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COOU Journal of Arts and Humanities (CJAH) Vol. 5 No. 3, 2020

ABSTRACT
Many studies have been carried out on the responsibility of the church in caring for widows 
that are in real need but few have focused on Paul's recommendation for the Church regarding 
those that are widows 'indeed' and how they should be cared for. The number of women 
becoming widows has been increasing on daily basis due to the deaths of their husbands which 
are caused by various reasons such as insurgency, ethnic wars, HIV infections, accidents, old 
age and many others. This paper, therefore, examines critically Paul's teaching on care of real 
widows in 1Timothy 5:3-5, 8 in relation to the practice of care of widows in the church. The 
paper adopts a critical exegetical interpretation drawing resources from secondary sources. 
The secondary source has to do with both published and unpublished materials from books, 
journals, commentaries, newspapers, internets, etc. The study recommends that there is need 
for the Church to follow the recommendations spelt out by St. Paul in 1Timothy 5:3-5, 8, so that 
the Church is not over-burdened with so many responsibilities.

Keywords: Exegetical Analysis, Church, Ontos Cheras, Implication

Introduction
Several studies have shown that widows undergo several challenges after the death of their 
husbands within the society and these affect their socio-economic development and spiritual 
growth in the society. However, despite the church's effort in caring for the need of the widows, 
there are still much to be accomplished. Odaga (1994) opines that widows' care was done as an 
expression of love and respect to the family of the deceased. “The church has done very little to 
see to it that the needs of genuine widows were met appropriately.  From the beginning of its 
ministry, the church had a concern for believing widows, (Acts 6:1; 9:39). Of course, the nation 
of Israel had sought to care for widows; and God had given special legislation to protect them 
(Deut. 10:18; 24:17; Isa. 1:17). God's special care for the widows is a recurring theme in the 
Scripture (Deut. 14:29; Ps. 94:6; Mal. 3:5). It was only right that the local church show 
compassion to these women who were in need. According to David, (2013) James elevates the 
activity of caring for widows and orphans as the very essence of pure and undefiled religion.

However, the church must be careful not to waste her resources on people who really 
are not in need. There are individuals and entire families that "milk" local churches, while they 
themselves refuse to work or to use their own resources wisely. As long as they can get hand-
outs from the church, why bother to go to work and made a living for themselves? Paul listed 
the qualifications a widow must meet if she is to be supported by the church.

JIBROMAH, Oghenekevwe Kate (Mrs)
Department of Religious Studies,

Adeyemi college of Education, Ondo,
Ondo State, Nigeria.

Email: jibromahok@aceondo.edu.ng
Tel: +2348181296640/08123197985

A CRITICAL EXEGETICAL ANALYSIS OF 
'ONTOSCHERAS' (1TIMOTHY 5: 3-5, 8):
ITS IMPLICATION FOR THE CHURCH.



This study was conducted to identify how best widowhood care can be applied in relation to 
biblical principle. The Bible speaks highly of widows who desperately need the church's help 
and support from their relatives. Thus the paper focuses on Paul's instruction in 1Timothy5:3-
5, 8, on the criteria to use in selecting widows that should be cared for and its implication for 
the church.

The Biblical Basis for the Care of Widows
The term “widow” is found approximately one-third of time in legal texts, one-third in 
prophetic texts, and one-third in wisdom and historical literature, Stephen, (1996). 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), Smith (1901). 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 (Exod. 22:21-22; Deut. 27:19); she was specifically 
permitted to glean the fields and vineyards during harvest time (Deut. 24:14; Ruth 2); tithes 
were to be shared with her (Deut. 14:29; 26:12-13); provision was to be made for her at the 
main religious feasts (Deut. 16:9-15s); her garment could not be taken as collateral for a loan 
(Deut. 24:17); and the levirate institution would not only provide an heir for the land for 
childless widows, it would help them to be integrated back into the society, Stephen(1996).

