Widow

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

Married woman whose husband has died and who remains unmarried. The Hebrew word translated "widow" is almana [   Isaiah 13:22;  Ezekiel 19:7; cf. LXX ). The Septaugint virtually always translates almana [   Job 24:21 ). The same Greek word occurs twenty-six times in the New Testament.

Words that occur in the general semantic field of the term "widow" in the Bible shed light on both her personal experience and social plight. Weeping ( Job 27:15;  Psalm 78:64 ), mourning ( 2 Samuel 14:2 ), and desolation ( Lamentations 1:1 ) describe her personal experience after the loss of her spouse. Poverty ( Ruth 1:21;  1 Kings 17:7-12;  Job 22:9 ) and indebtedness ( 2 Kings 4:1 ) were all too often descriptive of her financial situation, when the main source of her economic support, her husband, had perished. Indeed, she was frequently placed alongside the orphan and the landless immigrant ( Exodus 22:21-22;  Deuteronomy 24:17,19 ,  20-21 ) as representative of the poorest of the poor ( Job 24:4;  29:12;  31:16;  Isaiah 10:2 ) in the social structure of ancient Israel, as well as in the ancient Near East. With minimal, if any, inheritance rights, she was often in a "no-man's land." She had left her family, and with her husband's death the bond between her and his family was tenuous.

The Old Testament . A recent body of influential research has argued that the Hebrew almana [   2 Samuel 14:2,5 , where the death of the husband is simply in view, and  Leviticus 21:14 , which classes an almana [   2 Samuel 14;  Job 24:3;  Proverbs 15:25 ) and in later extrabiblical literature, it can be assumed that the term was used even of the wealthy Judith ( Judith 9:4,10 ).

Nonetheless, the loss of a husband in ancient Israel was normally a social and economic tragedy. In a generally patriarchal culture, the death of a husband usually meant a type of cultural death as well. Although the denotation of widow referred to a woman whose husband had died, because of the social context the word quickly acquired the connotation of a person living a marginal existence in extreme poverty. The widow reacted with grief to her plight, and probably wore a distinct garb as a sign of her status ( Genesis 38:14,19;  2 Samuel 14:2; cf.  Judith 8:5-6;  10:3;  16:8 ). Disillusionment and bitterness could easily result ( Ruth 1:20-21 ). Her crisis was aggravated if she had no able-bodied children to help her work the land of her dead spouse. To provide for her children, to maintain the estate, and to continue payments on debts accrued by her husband imposed severe burdens. Since she was in an extremely vulnerable economic position, she became the prime target of exploitation. The fact that she was classed with the landless stranger and Levite indicates that she was often unable to keep her husband's land.

In general, the widow's inheritance rights were minimal. Some scholars believe that Israelite widows could inherit land as was the case with their Mesopotamian counterparts. But the evidence is sparse. The general rule was that the land was inalienably connected to the family of the male to whom it was apportioned. The fact that an individual desired to marry the widow of a king did not assume that the woman had inherited her husband's estate; it was simply an attempt to legitimize a claim to royalty (cf.  1 Kings 2:13-18 ). The fact that widows had land within their possession probably indicated that they held it in trust for their children ( 1 Kings 17:7-9;  2 Kings 4:1-2; cf.  Proverbs 15:25 ). If a widow had male children, the land would pass to her sons when they reached maturity if she was able to maintain the land and the sons survived. If she had only female children, the land would be transferred to them provided they married within the tribe ( Numbers 27:8-11 ). If she was childless and of marriageable age (i.e., still able to reproduce), it was the duty of the closest male relative on her husband's side (normally the brother-in-law [Lat. levir ]) to marry her and provide an heir for the land of her dead husband, and to continue his name in Israel ( Deuteronomy 25:5 ). The story of Judah and Tamar ( Genesis 38 ) is an example of this custom of "levirate" marriage. Later,  Deuteronomy 25:5-10 codifies legislation for such unions. The Book of Ruth provides a historical example of the application of the law. If no relative would marry a childless widow, it seemed that she could return to her father's house (  Genesis 38:11; cf.  Leviticus 22:13 ) and dispose of the land to the husband's family ( Ruth 4:1-3 ).

