΈΣΘΩ their reception into the number of the widows to be supported by the church. Poor widows, like poor persons generally, would surely be supported by the church without being placed in the special class of the ΧῆΡΑΙ here meant.1Ti_5:9-10. ΧΉΡΑ ΚΑΤΑΛΕΓΈΣΘΩ] ΚΑΤΑΛΈΓΕΙΝ (ἍΠ. ΛΕΓ. in N. T.), properly select, then place upon a list, used especially of the citizens chosen for service in war; comp. Aristophanes, Acharn. 1629, Lysist. 14. 6. χήρα is not the subject, but the predicate; Winer, p. 549 [E. T. p. 738]: as widow let her be registered (enrolled) who is not under sixty (so, too, Wiesinger, Hofmann). The common translation is: let a widow be chosen (so de Wette, van Oosterzee, Plitt.).

μὴ ἔλαττον ἐτῶν ἑξήκοντα γεγονυῖα] Leo and some others connect ΓΕΓΟΝΥῖΑ with what follows (Vulgate: quae fuerit unius viri uxor; so Luther). A comparison with 1Ti_3:2 shows that this is incorrect; besides, the construction itself demands the connection with what precedes. The genitive does not depend on ΓΕΓΟΝΥῖΑ (as Luk_2:42 : ὍΤΙ ἘΓΈΝΕΤΟ ἘΤῶΝ ΔΏΔΕΚΑ), but on ἜΛΑΤΤΟΝ, and is equivalent to Ἢ ἜΤΗ ἙΞΉΚΟΝΤΑ (comp. Demosthenes, in Timocrat. p. 481: γέγονα οὐκ ἔλαττον ἢ τριάκοντα ἔτη).

ἙΝῸς ἈΝΔΡῸς ΓΥΝΉ, after the explanation given at 1Ti_3:2 of the corresponding expression: ΜΙᾶς ΓΥΝΑΙΚῸς ἈΝΉΡ, denotes the widow who has lived in sexual intercourse with no one but her lawfully wedded husband.

ἘΝ ἜΡΓΟΙς ΚΑΛΟῖς ΜΑΡΤΥΡΟΥΜΈΝΗ] ΜΑΡΤΥΡΕῖΝ in the N. T. has often the meaning: give one a good testimony; hence the passive is: possess a good testimony (μαρτυρίαν καλὴν ἔχειν, 1Ti_3:7). ἘΝ here (as elsewhere in connection with verbs of similar meaning, see Wahl, s.v. ἐν Η. α.) gives the ground (of the good testimony); comp. Heb_11:2, for which in Heb_11:39 we have ΔΙΆ.

The ἜΡΓΑ ΚΑΛΆ (comp. 1Ti_5:25; 1Ti_6:18, and other passages in the Pastoral Epistles) are not only works of benevolence, although to these chief attention is directed, but generally good works.

εἰ ἐτεκνοτρόφησεν] εἰ cannot be joined immediately with ΚΑΤΑΛΕΓΈΣΘΩ, since the sense forbids us to consider this and the following clauses as co-ordinate with what precedes. It is rather attached to the ἘΝ ἜΡΓ. ΚΑΛ. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΟΥΜΈΝΗ, not, however, in such a way (as Heydenreich thinks) as to stand for ὍΤΕ (which is also not the case in Act_26:22-23), but in such a way as to distribute the preceding idea into its single parts, and connect them with it in free fashion, if namely. Luther: and who has a testimony of good works, as she has brought up children.

On ἐτεκνοτρόφησεν (ἅπ. λεγ.) Theodoret remarks: Οὐ ΘΡΈΨΑΙ ΜΌΝΟΝ ἈΠΑΙΤΕῖ, ἈΛΛᾺ ΚΑῚ ΤῸ ΕὐΣΕΒῶς ΘΡΈΨΑΙ. Wrong; the verb, not rear (van Oosterzee), but nurse (Luther), refers to the attention of love, as do the verbs that follow; compare Act_22:3 : ἈΝΑΤΕΘΡΑΜΜΈΝΟς distinguished from ΠΕΠΑΙΔΕΥΜΈΝΟς. There is no reason for thinking here of strange children, since it may rightly be called a ΚΑΛῸΝ ἜΡΓΟΝ, if a mother does not entrust the rearing of her children to others, but takes care of them herself (in opposition to Leo and Wiesinger); the apostle is not thinking of the distinction between strange children and ones own. Heydenreich, de Wette, and others think that Paul bases this exhortation on the ground that the ΤΕΚΝΟΤΡΟΦΊΑ was part of the official duties of a ΧΉΡΑ, and that she must have practised them before; but they are wrong, because in that case we could not but consider the ΞΕΝΟΔΟΧΕῖΝ Κ.Τ.Λ. as also the special duties of such widows.

