Jump to: Smith's • ATS • ISBE • Webster's • Concordance • Thesaurus • Greek • Hebrew • Library • Subtopics • Terms Smith's Bible Dictionary WidowUnder the Mosaic dispensation no legal provision was made for the maintenance of widows. They were left dependent partly on the affection of relations, more especially of the eldest son, whose birthright, or extra share of the property, imposed such a duty upon him, and partly on the privileges accorded to other distressed classes, such as a participation in the triennial third tithe, (14:29; 26:12) in leasing, (24:19-21) and in religious feasts. (16:11,14) With regard to the remarriage of widows, the only restriction imposed by the Mosaic law had reference to the contingency of one being left childless in which case the brother of the deceased husband had a right to marry the widow. (25:5,6; Matthew 22:23-30) In the apostolic Church the widows were sustained at the public expense, the relief being daily administered in kind, under the superintendence of officers appointed for this special purpose, (Acts 6:1-6) Particular directions are given by St.Paul as to the class of persons entitled to such public maintenance. (1 Timothy 5:3-16) Out of the body of such widows a certain number were to be enrolled, the qualifications for such enrollment being that they were not under sixty years of age; that they had been "the wife of one man," probably meaning but once married ; and that they had led useful and charitable lives. vs. (1 Timothy 5:9,10) We are not disposed to identify the widows of the Bible either with the deaconesses or with the presbutides Of the early Church. The order of widows existed as a separate institution, contemporaneously with these offices, apparently for the same eleemosynary purpose for which it was originally instituted. ATS Bible Dictionary WidowA custom was prevalent in patriarchal times, Genesis 38:1-30, and was afterwards confirmed by the Mosaic law, De 25:5-10, that a widow without children, in order to preserve the family name and inheritance, should marry the brother of her deceased husband; or he failing his nearest kinsman, Ruth 3:12,13 4:1-11 Matthew 22:23-30. The high-priest was forbidden to marry a widow, Le 21:14. The humanity and justice of true religion are shown in the Bible, as might be expected, by numerous indications that God and the friends of God sympathize with the sorrows, supply the wants, and defend the rights of the widow, Exodus 22:22-24 De 16:11 24:17,19 Psalm 68:5 Isaiah 1:17 10:2 Jer 22:3 Mt 23:14. The apostolic church was not negligent in providing for widows, Acts 6:1-3 1 Timothy 5:16; and James makes this duty an essential part of true piety, James 1:27. Heathenism, on the contrary, makes those who have been slaves to a husband's caprices during his life, either victims upon the funeral pile at his death, or forlorn and hopeless sufferers under destitution and contempt. The duties of Christian widows are specified in 1 Timothy 5:3-16. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary 1. (n.) A woman who has lost her husband by death, and has not married again; one living bereaved of a husband.2. (a.) Widowed. 3. (v. t.) To reduce to the condition of a widow; to bereave of a husband; -- rarely used except in the past participle. 4. (v. t.) To deprive of one who is loved; to strip of anything beloved or highly esteemed; to make desolate or bare; to bereave. 5. (v. t.) To endow with a widow's right. 6. (v. t.) To become, or survive as, the widow of. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia WIDOWwid'-o ('almanah; chera): In the Old Testament widows are considered to be under the special care of Yahweh (Psalm 68:5; Psalm 146:9 Proverbs 15:25). Sympathetic regard for them comes to be viewed as a mark of true religion (Job 31:16 James 1:27). Deuteronomy is rich in counsel in their behalf (24:17, etc.). Greek 5503. chera -- a widow ... chera. 5504 . a widow. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: chera Phonetic Spelling: (khay'-rah) Short Definition: a widow Definition: a widow. ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5503.htm - 6k Strong's Hebrew 490. almanah -- a widow... 489, 490. almanah. 491 . a widow. Transliteration: almanah Phonetic Spelling: (al-maw-naw') Short Definition: widow. Word Origin fem. ... /hebrew/490.htm - 6k 489. almon -- widow- hood 491. almanuth -- widowhood 802. ishshah -- woman, wife, female 2992. yabam -- to perform the duty of a husband's brother 1350. gaal -- to redeem, act as kinsman Library The Widow of Nain. The Importunate Widow. Letter to a Young Widow. Letter ccxcvi. To a Widow. Letter clxxiv. To a Widow. Letter x. To a Widow. Letter ccxcvii. To a Widow. Letter cclxxxiii. To a Widow. Introduction to the Letter to a Young Widow. "The Widow Woman was There. " I Kings xvii. 10 Thesaurus Widow (71 Occurrences)... 3. (vt) To reduce to the condition of a widow; to bereave of a husband; -- rarely used except in the past participle. ... 5. (vt) To endow with a widow's right. ... /w/widow.htm - 31k Widow's (7 Occurrences) Widow-hood (1 Occurrence) Orphan (25 Occurrences) Zarephath (4 Occurrences) Divorced (10 Occurrences) Fatherless (44 Occurrences) Widows (33 Occurrences) Widowhood (5 Occurrences) Defend (38 Occurrences) Bible Concordance Widow (71 Occurrences)Matthew 1:6 Jesse of David--the King. David (by Uriah's widow) Matthew 22:24 "Teacher," they said, "Moses enjoined, 'If a man die childless, his brother shall marry his widow, and raise up a family for him.' Mark 12:19 "Rabbi," they said, "Moses made it a law for us: 'If a man's brother should die and leave a wife, but no child, the man shall marry the widow and raise up a family for his brother.' Mark 12:21 The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise; Mark 12:42 A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin. Mark 12:43 He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, "Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury, Luke 2:37 and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn't depart from the temple, worshipping with fastings and petitions night and day. Luke 4:25 But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land. Luke 4:26 Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. Luke 7:12 Now when he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, one who was dead was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Many people of the city were with her. Luke 18:3 A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying,'Defend me from my adversary!' Luke 18:5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.'" Luke 20:28 "Rabbi, Moses made it a law for us that if a man's brother should die, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up a family for his brother. Luke 21:2 He saw a certain poor widow casting in two small brass coins. Luke 21:3 He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them, Acts 9:39 Peter got up and went with them. When he had come, they brought him into the upper chamber. All the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. 1 Timothy 5:4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety towards their own family, and to repay their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God. 1 Timothy 5:5 Now she who is a widow indeed, and desolate, has her hope set on God, and continues in petitions and prayers night and day. 1 Timothy 5:6 but a pleasure-loving widow is dead even while still alive. 