The distribution of the term "widow" is found approximately one-third of the time in legal texts, one-third in prophetic texts, and one-third in wisdom and historical literature. But the vast majority of the contexts are legal in nature, either dealing with justice (the legal protection of the widow) or injustice (the exploitation of her status). In the former case the Old Testament is replete with legislation that attempted to provide a social security net for the widow: she was not to be exploited ( Exodus 22:21-22;  Deuteronomy 27:19 ); she was specifically permitted to glean the fields and vineyards during harvest time ( Deuteronomy 24:19-21 ,; cf.  Ruth 2 ); tithes were to be shared with her (  Deuteronomy 14:29;  26:12-13 ); provision was to be made for her at the main religious feasts ( Deuteronomy 16:9-15 ); her garment could not be taken as collateral for a loan ( Deuteronomy 24:17 ); and the levirate institution would not only provide an heir for the land for childless widows, it would help them be integrated back into society. Moreover, the supreme measure by which a ruler in Israel was to be judged was whether such powerless ones were cared for ( Psalm 72:4,12-14;  Jeremiah 22:16 ).

At the same time, the legislation acknowledged the fact of the vulnerability of the widow and many Old Testament texts indicate that she was victimized repeatedly ( Exodus 22:22-23;  Isaiah 1:23;  10:2;  Ezekiel 22:7;  Malachi 3:5 ). The prophets were the champions of exploited widows. As far as they were concerned, repentance began with redressing wrongs done to such unfortunate women ( Isaiah 1:17;  Jeremiah 7:6;  22:3;  Zechariah 7:10 ). Wisdom texts encouraged a benevolent attitude toward widows. Job's comforters accused him of heinous crimes, particularly of oppressing the widow ( Job 22:9 ), but he countered with the argument that he never sent away a begging widow without food and he often made her broken heart sing (29:13; 31:16).

Although there are similar concerns for the widow in ancient Near Eastern texts, there does not seem to be the same pervasive and comprehensive attitude toward the powerless. This difference is rooted in theological reasons. When Israel was once in a powerless condition, God had mercy on her and delivered her from the harsh oppression of Egypt. She was thus called to remember her liberation and to imitate her God who was not only the father of the orphan, but the legal defender of the widow ( Psalm 68:6 ) and the guardian of her property ( Proverbs 15:25 ). The transcendent "high and holy One, " the Lord of Lords, sees the last first in the human social order and describes himself as the judge of the widow ( Deuteronomy 10:18;  Psalm 146:9; cf.  Psalm 113;  Isaiah 57:15 ). Yahweh instituted the death penalty for those who committed capital crimes in the earliest legal code ( Exodus 21-23 ); but when people oppressed the widow, he himself directly intervened to execute the exploiters ( Exodus 22:24 ). His prophets were sent as messengers with the directive to his people: "Don't hurt my little ones." Even non-Hebrew widows could trust in Him ( Jeremiah 49:11 ).

The widow—who was absolutely dependent, whose value was found in "being" and not "doing" and "achieving, " who had known both the joy of love and the anguish of lossperhaps reflected more than others the image of God. After all, proud Babylon symbolized the satanic image in her quest for power. She incarnated pure autonomy with her statement: "I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children" ( Isaiah 47:8 ).

The concept of widowhood was also used as a metaphor to describe God's relationship to Israel. When the nation was judged in 586 b.c., a devastated Jerusalem could be described as a widow; her husband, the Lord, having departed, was as good as dead to her ( Lamentations 1:1; cf.  Ezekiel 11:22-23 ). Yet Jeremiah stated that this perspective was distorted: Israel was not a widow, nor Judah deprived of her God, even though the land was contaminated with sin ( Jeremiah 51:5 ). Isaiah accepted the description of Israel's widowhood, but promised future salvation: "You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. For your Maker is your husbandthe Lord Almighty is his name" (54:4-5).