ΕἸ ἘΞΕΝΟΔΌΧΗΣΕΝ] comp. 1Ti_3:2; Tit_1:8 (ΦΙΛΌΞΕΝΟς); Rom_12:13; Heb_13:2. The word ΞΕΝΟΔΟΧΕῖΝ (Euripides, Alc. 555) is in the N. T. ἅπαξ ΛΕΓ.

ΕἸ ἉΓΊΩΝ ΠΌΔΑς ἜΝΙΨΕΝ] comp. Joh_13:5 ff.; also Luk_7:44. Wahl: pedum lotio (apud Judaeos) opus erat servile eademque apud eos in primis humanitatis officiis hospiti praestandis ponebatur. The feet-washing is meant literally, and not merely as a symbolic expression for the manifestations of self-denying love (first ed.); although Paul might at the same time be thinking of other services of lowly love. Theophylact: ΕἸ ΤᾺς ἘΣΧΆΤΑς ὙΠΗΡΕΣΊΑς ΤΟῖς ἉΓΊΟΙς ἈΝΕΠΑΙΣΧΎΝΤΩς ἘΞΕΤΈΛΕΣΕ.

The ἍΓΙΟΙ are not merely the ΞΈΝΟΙ (in opposition to Wiesinger), but the Christians in general who came into the house as guests.

ΕἸ ΘΛΙΒΟΜΈΝΟΙς ἘΠΉΡΚΕΣΕΝ] Bengel arbitrarily limits the meaning of ΘΛΙΒΌΜΕΝΟΙ, wishing to interpret it only of the poor; it is to be taken more generally as equivalent to those in distress. Ἐπαρκεῖν in the N. T. only here and at 1Ti_5:16.

After naming several works of love in detail, the apostle adds more generally, in order to exhaust the ἘΝ ἘΡΓ. ΚΑΛ. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΕῖΣΘΑΙ: ΕἸ ΠΑΝΤῚ ἜΡΓῼ ἈΓΑΘῷ ἘΠΗΚΟΛΟΎΘΗΣΕ.[178] Hence we must not here think of works of benevolence only, but take πᾶν ἔργον in its entire meaning.

ἘΠΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΕῖΝ (in the N. T. only here at 1Ti_5:24, at Mar_16:20, where it is absolute, and at 1Pe_2:21, where it is joined with ΤΟῖς ἼΧΝΕΣΙ) is mostly referred to persons; but we cannot therefore, with Schleiermacher, supply here ΑὐΤΟῖς, i.e. θλιβομένοις.[179] It stands here in the same sense as ΔΙΏΚΕΙΝ, 1Ti_6:11; 1Th_5:15; Heb_12:14. Luther: who has followed every good work.[180]

[176] With his view de Wette and Wiesinger agree; also Hofmann in substance. Even van Oosterzee refers us to Mosheim; but he wrongly identifies the widows here mentioned with the deaconesses, whereas Mosheim clearly distinguishes between them.

[177] Chrysostom in his commentary explains this passage as meaning, receiving in order to care for. In his Hom. 31, in div. N. T. loc., however, he interprets it of receiving into an ecclesiastical office, saying: καθάπερ εἰσὶ παρθένων χοροὶ, οὕτω καὶ χηρῶν τὸ παλαιὸν ἦσαν χοροὶ, καὶ οὐκ ἐξῆν αὐταῖς ἁπλῶς εἰς τὰς χήρας ἐγγράφεσθαι.

