Sense: to support ⇔ honor
v. — to support financially or materially, conceived of as showing proper respect.
Honor [τίμα] widows who are truly widows.
1 Timothy 5:3
The book of James declares, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” Both the Old and New Testaments proclaim God’s undying devotion to care for widows and orphans. How is that devotion to be carried out in the church? 1 Timothy 5 answers that question in part. If a widow has any family members, they should care for her so the church will not be burdened (v. 16, sense). But if she has no one (v. 5), the church should enroll her (v. 9). All of these clues (and more) point toward the conclusion that the “honor” of verse 3 is not social, but financial. If the elders who preach are worthy of double “compensation” (v. 17), then let the widows be cared for with at least singular “compensation.”
What is the Bible Sense Lexicon?
Sense of the Day is based on content from Logos’ Bible Sense Lexicon, which organizes biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words by meaning based on a variety of semantic relationships. Sense of the Day provides examples of senses in context, along with insight into their application for theology and interpretation.
The Bible Sense Lexicon is a Logos dataset available in Logos 5 Gold and higher base packages. If you’re enrolled in the Logos Academic Discount Program, you can also find the Bible Sense Lexicon in the Biblical Languages base package. Take your studies even further by exploring semantic domains, engaging the biblical text like never before.
Learn more about the Bible Sense Lexicon.