The New Testament . Widows were prominent in the New Testament. It was no accident that one of the poorest of the poor, Anna, was privileged to greet the infant Messiah ( Luke 2:36-38 ). The adult Jesus followed in the footsteps of his prophetic predecessors with his concern for the plight of the widow. He healed a widow's son because of compassion for his mother ( Luke 7:11-17 ); he protested the exploitation of widows ( Mark 12:40 ). He reversed the standards by which people were judged with the parable of the widow's tithe: the widow gave from her poverty while the wealthy merely offered from their abundance ( Mark 12:41-42 ). In another parable, the church was compared with an importunate widow who kept demanding that her case be heard. Similarly, the church must persistently pray for eschatological justice, the redressing of all wrongs against her ( Luke 18:1-8 ).

The early church, the messianic community, defined the essence of true religion as demonstrating compassion to the poor and needy, in particular the widow and the orphan ( James 1:27 ). A special fund was instituted for widows ( Acts 6:1-6 ) and as the church matured, younger widows were urged to remarry while a special class of widows was maintained economically ( 1 Timothy 5:3-16 ). By the end of the first century a.d., as Christians were being persecuted by Rome, John wrote to a church whose husband seemed dead and impotent to her grief and need. The church was a widow, while proud Rome boasted: "I sit as a queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn" ( Revelation 18:7 ). At the end of history the roles will be reversed, as Rome will become destitute and the church will be united to her resurrected and reigning husband who will wipe every tear from her eyes ( Revelation 21:4 ). In that great day the reproach of the new Israel's widowhood will no longer be remembered, for her husband will appear, whose name is the Lord God of hosts ( Isaiah 54:5 ).

Stephen G. Dempster

See also Family Life And Relations; Woman

Bibliography . G. W. Coats, CBQ 34 (1972): 461-66; C. Cohen, Encyclopedia Judaica, 16:487-91; E. W. Davies, VT 31 (1981): 138-44; 31 (1981): 257-68; G. R. Driver and J. C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws  ; P. S. Hiebert, Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel  ; D. E. Gowan, Int 41 (1987): 341-53; H. Hoffner, TDOT, 1:287-91; J. Khlewein, THAT, 1:169-73; J. Limburg, The Prophets and the Powerless  ; S. Niditch, HTR 72 (1979): 143-49; J. H. Otwell, And Sarah Laughed: The Status of Women in the Old Testament  ; R. D. Patterson, BSac 130 (1973): 223-34; N. W. Porteous, Service in Christ  ; S. Solle, DNTT 3:1073-75; G. Stä lin, TDNT, 9: 440-65; T. and D. Thompson, VT 18 (1968): 79-99; W. C. Trenchard, Ben Sira's View of Women  ; H. E. von Waldow, CBQ 32 (1970): 182-204; C. H. J. Wright, ABD 2:761-69.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Widow . Widows from their poverty and unprotectedness, are regarded in OT as under the special guardianship of God (  Psalms 68:6;   Psalms 146:9 ,   Proverbs 15:25 ,   Deuteronomy 10:18 ,   Jeremiah 49:11 ); and consequently due regard for their wants was looked upon as a mark of true religion, ensuring a blessing on those who showed it (  Job 29:13;   Job 31:16 ,   Isaiah 1:17 ,   Jeremiah 7:6-7;   Jeremiah 22:3-4 ); while neglect of, cruelty or injustice towards them were considered marks of wickedness meriting punishment from God (  Job 22:9-10;   Job 24:20-21 ,   Psalms 94:6 ,   Isaiah 1:23;   Isaiah 10:2 ,   Zechariah 7:10;   Zechariah 7:14 ,   Malachi 3:5 ). The Book of Deut. is especially rich in such counsels, insisting that widows be granted full justice (  Deuteronomy 24:17;   Deuteronomy 27:19 ), that they be received as guests at sacrificial meals (  Deuteronomy 14:29 ,   Deuteronomy 16:11;   Deuteronomy 16:14 ,   Deuteronomy 26:12 f.), and that they be suffered to glean unmolested in field, oliveyard, and vineyard (  Deuteronomy 24:19 f.). See, further, Inheritance, i. 2 ( c ); Marriage, 6.