[178] This Hofmann wrongly disputes, wishing to lay the emphasis not on παντὶ ἔργ. ἀγαθ., but on ἐπηκολούθησε: if there was any good to be done, she was to follow after it with all diligence, she was to make it her business.

[179] Bengel gives a peculiar reference to the word, which cannot be justified, saying: antistitum et virorum est bonis operibus praeire Tit_3:8; Tit_3:14, mulierum, subsequi, adjuvando pro sua parte.

[180] Hofmann is indeed not wrong in contending against the view that ver. 15 points to the services which the widows here mentioned are to perform for the church. He says that this verse only tells that she must have fulfilled the duties of a mother and a Christian housewife. But the enumeration of all these duties indicates that as a church-widow she must be practised in the exercise of many services of love.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ti 5:9 . καταλεγέσθω : St. Paul passes naturally from remarks about the duty of Church members to their widowed relatives to specific rules about the admission of widows to the roll of Church widows (see Act 6:1 ). The χήρα of this ver. is ἡ ὄντως χήρα of 1Ti 5:3 ; 1Ti 5:5 , who was to receive consideration and official recognition. These widows had no doubt a ministry to fulfil a ministry of love, prayer, intercession, and giving of thanks (Polycarp, 4); but it is difficult to suppose that St. Paul, or any other practically minded administrator, would contemplate a presbyteral order of widows, the members of which would enter on their duties at the age of 60, an age relatively more advanced in the East and in the first century than in the West and in our own time. We may add that the general topic of widows’ maintenance is resumed and concluded in 1Ti 5:16 .

In the references to widows in the earliest Christian literature outside the N.T. (with the exception of Ignatius Smyrn . 13) they are mentioned as objects of charity along with orphans, etc. (Ignatius, Smyrn . 6, Polyc . 4; Polycarp, 4; Hermas, Vis . ii. 4, Mand . viii., Sim . i. 1Ti 5:3 , ix. 26, 27; Justin, Apol . i. 67). None of these places hints at an order of widows. The subject cannot be further discussed here; but the evidence seems to point to the conclusion that the later institution of widows as an order with official duties was suggested by this passage. The history of Christianity affords other examples of supposed revivals of apostolic institutions.

Ell., who follows Grotius in seeing in this verse regulations respecting an ecclesiastical or presbyteral widow, objects to the view taken above that it is “highly improbable that when criteria had been given, 1Ti 5:4 sq. , fresh should be added, and those of so very exclusive a nature: would the Church thus limit her alms?”

But 1Ti 5:4 sq . does not give the criteria, or qualifications of an official widow; but only describes the dominant characteristic of the life of the “widow indeed,” viz. , devotion; and again, the Church of every age, the apostolic not less than any other, has financial problems to deal with. Charity may be indiscriminating, but there are only a limited number of widows for whose whole support the Church can make itself responsible; and this is why the limit of age is here so high. At a much younger age than 60 a woman would cease to have any temptation to marry again.

Lightfoot has important notes on the subject in his commentary on Ignatius, Smyrn . §§ 6, 13 ( Apost. Fathers , part ii. vol. ii. pp. 304, 322). See also, on the deaconess widow, Harnack, Mission and Expansion of Christianity , trans. vol. i. p. 122. The opinion of Schleiermacher that deaconesses are referred to here is refuted (1) by the provision of age, and (2) by the fact that they have been dealt with before, 1Ti 3:11 .

According to Bengel, the gen. ἐτῶν depends on χήρα , μὴ ἔλαττον being an adverb, “of 60 years, not less”.

γεγονυῖα : It is best to connect this with the preceding words, as in Luk 2:42 , καὶ ὅτε ἐγένετο ἐτῶν δώδεκα . In favour of this connexion is the consideration that in the parallel, 1Ti 3:2 , μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα stands alone, and that it γεγονυῖα were to be joined with what follows, it would most naturally follow γυνή . As a matter of fact, this transposition is found in [270] .; and this connexion is suggested in [271] , two cursives, [272] , [273] , [274] , [275] 141 , Vulg. ( quae fuerit (g fuerat ) unius viri uxor ) go, boh, syrr, Theodore Mops., Theodoret, and Origen.

