According to the author’s commentary on 1 Timothy 5:3-16, woman has the great role to partake in ministering the Church. “Keep on honoring widows” according to her, Paul made a distinctive discussion about widows on his writings. True widows were being related to the elders and they should be treated with reverence. The author deeply discussed about the word, “timao” as God’s command in the Old Testament which implies of honoring the father and mother. The word “honor” also means to provide for the physical needs of a person, most specifically, of the widows. As the commentary deeply implies, the real widows do not just be taken care of, but they also do their humble jobs of praying.

            As it is also being related to the New Testament by Jesus, honoring parents means providing them with their physical needs, on Matthew 15:3-6. Paul also adheres to this instruction but he gave some distinctions: “But if some widows has children or grandchildren, let them keep on learning to show piety first to their own household and to keep on giving back to the parents, for this is pleasing before God.”   Taking care of parents is a sign of showing godliness and a way of living that shows adoration to God in terms of every person’s word and action. As it is also implied in 1 John 4:20 that how can a person show his love to God if he himself cannot honor his family members whom he can see?

            Jesus and Paul have emphasized the importance of honoring parents however tracing the Jewish Rabinnic Tradition, the heirs of the former husband of a widow has the responsibility of caring for her unless these heirs have able to reimburse her dowry. The heirs of the widowed husband have the responsibility to keep their widow at home which they have inherited. That is why Jesus has also deepened this culture of letting his disciple take care of his mother. He made an instruction for his disciples to take care of one another.

            The author defined that a real widow has no one to care of her, “but the real widow who is left alone has hoped in God and continues in prayers for the needs and reverent prayers by night and day, but the one living luxuriously has died.”   As it is understood in a patriarchal society, when a widow’s husband died and she has not inherited anything, she will be financially insufficient on her lifetime. Jesus condemns those scribes who while in their feasts, suppress widow’s houses. The Old Testament has showed several instances where God looks after the widows. Widows were the class in the society that was easily suppressed who should obtain justice. For God who is “great and strong and awesome, who is not partial executes justice for stranger and orphan and widow.”   Paul’s solution to this kind of crisis is to let widows be paid for their works of prayers. 

            There is a provision as well that a real widow must be a one-man woman which means that on her lifetime, she has only lived with her only husband until his death. Therefore, she must not live with other male companion in her life other than her husband, for the contrast of this provision is called adultery on their culture, on the era of ancient marriage. However, it was changed on the era of Emperor Augustus.

            To summarize, the widow’s role in the Jewish and Greek tradition was very important being part of the society. They are seen to be a devoted women member of the society who has lived a life of righteousness in spite of their fate. They devout themselves to prayer and became the model of reverence for their submission to God’s will in terms of prayer. They were being respected in the society being a real and virtues widow. Therefore, to be a member of this kind of societal class, they need to follow some provisions of the society such as maintaining to be single for the rest of their life and devoting themselves to prayer.

Reference:

Aida Bersancon Spencer, “1Timothy: A New Covenant Commentary,” The Lutterworth Press: Cambridge, 2014.

By: Jeffrey E. Loma