The earliest mention of widows in the history of the Christian Church is found in  Acts 6:1 , where the Grecian Jews murmured ‘against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected’ in the daily distribution of alms or food. In course of time these pensioners became an excessive burden on the finances of the Church. We thus find St. Paul dealing with the matter in   1 Timothy 5:3-16 , where he charges relatives and Christian friends to relieve those widows with whom they are personally connected (  1 Timothy 5:4;   1 Timothy 5:8;   1 Timothy 5:15 ), so that the Church might be the more able to relieve those who were ‘widows indeed’ ( i.e. widows in actual poverty and without anyone responsible for their support) (  1 Timothy 5:3;   1 Timothy 5:5;   1 Timothy 5:16 ). He further directs that ‘none be enrolled as widows’ except those who were sixty years of age, of unimpeachable character, and full of good works; and he adds that ‘the younger widows’ should be ‘refused’ ( i.e. not enrolled); for experience had shown that they ‘waxed wanton against Christ’ and, re-marrying, ‘rejected their first faith.’ Since it could not have been the Apostle’s wish that only widows over sixty should receive pecuniary help from the Church (for many young widows might be in great poverty), and since he could not describe the re-marriage of such a widow-pensioner as a rejection of her faith, it follows that the list of widows, from which the younger widows were to be excluded, was not the list of those who were in receipt of Church relief, but rather a list of those, from among the pensioner-widows, who were considered suitable by age and character to engage officially in Church work. Therefore we may see in this passage a proof of the existence thus early in the history of the Church of that ecclesiastical order of ‘Widows’ which we find mentioned frequently in post-Apostolic times.

Charles T. P. Grierson.

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

WIDOW ( χήρα).—Four widows are referred to in the Gospels.

1. Anna of the tribe of Asher ( Luke 2:36-38), a devout woman described as a prophetess, who had been a widow eighty-four years, and who constantly frequented the Temple, passing her time in fastings and prayers, and who, coming up at the moment of the presentation of the infant Saviour, moved by the spirit of prophecy, spake of Him to those present who were expecting the redemption of Jerusalem. The Lewis MS of the Syriac Gospels says that Anna lived only seven days with her husband, an alteration not improbably made by some scribe with the object of reducing Anna’s age to a less unusual limit. See also art. Anna.

2. The widow of Sarepta or Zarephath, referred to by our Lord in the synagogue at Nazareth ( Luke 4:25-26) as an instance of a Gentile who had entertained Elijah, and had received a blessing by his means. It has been suggested by A. Meyer ( Jesu Muttersprache , iv. 8) that the word ‘widow’ here may have been ‘Gentile’ in some Aramaic original, ܐܪܡܢܬܐ ( armaitha ), the feminine of ‘Gentile’ or ‘Syrian ‘having been confused with ܐܪܡܠܬܐ ( armalta ), ‘a widow.’ If this were so, then our Lord’s reference to Naaman the Syrian would be balanced by a reference to ‘a woman who was a Syrian’ or ‘Gentile.’

3. The widow of Nain ( Luke 7:11-17), a little town situated a few miles to the south of Mount Tabor in Galilee, to whom our Lord uttered His compassionate ‘Weep not’ just before restoring her only son to life. The people who witnessed the miracle exclaimed that a great prophet had risen up among them, probably with reference to Elijah or Elisha, the former of whom, like Christ, had raised a widow’s son.

4. The poor widow who cast her two mites into the treasury ( Mark 12:41-44,  Luke 21:1-4), whom Christ commended. It should not be forgotten in practical applications of this incident and of our Lord’s praise of the widow, that she cast in ‘all her living,’ that is to say, her day’s entire income, or ‘all that she had to live upon until more should be earned’ (Swete), and that consequently the phrase ‘widow’s mite’ is incorrectly applied to small sums deducted, and more or less easily spared, from a daily income.

In addition to these four widows, who were actual persons, a widow is a character in one of our Lord’s parables ( Luke 18:1-8), who, having no power to enforce the justice she claims, obtains it at length by her importunity; and from this our Lord draws His a fortiori conclusion that God will hear and answer those who cry day and night unto Him. Further, widows are referred to by Christ ( Matthew 23:14 [omitted by Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885],  Mark 12:40,  Luke 20:47) as being often cruelly oppressed and defrauded by the Pharisees of His day.