[270] Codex Porphyrianus (sæc. ix.), at St. Petersburg, collated by Tischendorf. Its text is deficient for chap. 1Ti 2:13-15 .

[271] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[272] The Latin text of Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[273] The Latin version of Codex Augiensis (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Trinity College, Cambridge, edited by Scrivener in 1859. Its presents the Vulgate text with some modifications.

[274] The Latin text of Codex Boernerianus (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Dresden, edited by Matthæi in 1791. Written by an Irish scribe, it once formed part of the same volume as Codex Sangallensis ( δ ) of the Gospels.

[275] Speculum

ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς γυνή : The Church widows must conform to the same ideal of the married life as the episcopi. See Tert. ad uxorem , i. 7, “Quantum fidei detrahant, quantum obstrepant sanctitati nuptiae secundae, disciplina ecclesiae et praescriptio apostoli declarat, cum digamos non sinit praesidere, cum viduam allegi in ordinem [ al . ordinationem], nisi univiram, non concedit.”

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9, 10. (b) WIDOWS AS AN ORGANISED BODY IN THE CHURCH

9. We read in the Gospels of the ministry of women (Luk 8:3; Mat 27:55), and also in the Acts (Act 9:36). In Rom 16:1 Phoebe, a διάκονος of the Church at Corinth, is mentioned. When we come to the Pastoral Epistles, we find that χῆραι are an organised body, of whose names a register is kept; and in the verses before us (1Ti 5:9 ff.) their qualifications are enumerated. Let no one be enrolled as a widow who is less than sixty years of age &c. χῆρα is to be taken as predicate, not as subject; and καταλέγειν (ἄπ. λεγ. in N.T.) means ‘to place on a list.’ Now it is plain that χήρα here cannot stand simply for the desolate and destitute widow, whose maintenance has been the subject of the preceding verses; for the Church would not limit her charity to the needy by strict conditions like those of 1Ti 5:9-10. Again these χῆραι can hardly be the same as διακόνισσαι, for the limit of age would be unreasonable in the case of all active workers (although it is true that the Theodosian Code (xvi. 2. 27) at a later period speaks of sixty as the age for a deaconess). They are here πρεσβύτιδες rather than διακόνισσαι. And thus we conclude that we have in this verse the earliest notice of the ordo viduarum, which is often mentioned in sub-Apostolic and early patristic literature. They had a claim to maintenance, and in return were entrusted with certain duties, such as the care of orphans, and were expected to be diligent in intercessory prayer. For instance, Polycarp (Philippians 4) after speaking of priests and deacons, goes on to widows … “an altar of God,” because from their age and comparative leisure they were supposed to give special attention to prayer. A form of prayer for the use of ‘widows’ is found in the Apostolical Constitutions (iii. 13). A notice of them in Lucian (de morte Peregrini 12) in connexion with orphans suggests that they were in his time quite an established institution. The order was at first restricted to αἱ ὄντως χῆραι, but after a time virgins and even young virgins seem to have been admitted, a practice which Tertullian deprecates. Ignatius (Smyrn. 13) speaks of τὰς παρθένους τὰς λεγόμενας χήρας; but this may only mean that from the purity of their lives the enrolled widows might be counted virgins. In any case at this early stage of the Church’s life only αἱ ὅντως χῆραι, desolate widows, were admissible into the order, and the conditions of admission are before us—first, they must be at least sixty years old, and secondly, they must be univirae.

ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς γυνή. Polyandry was condemned alike by heathen and Jew, and such a reference is here out of the question. The expression plainly means a widow, who has not remarried after her husband’s death, or divorce. Even in Roman society nuptiae secundae were looked on with disfavour, and a univira was highly esteemed. To have married only once was an indication of ἐγκράτεια, and so is required by the Apostle of ecclesiastical persons, women as well as men (see 1Ti 3:2 and notes), who should be ‘above suspicion.’ See Luk 2:36. Tertullian’s words ad Uxor. i. 7 explain the passage well: “Praescriptio apostoli declarat … cum viduam adlegi in ordinationem nisi univiram non concedit.” Cp. also Const. Apost. vi. 17, and the passage from Philo de Profugis quoted below on Tit 2:5.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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. Text via Bolls.life.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

(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.)