In Biblical times, the term for “widow” sometimes acquired the connotation of a 
person living in extreme poverty. While this was not always the case, widows were 
nevertheless prime targets for exploitation. It was because of this vulnerable state that God 
himself took steps to secure the protection of widows, commanding his people to show 
compassion and sensitivity towards them in their need, Brian & Austin (2015).

A 'widow' is a woman who has lost her husband to death, who has outlived the man she 
married; especially when such a woman has not remarried, (Webster, 1973:2090). The status 
of the widow in Bible times and even in our contemporary society can be aptly described as 
precarious, burdensome, mentally, financially, emotionally and physically draining. Biblical 
corpus considered widowhood as a reproach to the surviving spouse (Isa. 54:4). “The fate most 
feared and bewailed by a woman was to become a widow”, (Kittel, 1964). Lamentations 1:1 
hints that being a widow is like being a slave. Also, Spencer (1994) in his assertion, defined 
widows as a distinctive group of persons sharing certain social characteristics pertaining to 
gender and family status, all widows are women with deceased husband. 

Smith (1901) the legislation acknowledged the fact of the vulnerability of the widow 
and many Old Testaments texts indicate that she was victimised repeatedly (Exod. 22:22-23; 
Isa. 1:23; 10:2; Ezek. 22:7; Mal. 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 (Isa. 1:17; Jer. 7:6; 22:3; Zech. 7:10).Wisdom texts encouraged a 
benevolent attitude towards widows. Job's comforters accused him of heinous crimes, 
particularly of oppressing the widow (Job 22:9), but he countered the argument that he never 
sent away a begging widow without food and he often made her broken heart sing (Job 29:13; 
31:16). Also, Stephen, (1996) asserts that God's 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 (Jer. 49:11) 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 

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especially of the eldest son, whose birth right 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. (Deut. 16:11, 14). With regards 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 the right to marry the widow, (Deut. 25:5-
6) and Matt 22:23-30).

Smith, (1901) argues that widows were prominent in the New Testament. It was no 
accident that one of the poorest of the widows, Anna, was privileged to greet the infant messiah 
(Luke 2:36-38). The adult Jesus followed in the footsteps of his predecessors with his concern 
for the plight of the widows. He healed a widow's son because of compassion for his mother 
(Luke 7:1-17), he protested the exploitation of widows (Mark 12:40), he reversed the standard 
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 and the redressing of all wrongs against her (Lk18:1-8).

Smith, (1901) believes that in the apostolic church, the widows were sustained at the 
public's expense, the relief being daily administered in kind, under the superintendence of 
officers appointed for this special purpose, a special fund was instituted for widows (Acts 6:1-
6) and as the church matured, the younger widows were urged to remarry while a special class 
of widows was maintained economically. Particularly, directions are given by Saint Paul as to 
the class of person entitled to such public maintenance (1Tim5:3-16). Out of the body of such 
widows, a certain number was to be enrolled, the qualification for such enrolment being that 
they were not under 60 years of age, that they had been  (the wife of one man) probably 
meaning 'but once married', they had led useful and charitable lives (1Tim5:9-10).  Stephen 
(1996),  in his submission, affirmed that the early church, the messianic community, defined 
the essence of true religion as demonstrating compassion to the poor and the needy, in 
particular the widow and the orphans (Jam 1:27).

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Exegesis of 1Timothy 5:3-5, 8.
3×? ñáò ô?µá ô? ò?íôùò÷? ñáò. 
4å?ä?ôéò÷? ñá ô?êíá ?  ?êãïíá 
? ÷ å é ,  µ á í è á í ? ô ù ó á í  
ðñ? ôïíô? í?äéïíï?êïíå? óåâå?
í êá? ? µïéâ? ò ? ðïäéä?íáé ôï?ò 
ðñïã? íïéò, ôï? ôïã? ñ?óôéí 
? ð? äåêôïí?í? ðéïí ôï? èåï? . 
5