It may be regarded as certain that our Lord’s mother was a widow during the time of His ministry, hence His recommendation of her, just before His death, to the beloved disciple ( John 19:26 f.).

The honourable and important position which widows occupied in the early Church is entirely in harmony with the respectful and sympathetic tone in which they are referred to in the above places of the Gospels.

In the Lewis MS of the Syriac Gospels the Syrophœnician woman ( Mark 7:26) is described as a widow. This may be another instance of the possible confusion of ‘widow’ and ‘Gentile’ alluded to above.

Albert Bonus.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Cared for specially by the law, in the triennial tithes, etc.  Deuteronomy 19:29;  Deuteronomy 24:17;  Deuteronomy 26:12;  Deuteronomy 27:19;  Exodus 22:22;  Job 24:3;  Job 29:13;  Isaiah 1:17;  Matthew 23:14. God is "judge of the widows" ( Psalms 68:5;  Psalms 146:9), therefore, the judge or righteous vindicator of His church, and of Israel especially (Isaiah 54), widowed by His physical absence, against her adversary Satan ( Luke 18:1-7). For pious widows, see Anna, and the one who gave her all to the Lord's treasury ( Luke 2:36-37;  Luke 20:47;  Luke 21:1-4). (See Anna .) Three classes of widows are distinguished in 1 Timothy 5

(1) The ordinary widow.

(2) The widow indeed, i.e. destitute, and therefore to be relieved by the church, not having younger relatives, whose duty it is to relieve them (let them, the children or descendants, learn first, before calling the church to support them; to show reverent dutifulness toward their own elder destitute female relatives).

(3) The presbyteral widow ( 1 Timothy 5:9-11). Let none be enrolled as a presbyteral widow who is less than 60 years old. Not deaconesses, who were chosen at a younger age (40 was fixed as the limit at the council of Chalcedon) and who had virgins (latterly called widows) as well as widows among them, compare Dorcas ( Acts 9:41). As expediency required presbyters to be but once married ( 1 Timothy 3:2;  Titus 1:6), so also presbyteresses. (The feeling among Jews and Gentiles being against second marriages, the desire for conciliation in matters indifferent, where no principle was compromised, accounts for this rule in the case of bishops, deacons, and presbyteresses, whose aim was to be all things to all men that by all means they might save some:  1 Corinthians 9:22;  1 Corinthians 10:33.) The reference in  1 Timothy 5:9 cannot, as in  1 Timothy 5:3, be to providing church maintenance, for then the restriction to widows above 60 would be harsh, as many might need help at an earlier age.

So the rules that she should not have been twice married, and that she must have brought up children and lodged strangers, would be strange, if the reference were to eligibility for church alms. Tertullian ("De velandis Virginibus," 9), Hermas (Shepherd 1:2), and Chrysostom (Horn. 31) mention an order of ecclesiastical widows, not less than 60 years old, who ministered to widows and orphans. Their experimental knowledge of the trials of the bereaved adapted them for such an office and for general supervision of their sex. Age was a requisite, as in presbyters, to adapt them for influencing younger women; they were supported by the church, but were not the only widows so supported ( 1 Timothy 5:3-4).

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

In Bible times widows usually found life difficult, partly because they were defenceless against people able to take advantage of them. Without anyone to support and protect them, many widows became lonely and poor. The law of Moses recognized that widows needed special protection against social injustice ( Exodus 2:22;  Deuteronomy 24:17;  Jeremiah 7:5-7;  Mark 12:40-44;  Luke 18:1-5).

Throughout the Bible God shows a special concern for widows and he expects people in general to have similar concern ( Deuteronomy 10:18;  Deuteronomy 14:29;  Deuteronomy 24:19;  Psalms 68:5;  Psalms 146:9;  Proverbs 15:25;  Isaiah 1:17;  James 1:27). Christians in the Jerusalem church showed such concern when they organized a daily distribution of food to the widows among them ( Acts 6:1-3). Later, other churches followed their example, though some families abused the system by using the church’s welfare program as a way of avoiding their responsibilities. Paul therefore suggested that the church support only those widows who were over sixty years of age and who had no other means of support. Widows in Christian families were to be supported by those families ( 1 Timothy 5:3-16).