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.

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.’

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.

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.

(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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

9-16.] Further regulations respecting widows.

9.] Is χήρα subject or predicate? ‘let a widow καταλεγέσθω,’ or ‘let a woman καταλεγέσθω χήρα?’ I own, from the arrangement of the words, I am inclined to believe the latter to be the case. The verb καταλεγέσθω introduces the new particular. Had χήρα then been the subject, the verb, having the emphasis, must have preceded. As it is, χήρα has the emphasis, as it would have, were it the predicate, spoken of those of whom the κατάλογος consisted. I render therefore,—Let a woman be inserted in the catalogue as a widow. But now, for what purpose?

καταλέγειν is to enrol on a list or roll: so Aristoph. Acharn. 1029: ὅταν στρατιώτας καταλέγωσι …,—Lysistr., ὁ δὲ Δημόστρατος | ἔλεγεν ὁπλίτας καταλέγειν Ζακυνθίων: Xen. Rep. Lac. iv. 3, τού́των δʼ ἕκαστος ἄνδρας ἑκατὸν καταλέγει: Lysias, p. 172. 37, οὐ τοίνυν οὐδʼ εἰς τὸν κατάλογον Ἀθηναίων καταλέξας οὐδένα φανήσομαι: see other examples in Palm and Rost’s Lex., and in Wetst. But what catalogue are we to understand? (In replying to this question I agree in the main with De Wette, from whose note the substance of the following remarks is adopted.) Hardly, (1) that of those who are to receive relief from the Church (so Chrys. h. l., Thdrt., Œc., Thl., Jer., Erasm., Calv., Est., Wolf, Neand., al.): for thus the rule, that she is to be sixty years of age, would seem a harsh one, as many widows might be destitute at a far earlier age: as also the rule that she must not have been twice married, especially as the Apostle himself below commands second marriage for the younger widows. Again, the duties enjoined in ver. 10 presuppose some degree of competence, and thus, on this hypothesis, the widows of the poorer classes would be excluded from sustenance by charity,—who most of all others would require it. Also, for the reason alleged in ver. 11, sustenance can hardly be in question—for then the re-marrying would simply take them off the roll, and thus be rather a benefit, than a detriment to the Church. Nor again (2) can we understand the roll to be that of the deaconesses, as Pelag., Beza, Schleierm., Mack, al.: although the Theodosian code, founded on this interpretation, ordained “nulla nisi emensis lx annis secundum præceptum Apostoli ad Diaconissarum consortium transferatur,” xvi. 2. 27 (De W.). For a) the age mentioned is unfit for the work of the deaconesses’ office, and in the council of Chalcedon the age of the deaconesses was fixed at 40: b) not only widows but virgins were elected deaconesses (Balsamon, ad Can. xix. conc. Niceni, παρθένοι … τεσσαρακονταετοῦς ἡλικίας γενόμεναι, ἠξιοῦντο καὶ χειροτονίας διακονισσῶν εὑρισκόμεναι πάντως ἄξιαι. Suicer, i. 865): (3) it is implied in ver. 12, that these widows were bound not to marry again, which was not the case with the deaconesses. It seems therefore better to understand here some especial band of widows, sustained perhaps at the expense of the church, but not the only ones who were thus supported:—set apart for ecclesiastical duties, and bound to the service of God. Such are understood here by Chrys. himself in his homily on the passage (311 in div. N. T. loc. 3, vol. iii. p. 523, Migne),—καθάπερ εἰσὶ παρθένων χοροί, οὕτω καὶ χηρῶν τὸ παλαιὸν ἦσαν χοροί, καὶ οὐκ ἐξῆν αὐταῖς ἁπλῶς εἰς τὰς χήρας ἐγγράφεσθαι. οὐ περὶ ἐκείνης οὖν λέγει τῆς ἐν πενίᾳ ζώσης καὶ δεομένης