?  ä ? ? í ô ù ò ÷ ? ñ á  ê á ?  
µåµïíùµ?íç? ëðéêåí ?ð? èå?í 
êá? ðñïóµ?íåé ôá?òäå? óåóéí 
êá? ôá?ò ðñïóåõ÷á?ò íõêô?ò 

8
êá? ? µ?ñáò? å?ä?ôéòô? í?ä?ùí 

    1Timothy5:3-5, 8: (RSV)
3 Honour widows who are 

4 real widows. If a widow has 

children or grandchildren, 

let them first learn their 

religious duty to their own 

family and make some 

return to their parents; for 

this is acceptable in the sight 
5 

of God. She who is a real 

widow, and is left all alone, 

has set her hope on God and 



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A Critical Exegetical Interpretation of 1Timothy 5:3-5, 8
During Paul's fourth missionary journey, he had instructed Timothy to care for the church at 
Ephesus (1 Tim.1:3) while he went on to Macedonia. However, when Paul realised that he 
might not return to Ephesus in the near future, he wrote this first letter to Timothy to develop 
the charge he had given Timothy before. In this chapter, Paul gives Timothy many instructions 
on how to deal with various groups of people within the church. He reiterates that it is the 
responsibility of overseers (elders) and pastors to reprove sin in the church and to discipline 
church members. However, it is never suitable to harshly rebuke an older person. Rather, the 
pastor should treat older people with the respect he would show to his own parents. Paul 
further explains that Timothy should advise and admonish younger members of the church as 
he would his own brothers and sisters. He then changes his topic of discussion and focuses on 
widow care, saying that caring for widows is a very important Christian duty and so the church 
was obliged to take into consideration the welfare of widows in the church (Miruka, et.al 
(2015).

In 1Timothy 5:3-8, Apostle Paul instructs Timothy with regards to handling the 
problems with widows. This discussion is one of the most extensive on a particular subject in 
the entire epistle. This indicates that this was a significant problem in the Ephesians' Christian 
community and therefore expresses urgency for this situation to be dealt with promptly and 
correctly. In this periscope Paul identifies three different types of widows. First, are real 
widows who are in need and have no relatives to support them materially? Second, are widows 
who have relatives who can support them materially (1Tim.5:4).Third, are widows who have a 
self-indulgent lifestyle (1Tim.5:6-7). Paul teaches that only the first group is to be supported 
materially by the Ephesians' Christian community. However, as much as the church supports 
the widows with the benevolence fund, they should be careful, for there will always be those 
who are in need and those who want to take advantage. The relatives and the children of the 
second group were actually responsible to financially support this category of widows. The 
third group was not worthy of any financial support. However, to the fourth group in verse 9 
to14 Paul recommends them to remarry and not only so, but to be supported by their husbands 
who will make sure that they are kept occupied so that they do not become busybodies and 
gossips. The Apostle did not want the church to waste her financial resources on people who 
are really not in need.  In 1Timothy5:3-8, Apostle Paul instructs Timothy about those widows 
to be enrolled to receive benefits from the church and the widows who should not. This 
however, is not an official order of widows because this passage does not address the duties of 
widows but rather simply the qualifications that must be met by widows in order for them to be 
supported by the church.

ê á ? µ ? ë é ó ô á  ï ?ê å ?ù í ï ?  
ðñïíïå?ôáé, ô? í ð?óôéí? ñíçôáé 
êá? ?óôéí ? ð?óôïõ÷å?ñùí.

continues in supplications 
8 and prayers night and day; 

If any one does not provide 

for his relatives,  and 

especially for his own 

family, he has disowned the 

faith and is worse than an 

unbeliever. 