Paul reminded Christians that a widow in the church was free to remarry, provided she married another Christian and provided the circumstances were favourable ( Romans 7:2-3;  1 Corinthians 7:26-27;  1 Corinthians 7:39-40). In the case of younger widows, he advised in favour of remarriage ( 1 Timothy 5:11-15).

A custom in Old Testament times was that when a man died having no children, his brother had the duty of producing a son through the widow. Legally this child was considered to be the son of the dead man and so carried on his family name and inheritance. If the living brother refused to do his duty, he was publicly disgraced for allowing his brother’s family name to die out ( Genesis 38:8-10;  Deuteronomy 25:5-10;  Ruth 1:1-14; Ruth 3;  Ruth 4:1-12;  Matthew 22:24).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Widow. Under the Mosaic dispensation, no legal provision was made for the maintenance of widows. They were left dependent, partly on the affection of relations, more especially of the eldest son, whose birthright, or extra share of the property, imposed such a duty upon him, and partly on the privileges accorded to other distressed classes, such as a participation in the triennial third tithe,  Deuteronomy 14:29;  Deuteronomy 126:12, in leasing,  Deuteronomy 124:19-21, and in religious feasts.  Deuteronomy 116:11;  Deuteronomy 116:14.

With regard to the remarriage of widows, the only restriction imposed by the Mosaic law had reference to the contingency of one being left childless, in which case, the brother of the deceased husband had a right to marry the widow.  Deuteronomy 125:5-6;  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.  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.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A custom was prevalent in patriarchal times,  Genesis 38:1-30 , and was afterwards confirmed by the Mosaic law,  Deuteronomy 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,  Leviticus 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   Deuteronomy 16:11   24:17,19   Psalm 68:5   Isaiah 1:17   10:2   Jeremiah 22:3   Matthew 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 .

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

'Almânâh ( אַלְמָנָה , Strong'S #490), “widow.” Cognates of this word appear in Aramaic, Arabic, Akkadian, Phoenician, and Ugaritic. Biblical Hebrew attests it 55 times and in all periods.

The word represents a woman who, because of the death of her husband, has lost her social and economic position. The gravity of her situation was increased if she had no children. In such a circumstance she returned to her father’s home and was subjected to the Levirate rule whereby a close male relative surviving her husband was to produce a child through her in her husband’s behalf: “Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-inlaw, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown …” (Gen. 38:11 the first occurrence of the word). These words constitute a promise to Tamar that the disgrace of being without both husband and child would be removed when Shelah was old enough to marry. Even if children had been born before her husband’s death, a widow’s lot was not a happy one (2 Sam. 14:5). Israel was admonished to treat “widows” and other socially disadvantaged people with justice, God Himself standing as their protector (Exod. 22:21-24).

Wives whose husbands shut them away from themselves are sometimes called “widows”: “And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood” (2 Sam. 20:3).

Destroyed, plundered Jerusalem is called a “widow” (Lam. 1:1).

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

: (Strong'S # — — — )

 Matthew 28:13 (in some texts);   Mark 12:40,42,43;  Luke 2:37;  4:25,26 , lit., "a woman a widow;"  Luke 7:12;  18:3,5;  20:47;  21:2,3;  Acts 6:1;  9:39,41;  1—Timothy 5:3 (twice),4,5,11,16 (twice);   James 1:27;  1—Timothy 5:9 refers to elderly "widows" (not an ecclesiastical "order"), recognized, for relief or maintenance by the church (cp.   1—Timothy 5:3,16 ), as those who had fulfilled the conditions mentioned; where relief could be ministered by those who had relatives that were "widows" (a likely circumstance in large families), the church was not to be responsible; there is an intimation of the tendency to shelve individual responsibility at the expense of church funds. In  Revelation 18:7 , it is used figuratively of a city forsaken.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

