Widow
In the old testament the word widow is almanah[1] AlefLamedMemNunHeh.
The word widowhood is almon [2] AlefLamedMemNun. The word AlefLamedMem by itself means to bind or make silent.[3]
A widow is not limited to a woman whose husband was dead but it could a family that was devastated by health or other physical issues. Often the care and concern for the widow is extended to the orphan or the fatherless and the stranger(temporary inhabitant, a newcomer lacking inherited rights), and even the Levite.
The people actually held title to the land and all the power of the state remained with the people. The levites were separate from the people and therefore as the called out or Church in the wilderness the church was separate from the state.
- Deuteronomy 14:29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which [are] within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
This sharing and freewill giving could consist of whatever you produced. You could turn it into something easier to transport like money but you were expected to be generous to the levite within the gates as well as the widows.
Deuteronomy 14:27 And the Levite that [is] within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. 28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
This same grouping of widows and orphans with levites is seen concerning festivals in:
- Deuteronomy 16:11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow <0490>, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there.
Deuteronomy 16:14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow <0490>, that are within thy gates.
Deuteronomy 26:12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow <0490>, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; 13 Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow <0490>, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:
In about AD 150, Justin Martyr, hoping to clear the misconceptions and prejudices surrounding Christianity, wrote the Emperor Antoninus Pius in defense of the Christian faith and allegiance to Christ:
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Footnotes
- ↑ 0490 ^הנמלא^ ‘almanah \@al-maw-naw’\@ from 0488; a widow; n f; AV-widow 53, desolate house 1, desolate palace 1; 55 1) widow
- ↑ 0489 ^ןמלא^ ‘almon \@al-mone’\@ from 0481 as in 0488; n m; AV-widowhood 1; 1 1) widowhood
- ↑ 0481 ^םלא^ ‘alam \@aw-lam’\@ a primitive root; v; AV-dumb 7, put to silence 1, binding 1; 9 1) to bind 1a) (Niphal) 1a1) to be dumb 1a2) to be bound 1b) (Piel) binding (part.)
- “And the wealthy among us help the needy ... and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need.” Justin Martyr to Emperor Antoninus Pius (Ch. 65-67) explaining the Daily ministration of the Church which exemplifies the Christian conflict with Rome.
Justin would not trade his faith in Christ and his perfect law liberty though that faith and charity for the benefits of Rome because he knew that what they offered for his welfare was truly a snare of recompense.