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1Timothy5:3- ÷? ñáò ôßìá ô? ò?õôùò÷Þñáò “Give proper recognition to those widows 
who are really in need”. This verse begins the periscope that ends in 1Timothy 5:16 and 
addresses the issue of which widows in the Ephesians' Christian Community were eligible to 
receive financial aid from the church. It also contains the omission of conjunctions to 
emphasize the prohibition in 1Timothy 5:3 in the sense that Paul wants Timothy to dwell upon 
it and obey it. This figure emphasizes the importance of this command for the Christian 
community in Ephesus. According to the New Analytical Greek Lexico, the word 'widow' is 
translated chera (÷? ñá) meaning a woman whose husband has died. Greek word ÷? ñá is a noun 
in the nominative case and its gender is feminine. Friberg (2000) explains that, “The word 
chera which in Hebrew is translated “bereft” conveys a sense of suffering loss or being left 
alone. 

In the context of the Apostle, the word 'widow 'specifically refers to a special category 
of widows, namely those who are not receiving financial and material support from their 
children or relatives. It refers to those who are in need materially because they do not have 
children to support them materially. 'Give proper recognition' implies, to provide for widows 
who have no children or relatives to support them as an expression of honouring them. It was 
done as an expression of love and respect to the family of the deceased. The Greek word ôéìáù 
simply means to 'revere' or 'value'. The widows had to be honoured if they meet the criteria that 
Paul later stated in 1Timothy 5:3 which is simply a reminder to Timothy to continue doing 
what they talked about before Paul left for Macedonia. 

'Widows indeed' (?íôùò÷Þñáò) the phrase 'widows indeed' is qualified by the Greek 
term ïíôüswhich is translated “desolate” which means having been left alone. It also indicates 
that no one is able to help her. The “widows indeed” refers to those widows who meet the 
qualifications presented by Paul in this chapter making them eligible for material aid from the 
church but does not deny that other widows are not widows in the normal sense of the word. 

1Timothy5:4 consist of two parts: Protasis which is the first part of a conditional 
sentence, whereas an apodosis is the second complementary part. The Protasis,  is 'if a widow 
has children or grandchildren,' and the apodosis is 'then' these should learn first of all to put 
their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and 
grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.' Miruka, (2015) Citing Levisohn, (2000) asserts, 
“she” is hypothetical, for it is speaking of those widows who have children or grandchildren 
who can support them in contrast to those mentioned in verse 3 who do not have children or 
relatives to support them”. Therefore, it refers to a Christian widow who does not qualify to 
receive material aid from the Christian community in Ephesus. It is referring to Christian 
widow in order to teach a principle that is always applicable for Christians. “Children” is the 
noun ôåêíïí which speaks of the offspring or children of the particular Christian widow or 
hypothetical Christian widow. The Greek term Ýêã? íïò translated “nephews” means 
'descendants' or 'grandchildren' George (1992) in Miruka, et al (2015).

The apodosis indicates that children and grandchildren of widows must be taught to 
care for their parents and grandparents. This refers to the act of carefully communicating and 
instructing the children and grandchildren of widows in a face to face manner with regard to 
their responsibilities towards their parents. This would involve teaching them the implications 
of the commandment in Exodus 20:12 to honour one's father and mother. It is communicating 
the authoritative proclamation of God's will to Christian children and grandchildren with 
respect to their responsibilities to their parents and grandparents, therefore, revealing their true 



spirituality in the context of family relationships. According to Strong,(Strong's 1901:113), the 
adjective 'first'(ðñ? ôïò) means “foremost” in time, place, order or importance.'ðñ? ôïò' 
emphasizes the  that children and grandchildren of widows should learn through instruction to 
fulfil the financial duties to their parents. It also emphasises that children and grandchildren 
should exercise godliness in their own family. 