Among the Hebrews, even before the law, a widow who had no children by her husband was to marry the brother of her deceased spouse, in order to raise up children who might inherit, his goods and perpetuate his name and family. We find the practice of this custom before the law in the person of Tamar, who married successively Er and Onan, the sons of Judah, and who was likewise to have married Selah, the third son of this patriarch, after the two former were dead without issue,  Genesis 38:6-11 . The law that appoints these marriages is  Deuteronomy 25:5 , &c. Two motives prevailed to the enacting of this law. The first was, the continuation of estates in the same family: and the other was to perpetuate a man's name in Israel. It was looked upon as a great misfortune for a man to die without an heir, or to see his inheritance pass into another family. This law was not confined to brothers-in-law only, but was extended to more distant relations of the same kind; as we see in the example of Ruth, who married Boaz after she had been refused by a nearer kinsman. See Sandals .

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( v. t.) To deprive of one who is loved; to strip of anything beloved or highly esteemed; to make desolate or bare; to bereave.

(2): ( n.) A woman who has lost her husband by death, and has not married again; one living bereaved of a husband.

(3): ( a.) Widowed.

(4): ( v. t.) To become, or survive as, the widow of.

(5): ( v. t.) To reduce to the condition of a widow; to bereave of a husband; - rarely used except in the past participle.

(6): ( n.) In various games, any extra hand or part of a hand, as one dealt to the table.

(7): ( v. t.) To endow with a widow's right.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Lamentations 1:1 (b) By this we understand the condition of Jerusalem and Israel who had turned their backs on GOD (the husband), and sought other lovers, idolatrous nations, upon whom they lavished their gifts and affections.

 Revelation 18:7 (b) This is Babylon. It is a term which is used to describe the great unrighteous religious world, which boasts that she has sufficient prosperity and power to take care of herself. Because of this she denies that she is like a widow, who has no support, no one to love her, nor care for her. She really lives independent of GOD.

King James Dictionary

WIDOW, n. L. See Wide. A woman who has lost her husband by death.  Luke 2 .

Widows chamber, in London, the apparel and furniture of the bed-chamber of the widow of a freeman, to which she is entitled.

WIDOW,

1. To bereave of a husband but rarely used except in the participle. 2. To endow with a widows right. Unusual. 3. To strip of any thing good.

The widowd isle in mourning--

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( אִלְמָנָה , Χήρα ). The benevolent influence of the Bible is in nothing more apparent than in the superior treatment which woman has experienced among those nations where it has prevailed; especially in that most forlorn; and helpless class of females who have been deprived of the support and protection of a husband. Among pagans, on the contrary, and conspicuously in Oriental lands, the condition of widows is most deplorable. They are generally regarded with suspicion and contempt, and, in many countries, with positive abhorrence, as if the cause of their husbands' death. In India this oppression seems to have reached its culmination of misery; and the atrocious custom of widow-burning or Suttee (q.v.), was for ages the doom of this unfortunate class. (See Woman).

I. Widows Among The Hebrews. — Besides the general law against their hard treatment ( Exodus 22:22-24), there was special legislation respecting them.

1. Their rights should always be respected ( Deuteronomy 10:18;  Deuteronomy 27:19); nor should their clothing or cattle be pledged ( Deuteronomy 24:17), nor their children be sold for debt ( 2 Kings 4:1;  Job 24:9). According to Maimonides (Sanedr. 21, 6) their cases must be tried next after those of orphans.

2. They must be invited to the feasts accompanying sacrifices and tithe- offerings ( Deuteronomy 14:29;  Deuteronomy 16:11-14;  Deuteronomy 26:12 sq.). Childless priest- widows living in their fathers' houses had a right to the priests' meat ( Leviticus 22:13). In later times it was the custom that the rich sent them wine for the passover meal; in the time of the Maccabees widows were also allowed to deposit their property in the temple treasury (2 Macec. 3:10).

