In contrast to those who are truly widows, left alone and trusting upon God through a life of prayer, these women are well endowed financially and undisciplined spiritually. The verb spatalaw may be shaded to mean “to live lustfully and lasciviously,” a translation no doubt adopted from verse 11, which mentions the desire of young widows to remarry in opposition to Christ and to their “first faith.” However, the term is used in James 5:5 of miserly rich men: “You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.” This meaning should be taken here as well according to Albert Barnes, a 19th century Presbyterian minister from Philadelphia. “It properly means to live in luxury, voluptuously; to indulge freely in eating and drinking; to yield to the indulgence of the appetites” (176). It is comparable to the behavior of the prodigal son in Luke 15. I. Howard Marshall, professor of New Testament Exegesis at the University of Aberdeen, finds no context upon which to understand sexually immoral activity here (Emerton 588).
Barnes and Marshall disagree in the meaning of the oxymoron “is dead while living.” Barnes contends that such a widow is dead to the proper purposes of this life, seeking after the unfulfilling pleasures of the senses (176). Marshall states that the phrase is indicative of such a woman’s spiritual condition (Emerton 588). If she had been a member of the church, her self-centered lifestyle caused regression in her spiritual life. Pastor of Grace Community Church and president of The Master’s Seminary in California, John MacArthur, Jr., suggests that the women represented here were unregenerate, taking from Ephesians 2:1, but the verb here is qnhskw not nekrow, from which comes nekroV found in Ephesians.
Application: One indicator of a believer’s spiritual life is the priority he or she places on pleasure seeking. This might be done simply in an unwise manner, such as deficit spending or extreme risk taking, or it may be done in a sinful way, by sexual immorality. Believers must always be reminded that they have been bought with a price and no longer belong to themselves; therefore they ought not to live self-centered but others-centered lives.
kai tauta paraggelle, ina anepilhmptoi wsin. (5:7)
Tauta refers forward, especially to the next verse, and not backward to verses 3-6, as many commentators conceive. Because the goal is blamelessness (anepilhmptoV, found also in 1 Timothy 3:2), the instructions immediately following would be the most helpful. Who is it that is in need of blamelessness? It is not the widows who are living indulgently, not the local church, which has not yet been mentioned. It is the families of needy widows, made much more evident by verse 8.
ei de tiV twn idiwn kai malista oikeiwn ou pronoei, thn pistin hrnhtai kai estin apistou ceirwn. (5:8)
“This was one of the great laws of nature written on [heathens’] hearts, and a law which they felt bound to obey. Few things were inculcated more constantly by heathen moralists than this duty [to family].” (Barnes 177) Numerous writers such as Cicero, Homer, Virgil, Servius, and Galgacus recorded maxims concerning caring for one’s own family; the fifth commandment given to Moses directed the Israelites to care for their parents and possibly grandparents. This verse restates verse 4 in a converse sense, focusing on those who would neglect to or even refuse to take care of needy family members and their negative standing before the world. The verb pronoew means “to take thought for beforehand” according to Ralph Earle, former professor of Emeritus of New Testament at Nazarene Theological Seminary (Gaebelein 377). From the cross Jesus arranged for care of His own presumably widowed mother (John 19:25-27). This unfilial person has renounced the faith in action, but not in his heart; loss of salvation is not threatened here. The word apistoV simply means “not believing,” and should not be understood to mean “an infidel” as found in the King James Bible.
Application: If Christians are striving for blamelessness before unbelievers, then they must at least practice the morality of unbelievers. If we are to be known by our love for each other, how can we be lacking in love for the members of our own family?
chra katalegesqw mh elatton etwn exhkonta gegonuia, enoV androV gunh, (5:9)
Many agree with MacArthur’s view that the enrollment of widows meeting the qualifications is disconnected from the previous five verses regarding needy widows. They understand the enrollment to involve enlistment in some type of service in the local church, perhaps prayer or house calls. However, it is more likely that Timothy was merely to recognize those widows who qualify so that the church will not neglect them, as was the problem in Acts 6. The first qualification is need mentioned in verse 3. The second item is the widow’s age. The age of 60 is purposeful in three ways: 1. It limits the number of applicants. 2. At this age, most of a person’s service has already been done, and now it is the family’s or church’s responsibility to take care of God’s servant. 3. By this age the sexual drive has become far more manageable and child bearing is no longer possible. This would be equivalent to today’s age of retirement at 65.