The third part of 1Timothy 5:4 explains in greater detail what Paul meant by his 
previous statement that children and grandchildren of widows are to exercise godliness with 
their own families by providing material support to their parents and grandparents. This is a 
clear responsibility of the children for their parents including grandparents. Vines elaborates 
the word “repay” in his dictionary by saying, “The word “repay” is the Greek word that means 
“recompense”,  '? ìåéâ?ìáé'is to repay, which is not found in the New Testament is used with 
the verb 'áð?äéäïìéò' meaning to 'render'. In 1Timothy 5:4 this use is illustrated in the papyri by 
way of conferring a benefaction in return for something” Miruka, P.et al (2015) citing Vines, 
(1997). This indicates that children are to give back a return to their forebears which includes 
material support. Besides providing material items such as food, clothing and housing, parents 
also should give intangible assets such as love and encouragement to their children. This will 
give a great and happy privilege for children to also return a small measure of the tremendous 
support they have received from their parents. 

Fourth, is the causal clause which is connected to the exegetical clause and so presents 
the reason for the exegetical clause and the apodosis. The word 'åíùðéïí', an adjective and its 
gender is neuter and means' before' or 'in the presence of', as in Luke 5:25, 8:47, Rev 4:5. The 
word èåïõ is used to denote one true God and in Septuagint èåïsis a translation of the Hebrew 
words 'Elohim' former indicating his 'power and pre-eminence'. The causal clause presents the 
reason why Paul wants the children and grandchildren of widows to fulfil their financial 
obligations to them. It indicates that fulfilling one's material obligations to one's parents and 
grandparents is pleasing and acceptable to the Father since this is in accordance with God the 
Father's will and also an exercise of godliness and honours him. 

1Timothy5:5. The phrase 'widows indeed' is the English equivalent of the Greek phrase 
?íôùò÷Þñá which is also translated as 'desolate' meaning 'having been left alone'. This also 
indicates that no one was able to help them. In ancient times widows were in an especially 
difficult position because honourable employment for them was not readily available. Perhaps 
some could receive help through family or friends but many lived in poverty never having 
received an inheritance. The outlook for many was a test whereby believers demonstrated the 
genuineness of their faith. In Paul's context the “widows who are really in need” refers to a 
widow who does not have children or relatives to support them materially. She is the widow 
who meets the qualification presented by Paul in verse 5 making her eligible for material 
support from the church. “She who is left alone puts her hope in God” ìåìïíùìÝíç? ëðéêåí åð? 
èåïí. The Greek phrase ? ëðéêåí ?ðß èå?í is translated as 'puts her hope in God and implies 
having a confident expectation and has to do with the unseen and the future. The word çëðéêåí 
is in the perfect active indicative singular and it describes a true widow who confidently 
expects to receive logistical grace from God, for example, his provision to meet her daily needs 
(Matthew 6:25-34; Hebrews 13:5). The word also refers to her confident expectation of 
receiving God's rewards for faithful service because of her faith and good deeds in the past. 

1Timothy5:8.The word 'ðñïíïåù' means to have in mind to do; to provide for, care for, 

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take care of Miruka  & Louw (1996: 220) explains the verb ðñïíïåù as a compound word 
which is composed of the preposition 'pro' which means 'before' and the verb íïåù which 
means 'to take thought'. In later writings among the Greeks and Septuagint, it also could mean 
to 'care for, provide or be concerned about'. The word appears only three times in the New 
Testament (Rom12:17, 2Cor 8:21, 1Tim5:8). In the above verses, the verb 'ðñïíïåù' means, 
“To have regard for, take into consideration, carefully consider. The verb 'ðñïíïåù' in 
1Timothy 5:8 is used of believers to provide materially for the widows who are in one's own 
lineage.

The word 'ì? ëéóôá' is an elative superlative adverb and appears a dozen times in the 
Greek New Testament (Acts 20:28, Gal. 6:10, Phil. 4:22, 1Tim. 4:10).Mirukaet al Citing 
Thayer (1996:613), gives the following meanings, 'to an unusual degree, most of all, 
especially, particularly. Louw and Nida define the word as, 'a very high point on a scale of 
extent', 'very much', 'particularly', exceptionally (Louw and Nida 1996:280) in Miruka, 
(2015). In 1Timothy 5:8, the adverb 'ì? ëéóôá' functions as a superlative adverb meaning, 
“especially” and is used to single out those who are members of immediate Christian family 
such as parents and grandparents. It denotes an exact point on a scale of extent. The term is 
actually emphasising the command for the Christians' responsibilities to care for their own 
parents and grandparents and even beyond one's own extended family. 