βοηθείας, ἀλλὰ περὶ ταύτης τῆς ἑλομένης χηρείαν. They are also mentioned as τάγμα χηρῶν, τὸ χηρικόν, πρεσβύτιδες, προκαθήμεναι: i.e. such widows as corresponded in office for their own sex in some measure to the presbyters,—sat unveiled in the assemblies in a separate place, by the presbyters, and had a kind of supervision over their own sex, especially over the widows and orphans: were vowed to perpetual widowhood, clad with a ‘vestis vidualis,’ and ordained by laying on of hands. This institution of the early church, which was abolished by the eleventh canon of the council of Laodicea (in the translation of Dionys. Exiguus,—‘mulieres quæ apud Græcos presbyteræ appellantur, apud nos autem viduæ seniores, univiræ, et matriculariæ nominantur, in ecclesia tanquam ordinatas constitui non debere’), is sufficiently affirmed by Chrys. l. c. Epiphan. hær. lxxix. 4, vol. ii. (Migne), p. 1060 f., and long before by Tert. de veland. virg. 9, vol. ii. p. 902: ‘ad quam sedem (viduarum) præter annos lx non tantum univiræ, i.e. nuptæ aliquando, eliguntur, sed et matres et quidem educatrices filiorum.’ De W. imagines he finds also a trace of it in Herm. Pastor, i. vision 2. 4, p. 900: ‘καὶ Γραπτὴ μὲν (‘Grapte diaconissa fuisse videtur.’ Hefele, not.) νουθετήσει τὰς χήρας καὶ τοὺς ὀρφανούς:’ and in Lucian de morte peregrini, Opp. iii. 335 Reig.,—ἕωθεν μὲν εὐθὺς ἦν ὁρᾷν παρὰ τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ περιμένοντα γραιδία, χήρας τινὰς καὶ παιδία ὀρφανά. He also refers to the dissertation of Mosheim on this place, in which he has thoroughly gone into all the bearings of the subject and maintained the above view. So also Grot., Fritzsch., and Michaelis: so Wiesinger,—and in a somewhat modified shape, Huther, repudiating the idea of formal ordination and setting apart of widows so early as the apostolic age. In this he is probably right. De W. makes the allusion to this ‘institute of widows’ one proof of the post-apostolic date of the Epistle: but on this see Prolegg. ch. vii. § i. 27. Let a woman be enrolled a widow, who is not less than sixty years old (γεγονυῖα is joined by the vulg. (‘quæ fuerit unius viri uxor’), Jer., Luth., Calv., Beza, Grot., Mack, al., to the next clause: but against this is usage (ὅτε ἐγένετο ἐτῶν δώδεκα, Luk 2:42: cf. also Plato, Legg. vi. p. 765, ἐτῶν μὲν γεγονὼς μὴ ἔλαττον ἢ πεντήκοντα, and see other examples in Wetst.), and the fact that μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα stands alone in ch. 3:2. Besides, if it belonged to the next clause, it would have in it any place but the first), the wife of one husband (cf. ch. 3:2. Here, as contemporaneous polygamy is out of the question, and thus one element of difficulty in the other case is eliminated, we can hardly understand any thing other than that the πρεσβύτις should have been the wife of only one husband: i.e., not married a second time: so Tertull. ad uxor. i. 7, vol. i. p. 1286: “digamos non sinit præsidere, … viduam allegi in ordinem nisi univiram non concedit.” So that the parallel expressions here and in ch. 3:2 will be consistently interpreted. See the mistaken views of Thdrt. (τὸ σωφρόνως ἐν γάμῳ βιοῦν νομοθετεῖ), &c., treated of under ch. 3:2), having a good character (testimony from without, cf. reff. and ch. 3:7) in (the element or region in which that μαρτυρία is versed) good works (reff.), if (‘the conditions have as yet been expressed by participles in agreement with the noun: the construction is now changed for the hypothetical.’ De W.: but εἰ does not depend immediately on καταλεγέσθω: the intervening clauses must be taken for granted. So that it may more properly be said to be dependent on μὴ.