The next qualification is marital fidelity. The phrase “woman of one man” is comparable to “men of one woman” found in 3:2. Barnes does not agree that these two phrases should be understood in the same way but interprets the latter as a prohibition against polygamy (which would not be practiced by women) and the former as a restriction against remarriage. He believes that this interpretation flows more naturally out of the text and that such a condition would be more honorable in the eyes of society and the younger women whom the older were to instruct (Titus 2:3-5). Marshall and MacArthur argue on the basis of Paul’s commendation of remarriage in verse 14 that this phrase must mean faithfulness and sexual purity. A marriage at some time is assumed by this prerequisite and by the term “widow” (chra). Divorce may have been permissible as well because women in that culture did not generally divorce their husbands, and Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:15 that a believer is not responsible if his or her unbelieving spouse leaves.
en ergoiV kaloiV marturoumenh, ei eteknotrojhsen, ei exenodochsen, ei agiwn podaV eniyen, ei qlibomenoiV ephrkesen, ei panti ergw agaqw ephkolouqhsen. (5:10)
These good works should be thought of as necessary criteria, because each of the five acts form a first class conditional statement with the opening words of verse 9 and because they should naturally be practiced by every Christian. The tense of the six verbs is very significant. The first is in the perfect tense, indicating that the widow’s works should already have been testified to by others. The other five are in the aorist tense and in the indicative mood, denoting past action. H. E. Dana and Julius Mantey, former professors or New Testament Interpretation, whose Greek grammar has become widely used, affirm that the aorist tense “has no essential temporal significance, its time relations being found only in the indicative, where it is used as past” (193, italics added).
Regarding raising children, these may have been her own children as well as others’ children or orphans. This word appears only here in the New Testament and is composed of two nouns, teknon and trojh, meaning “child” and “nourishment.” The next verb falls under the same conditions, appearing only here, composed of xenoV and doch meaning “strange(r)” and “a reception.” The third good deed was literally washing the saints’ feet. Former minister and professor of New Testament and Greek Homer Kent, Jr., correlates this act directly with the sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ in John 13 because it is restricted to the saints and because it would be a clear indication of godliness and obedience to Christ (174). Marshall and MacArthur, on the other hand, regard its mention as representative of menial activity that would demonstrate humility (Emerton 596; 208). In addition to these, the widow should have reached out to help those under pressure. Finally, she should have chased after every kind of good deed. These five practices — which represent motherly love, hospitality, humility, kindness, and goodness — may have been cited for the sake of providing an example for younger women to follow. An example of a widow whose good works were testified to is Dorcas. In Acts 9:36-43 Peter was begged to revive Dorcas who had been “always doing good and helping the poor” (NIV) while making clothes, presumably to support herself.
Application: Wives and younger widows should be practicing a lifestyle characterized by these five virtues, and husbands should not squelch opportunities for their wives to host or serve or help. In this U.S. culture which is becoming increasingly individualistic and isolationistic, these transcultural traits will be increasingly needed, though they will be increasingly rare.
newteraV de chraV paraitou: otan gar katastrhniaswsin tou Cristou, gamein qelousin, (5:11)
Young widows should be asked away from being enrolled for two reasons, one of which is found in this verse. The translation “young” for newteraV is better than “new” because of the resurgence of the physical desire to be married and because of Paul’s instructions for the young women (newteraV) to marry and to bear children. After the grieving period, a younger woman will desire to satisfy her sensual (physical) desires, even in opposition to Christ. This may be a reference to a vow of celibacy and/or service taken when widows are enrolled that must be broken in order to remarry. Gary Leggett, as well as Marshall (Emerton 599), proposes that the young widows might oppose Christ by marrying an unbeliever (Gilbrant 411, Vol. 8). This seems less likely than a broken vow to the church, although the evidence of verse 15 is compelling, expressing an intentional break from faith in Christ.
ecousai krima oti thn prwthn pistin hqethsan: (5:12)
The condemnation (krima) is not the result of a desire to marry nor because of remarrying; Paul clearly approves of these activities in verse 14 and in 1 Corinthians 7:9, 39. The Complete Biblical Library—a series whose Greek-English Dictionary is a summary/compilation from writers such as Kittel, Colin Brown, Moulton-Milligan, Bauer, and Liddell-Scott—presents this description of krima: “In the New Testament krima refers to the decision of a judge, usually with a sense of condemnation. This can be human judgment (Matthew 7:2; Luke 24:20) but most frequently refers to the judgment of God upon men” (Gilbrant 405, Vol. 13) These widows have judgment brought on them because they have broken a pledge of service to the church or because they have broken faith by marrying an unbeliever. To be consistent in rejecting the idea that enrollment involved something more than getting needs met, the latter idea ought to be accepted, which allows for a more natural translation of pistiV (faith).