“oikeios” is derived from “oikos” which means, 'of a house, what belongs or related to 
a house or household'. Thus here in 1Timothy 5:8, the word denotes “one's own immediate 
family”. Thus the Christian is to provide for those women in his own immediate family who 
are widows. The statement, 'He has denied the faith' is composed of articular, accusative case 
and feminine singular. The noun 'ô? í ð?óôéò', “the faith” and is followed by the third person 
singular perfect middle indicative form of the verb '? ñíåïìáé', “he has denied”. The verb 
'? ñíåïìáé' means, 'to refuse'. However, at times it could mean, “To reject or to decline” and 
even, “to deny something or someone'. The word occurs only six times in the Septuagint and 
in Genesis 18:15 it is used of Sarah, “denying” that she laughed when the Lord promised 
that she and her husband would have a child a year later. The term also occurs 33 times in the 
New Testament. 

In 1Timothy 5:8, the verb '? ñíåïìáé' means “to reject” and its object is an articular with 
a noun 'ð?óôéò' which denotes that body of doctrine taught by the Lord and the apostles. Thus, 
'ð?óôéò' is synonymous with the gospel and speaks of it as that which the church believes. 
Therefore, the verb refers to the Christian refusing to obey the teaching of the Lord and the 
apostles which constitutes the New Testament. The term speaks of the Christian refusing to 
obey the command to support the widows materially when they are in need. The noun'ð?óôéò' is 
used in an objective sense for the Christian faith. It refers to the content of what Paul taught the 
Gentile churches, in other words as a description of the gospel. It also refers to the gospel from 
the perspective of a body of doctrine or that which is believed by the church. Commenting on 
the phrase, 'and is worse than unbeliever', Knight (1992) writes, “such a person is worse than  
unbeliever, because Paul regards believers as having the word of the law written on their hearts 
and therefore even unbelievers are known to do instinctively the things of the law(Roms. 2:14-
15, 1Cor. 5:1). Thus, for a professed believer who has God's law and fails to do what even 
many unbelievers do warrants the verdict that he is “worse than an unbeliever”  

The conjunction êá? is an adjunct, meaning that it is introducing a statement that 



presents an additional consequence of Christian failing to support members of his household 
who are widows and need material support. The word denotes 'an emphatic amplification' of 
the denial of Christian faith; the Christian who fails to provide for those widows in his 
immediate and extended family is worse than an unbeliever. The verb 'å?ì?' means, 'to exist in a 
particular state or condition' which is complemented by the expression '? ðßóôïõ÷åßñùí', 
'worse than unbeliever'. This describes a Christian who does not provide for the material needs 
of his parents or grandparents.

Implication of 1Tim 5:3-5, 8 to the Church
The opening instruction of St. Paul in 1Timothy 5:3 controls the thought of the whole passage. 
The church must properly recognize its needy widows (literally, "real widows"). Proper 
recognition ("honour") was to be expressed in practical support. The practical implications of 
this are that while the church does well in putting in place a program to take care of widows, it 
must not shy away from putting in place a fool proof mechanism to make sure that every 
widow that receives help is really worthy of the help. It must also ensure that those who are 
supposed to get help are all captured within the widow help program as suggested by St. Paul in 
1Tim 5:3-8.  Michael, (2013) believes that, if the widow has family members who can take 
care of her, then they should be taking care of her. She is not a “real” widow, and the church 
does not need to treat her in the same way that the church deals with a widow who has no one to 
help her. The TNIV explains the idea in this way: “Give proper recognition to those widows 
who are really in need.” But good stewardship of the church's limited resources and protection 
of its reputation required the leadership to decide who the "real" widows in the church were 
and whether other means of support were available (NIV).