3. Gleanings were left for them ( Deuteronomy 24:19-21), and they shared in the battle spoils ( 2 Maccabees 8:28-30). Their remarriage was contemplated ( Leviticus 21:14, but the high-priest was forbidden to marry one), and only on the childless widow did the Levirate law operate ( Deuteronomy 25:5; (See Levirate) ). The later Judaism greatly facilitated the remarriage of widows (Jebanloth, 15:1 sq., 4 sq.; 16:4 sq.), but this was to be done not less than ninety days after the husband's demise. According To Kethuboth, 12:2 sq.; Gittin, 4:3, if the widow remained in her husband's house the heirs had to provide her with the necessary rooms and means for her support; but if she went to her father's home she forfeited her right to support more than was absolutely necessary, and neither she nor the heirs could lay claim to her dowry until the expiration of twenty-five years, provided she could prove by oath that she had not yet received anything of it. In order to get subsistence, widows were allowed to sell the property of their husbands, both real and personal (Kethuboth, 8:8; 9:9; Maim. Ishuth, 16:7 sq.). In case a man left two widows, the first wife had prior claims (ibid. Cosj. 17:1). Betrothed women whose prospective husbands died were considered as widows, and such a one the high-priest was also forbidden to marry. In spite of these laws and regulations, complaints of the unljust treatment of the widows in Israel were heard at different times ( Isaiah 1:17;  Isaiah 1:23;  Isaiah 10:2;  Jeremiah 7:6;  Jeremiah 22:3;  Ezekiel 22:7;  Malachi 3:3), and even in the New Test. period ( Matthew 23:14).

See Selden, De Succ. ad Leg. Ebr. in bona Defunct.; Mendelsohn, Rit. Gesetze, 4; Gans; Erbrecht, 1:152 sq.; Saalschutz, Mosaisches Recht, 831 sq., 860 sq.; Fronmuller, De Vidua Hebraea (Wittenberg, 1714); Dassovius, Vidua Hebraea, in Ugolino's Thesaurus, 30:1025 sq.; Herzog, Real-Encyclop. s.v.; Lichtenberger, Encyclop. des Sciences. Religieuses, s.v. (B.P.)

II. Widows Among Christians . —

1. In the early Church abundant and careful provision was made for them by special ministration appointed under the apostles themselves ( Acts 6:1-6); and Paul gives particular directions concerning them ( 1 Timothy 5:3-16) in terms which have been understood by some commentators as ranking them in a special class of Church officials, but which rather seem to indicate their general maintenance at the expense of the body of believers, after a careful discrimination, such as the nature of the times then dictated. The writers who immediately succeeded the apostles often refer to the duty and practice of caring for the poor widows of the Church (Hermas, AMand. 8:10; Sin7. 1:8; 5:3; Ignlatius, Ad Smyrn. 6; Ad Polycarp. 4; Polycarp, Ad Philip. 4, etc.). In still later times the Apostolical Constitutions and other authorities speak of a distinct order by this name ( Τὸ Χηρικόν ), but these appear to have held an eleemosynary office, rather than to have been themselves beneficiaries. (See Deaconess). They eventually took vows like nuns, and, in fact, devoted themselves to a conventual, or, at least, continent and actively benevolent life. See Smith, Dict. Of Christ. Antiq. s.v. At the same time this body formed a convenient refuge for the destitute widows of those days, and in the Roman Catholic Church nunneries have largely been recruited from the ranks of bereaved or disappointed women. But, aside from this, Christian churches have in all ages exerted themselves with a praiseworthy diligence and liberality to furnish shelter and maintenance for believing widows whose relatives have been found unable or unwilling to provide for them. In more recent times special retreats, called "Old Ladies' Homes," have been established, where, for a moderate charge or entirely gratuitously, indigent widows are comfortably and pleasantly taken care of, without compelling them to become objects of public charity. (See Poor).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

wid´ō ( אלמנה , 'almānāh  ; χήρα , chḗra ): 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 ( Deuteronomy 24:17 , etc.).

The word is first mentioned in the New Testament in  Acts 6:1 : "There arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration." Paul charges that they be particularly cared for, especially those that are "widows indeed," i.e. poor, without support and old (  1 Timothy 5:2-16 ). Some try to find proof in this passage of that ecclesiastical order of widows mentioned in post-apostolic writings. See Literature , Sub-Apostolic; Woman , IV, 5.