ama de kai argai manqanousin, periercomenai taV oikiaV, ou monon de argai alla kai fluaroi kai periergoi, lalousai to mh deonta. (5:13)
The other danger of allowing young widows to be enrolled is their tendency to become idle: going about among the houses as gossips and busybodies. The word translated “learn” in the NKJV is manqanw, which means “grow accustomed to, make oneself familiar with” (Brown 484, 487). Argai (idle; lazy) is in the nominative case, leaving the verb manqanousin without a direct object; it is not idleness that is learned, as the NKJV has it, but information about households, probably concerning their shortcomings, which would constitute “the things they ought not to be speaking.” It is not merely those who are lazy, but gossips and busybodies too, who are “wandering around the houses” = “going about from house to house” (NIV). The word translated “tattlers” in the KJV (fluaroi) is described well by Barnes:
“Literally, overflowing; . . . They would learn all the news; become acquainted with the secrets of families, and of course indulge in much idle and improper conversation. Our word gossippers would accurately express the meaning here. The noun does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament” (180, italics preserved).PeriergoV literally describes someone whose occupation is to go around, in this case to people’s homes. MacArthur implicates that such people “[are prying] into things that do not concern them” (212). Proverbs 11:13 labels these women as untrustworthy: “He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy conceals a matter” (NASB).
Application: Do not underestimate the desire of woman or man to be married or the ability of an unemployed woman or man to find trouble. The church must not be ignorant of the sinful nature of its members; instead, it must work hard to thwart each one’s vice.
boulomai oun newteraV gamein, teknogonein, oikodespotein, mhdemian aformhn didonai tw avntikeimenw loidoriaV carin; (5:14)
Paul’s advice could not be more appropriate! His desire (boulomai, found in 2:8) for young widows to marry is based on reason, unlike their own wish (qelw) to marry. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 7:8-9, “Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” According to MacArthur, teknogonew (found also in 2:15) means “to have babies,” indicating that Paul’s instructions are directed at least primarily toward widows of childbearing age (213). Her second occupation is illustrated so well in Proverbs 31. Oikodespotew is a compound verb from two nouns, like the word preceding it and two verbs in verse 10; Paul is recommending that she become a master of a house.
Paul finally states plainly his reason, only hinted at in verse 8, for being so choosy when enrolling widows. He is concerned that the behavior of the young widows may provide someone with a cause to slander the gospel. Paul wanted to remove every hindrance he could in order that those opposing the gospel like he had would have the best opportunity to receive it like he had. Leggett explains that aformhn is a military term meaning “a base of operations” (413).
hdh gar tineV exetraphsan opisw tou Satana. (5:15)
It is unclear who tineV refers to, whether it is those who are opposing Christianity or to young widows who have broken their first faith; most commentators agree that it refers to the young widows, in the light of verses 11 and 12. The key word is hdh because it stresses the urgency of the situation: some already turned away from Christ to follow Satan. The verb is not passive, as indicated in the Complete Biblical Library (Gilbrant 412, Vol. 8), but deponent, from ektrepomai. MacArthur believes that these women were following after false teaching and even spreading it themselves (213). However, it is more likely to be simply the influence of an unbelieving husband.
Application: The employment of the homemaker is exceedingly honorable, and no woman should willfully turn away from it. Also, a good marriage is a deterrent both to those who are opposing the faith and to those who would turn from the faith to pursue sin.
ei tiV pisth ecei chraV, eparkeitw autaiV, kai mh bareisqw h ekklhsia, ina taiV ontwV chraiV eparkesh. (5:16)
Paul now brings his instructions full circle, reiterating the focus of verses 3-4 and 8. What is it that this verse says that the others have not already said? Two things: 1. Though disputed in the manuscript evidence, the best reading for this verse has pisth only, which is translated “believing woman.” This may indicate that as part of her managing the household, the wife is to help her mother and mother-in-law if they become widowed and are in need. 2. Care offered by the church is not mentioned until this verse, only implied. These instructions are not just for families to practice true religion or fulfill their moral obligations, but also that the church might not be burdened with so many widows in need of its time, attention, and resources.
Application: The healthy practice of religion on a personal level will free the church to tend to its more vital functions: to practice evangelism, to declare the truths of Scripture, and to pray. However, qualified widows are not a burden to the church but an asset, having given much of their lives to service and having gained much wisdom and understanding to pass on to those who are following after.