One of the key objectives of the Church in caring for widows is being a catalyst in 
getting family members involved in caring for their own. 'But if any provide not for his own, 
and especially for those of his own house': here is the manifest distinction between his own, 
?ó?ùí and his own household, ï?êå?ùí they are distinguished by terms in the Greek, and as to 
the care which men and women ought to extend to them. By his own, he means his relations, all 
of a man's family or stock; by his own household, he seems to mean those who cohabit with 
him. Paul wanted Christian families to be as mutually supportive as possible. He insisted that 
children and grandchildren take care of the widows in their families, for this would show 
godliness at homeland it would please God very much, (Adam, 1967).

The Apostle said that he who is careless of providing for the former, (so far as he is 
able), but especially for the latter, hath denied the Christian faith, that is, in the practice of it, 
though in words he professes it; he lives not up to the rule of the gospel, which directs other 
things. To make widow's care holistic, children who are able to take care of their aged widowed 
parents should have encouragement from the church to do so. They needed a program of 
instruction to prevent them from being negligent. In order words, the Church has the 
prerogative to reach out to children whose mother belong to the church who are widows by 
encouraging them to take care of their widowed mother.  If there are widows whose children 
are quite young and are not able to cater for their mothers, then the church has a responsibility 
to care for these widows.

Conclusion
From the study, it was observed that the role the Church has to play in addressing the plight of
 the widows should be well spelt out as recommended by St. Paul in 1Timothy 5:3-5 & 8. The 

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Church should not always address the care of widows from the point of the general welfare to 
the less privilege in the Church. The church is expected to educate and admonish the children, 
relatives of the widows on how to cater for their widowed mothers. And this they can do by 
setting up a ministry that can look into the affairs of the widows and address their needs. The 
church cannot single-handedly meet the various needs of the widows among them. When they 
follow St. Paul's injunction, the burden on the church will become light.

REFERENCES

Adam C.(1967). Clark's commentary volume V. New York: Abingdon Press.
Brian, C. & Austin, W. (2015). Caring for Widows. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway 
Publisher.
David, G. (2013). 1Timothy- How to treat people in the Church: Enduring word. 1Timothy 5- 

IVP New Testament commentaries: proper recognition of widows in need. LACNT-p 
948.

Friberg, T. (2000).Analytical Lexicon of Greek New Testament: Bakers Greek Testament 
Library. Grand Rapids, Mich: Bakers Books.

Kittel, G., & Gerhard, F, (Eds.). (1964–1976). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. 
10  vols. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Knight III, G.W. (1992). The Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text. The New 
International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans 
Publishing Co. 

Michael M. (2013). The strange list of widows: A study of 1Timothy 5. Retrieved from 
www.gcs.edu. 

Miruka, P., Aloo, M.  Nathan, J., & Onginjo, M. (2015). The Role of the Church and the 
Christian family towards widow care as highlighted by Paul. Sociology and 
Anthropology3(1) 52-57.Retrieved from http://www.hrpub.org  DOI: 
10.13189/sa.2015.030107.

Odaga, A.B. (1994).Luo Sayings. Kisumu: Lake Publishers and Enterprises. 
Smith, W. (1901). Widow. Dictionaries- Smith's Bible Dictionary. 

Revised Standard Vision (1971). The British and Foreign Bible Society. 
Glasgow: International Book Manufacturing.
Stephen G. D. (1996). Widow. Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Walter, 

A.(Ed.), Elwell: Baker's Books Publishers.
Spencer, F. S. (1994). Neglected Widows in Acts 6: 1-7. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 

56 (40) 715-733.Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4372191. 
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1901). Computer File: Libronix Digital 

Library System 2.0., Libronix Corporation.
Webster, M. (1973). New Twentieth Century Dictionary of English Language (2nd ed.). 

Cleveland: The World Publishing Company.


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