… μαρτυρουμένη:—such an one, if in addition she, &c.) she (at any time—keep the aor.) brought up children (her own? or those of others? If (1), the barren might seem hardly dealt with: if (2), the word must be somewhat forced aside from its ordinary meaning (see τεκνοτροφία in Palm and Rost’s Lex.: where in the examples cited, die Kindererzeugung mitinbegrissen ist). Still this latter, considering that ἐξενοδόχησεν is the next good work specified, seems most probable: and so, but for the most part combining it with the other, Beng., De W., Huther, Wiesinger, al. Grot. understands it, ‘si nec abortum sibi fecerit, nec ob paupertatem exposuerit liberos …, sed omnes sibi natos educaverit, et quidem honeste ac pie:’ Calv.,—‘non sterilitatem hic damnari a Paulo, sed matrum delicias, quæ sobolis alendæ tædia devorare recusant’), if she (at any time) received strangers (practised hospitality. This clearly points out a person above the rank of the poor and indigent: though Chrys. pithily replies, κἂν πένης ᾖ, οἰκίαν ἔχει. οὐ γὰρ δὴ αἴθριος μένει. One is glad to hear that all the Christian widows at Constantinople were so well off. But it can hardly have been so in the apostolic age. Cf. ch. 3:2: Tit 1:8: Rom 12:13: Heb 13:2), if she (at any time) washed the feet of the saints (‘synecdoche partis, pro omni genere officiorum humilitatis,’ Beng. εἰ τὰς ἐσχάτας ὑπηρεσίας τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀνεπαισχύντως ἐξετέλεσε, Thl. Still, we must not dismiss from our consideration the external act itself: as Thdrt. ἐποίουν γὰρ τοῦτο πάλαι: see Joh 13:14, and note, in which, though a formal ceremony in obedience to our Saviour’s words is repudiated, the principle of humbly serving one another, which would lead to such an act on occasion presented, is maintained), if she (at any time) relieved (cf. Herod. i. 91, καιομένῳ αὐτῷ ἐπήρκεσε:—Eur. Hec. 963, τί χρὴ τὸν εὖ πράσσοντα μὴ πράσσουσιν εὖ | φίλοις ἐπαρκεῖν;—and examples in Wetst. It is more rarely found with an accus.: see Palm and Rost’s Lex.) the distressed (not merely the poor, as Beng., but those afflicted in any way; cf. example from Herod. above), if she followed every good work (Chrys. in his fine homily on this passage, cited above, § 15, says: τί ἐστιν ἐν παντὶ ἔργ. ἀγ. ἐπηκολούθ.; ὥστε καὶ εἰς δεσμωτήριον εἰσιέναι καὶ τοὺς δεδεμένους ἐπισκέπτεσθαι, καὶ ἀῤῥωστοῦντας ἐπισκοπεῖν, καὶ θλιβομένους παραμυθεῖσθαι, καὶ ὀδυνωμένους παρακαλεῖν, καὶ πάντα τρόπον τὰ κατὰ δύναμιν εἰσφέρειν ἅπαντα, καὶ μηδὲν ὅλως παραιτεῖσθαι τῶν εἰς σωτηρίαν καὶ ἀνάπαυσιν τῶν ἀδελφῶν γινομένων τῶν ἡμετέρων. Bengel’s idea, ‘Antistitum et virorum est, bonis operibus præire, Tit 3:8, Tit 3:14: mulierum, subsequi, adjuvando pro sua parte,’ is ingenious, but wrong: cf. Plato, Rep. p. 370 c,—ἀλλʼ ἀνάγκη τὸν πράττοντα τῷ πραττομένῳ ἐπακολουθεῖν μὴ ἐν παρέργου μέρει).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. καταλεγέσθω (ἅπ. λεγ. in N.T.) placed on a list of those who were pledged (cf. πίστιν, 12) to life-long widowhood.

ἐτῶν ἑξήκοντα] when the desire for marriage 12 would have passed; the age fixed by Plato for men and women to become priests and priestesses in his ideal state (Laws, p. 759 D), and regarded by Orientals as the time for retiring from the world for quiet contemplation (Ramsay, Expositor, 1910, p. 439).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Be taken into the number [καταλεγεσθω] . Better, enrolled (as a widow). N. T. o. Very, rare in LXX Common in Class. Originally, to pick out, as soldiers. Hence, to enroll, enlist. Here, to be enrolled in the body of widows who are to receive church support. See on ver. 3.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.