1 Timothy 5:9 Let no one be enrolled as a widow under sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, Revelation 18:7 However much she glorified herself, and grew wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning. For she says in her heart,'I sit a queen, and am no widow, and will in no way see mourning.' Genesis 38:11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;" for he said, "Lest he also die, like his brothers." Tamar went and lived in her father's house. Exodus 22:22 "You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child. Leviticus 21:14 A widow, or one divorced, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry: but a virgin of his own people shall he take as a wife. Leviticus 22:13 But if a priest's daughter is a widow, or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father's house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father's bread: but no stranger shall eat any of it. Numbers 30:9 "But the vow of a widow, or of her who is divorced, even everything with which she has bound her soul, shall stand against her. Deuteronomy 10:18 He does execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the foreigner, in giving him food and clothing. Deuteronomy 14:29 and the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the foreigner living among you, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. Deuteronomy 16:11 and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates, and the foreigner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are in the midst of you, in the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there. Deuteronomy 16:14 and you shall rejoice in your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your female servant, and the Levite, and the foreigner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates. Deuteronomy 24:17 You shall not wrest the justice due to the foreigner, or to the fatherless, nor take the widow's clothing to pledge; Deuteronomy 24:19 When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgot a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to get it: it shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 24:20 When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. Deuteronomy 24:21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it after yourselves: it shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. Deuteronomy 25:5 If brothers dwell together, and one of them die, and have no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside to a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in to her, and take her to him as wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. Deuteronomy 25:9 then his brother's wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say, "So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house." Deuteronomy 26:12 When you have made an end of tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be filled. Deuteronomy 26:13 You shall say before Yahweh your God, "I have put away the holy things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, and to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your commandment which you have commanded me: I have not transgressed any of your commandments, neither have I forgotten them: Deuteronomy 27:19 'Cursed is he who wrests the justice due to the foreigner, fatherless, and widow.' All the people shall say,'Amen.' Ruth 4:5 Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance." Ruth 4:10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead not be cut off from among his brothers, and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses this day." 1 Samuel 27:3 David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife. 1 Samuel 30:5 David's two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 2 Samuel 2:2 So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 2 Samuel 3:3 and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; 2 Samuel 14:5 The king said to her, "What ails you?" She answered, "Truly I am a widow, and my husband is dead. 1 Kings 7:14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill, to work all works in brass. He came to king Solomon, and performed all his work. 1 Kings 11:26 Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, he also lifted up his hand against the king. 1 Kings 17:9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you." 1 Kings 17:10 So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, "Please get me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink." 1 Kings 17:20 He cried to Yahweh, and said, "Yahweh my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?" Job 24:3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless, and they take the widow's ox for a pledge. Job 24:21 He devours the barren who don't bear. He shows no kindness to the widow. Job 29:13 the blessing of him who was ready to perish came on me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. Job 31:16 "If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, Job 31:18 (For from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, and I have guided the widow from my mother's womb;) Psalms 94:6 They kill the widow and the alien, and murder the fatherless. Psalms 109:9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Psalms 146:9 Yahweh preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but the way of the wicked he turns upside down. Proverbs 15:25 Yahweh will uproot the house of the proud, but he will keep the widow's borders intact. Proverbs 23:10 Do not let the landmark of the widow be moved, and do not go into the fields of those who have no father; Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do well. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow." Isaiah 1:23 Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They don't judge the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them. Isaiah 47:8 "Now therefore hear this, you who are given to pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, I am, and there is none else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: Jeremiah 7:6 if you don't oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and don't shed innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your own hurt: Jeremiah 22:3 Thus says Yahweh: Execute justice and righteousness, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence, to the foreigner, the fatherless, nor the widow; neither shed innocent blood in this place. Lamentations 1:1 How the city sits solitary, that was full of people! She has become as a widow, who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces is become tributary! Ezekiel 22:7 In you have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of you have they dealt by oppression with the foreigner; in you have they wronged the fatherless and the widow. Ezekiel 44:22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her who is put away; but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. Zechariah 7:10 Don't oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.' Malachi 3:5 I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don't fear me," says Yahweh of Armies. Subtopics Widow: Marriage of, Authorized Widow: Priests Forbidden to Marry Widow: The Widow of Nain, Whose Only Son Jesus Raised from the Dead Widow: The Widow of Zarephath, Who Sustained Elijah During a Famine Widow: The Woman Who Gave Two Mites (Leptas) in the Temple Courtyard Widow: The Woman Whose Sons Elisha Saved from Being Sold for Debt Widow: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To Widow: when They are Daughters of Priests, They are to be Supported by Their Fathers Related Terms Supplications (32 Occurrences) Links Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus |
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