“Honour widows that are widows indeed.”
Honor widows who are truly widows — the apodictic command (timā) to honor widows reflects both OT precedent and early Christian social practice. The qualifier ontos chērēs (truly/really widows) distinguishes those genuinely bereft from those with family support or security.
Church Fathers on 1 Timothy 5:3
Why does he say nothing of virginity, nor command us to honor virgins? Perhaps there were not yet any professing that state, or they might have fallen from it. “For some,” he says, “are already turned aside after Satan.” 1 Timothy 5:15 For a woman may have lost her husband, and yet not be truly a widow. As in order to be a virgin, it is not enough to be a stranger to marriage, but many other things are necessary, as blamelessness and perseverance; so the loss of a husband…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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