I Timothy 5:9

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“Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man.”

Who is Paul referring to regarding widows “taken into the number”?

The entire context of I Tim 5:3-9 is important. It is about which women are eligible for third tithe assistance (I Tim 5:3-8). I Tim 5:9 can also be translated, “Let not a widow be enrolled on the list [same as ‘taken into the number’] under age sixty, having been the wife of one man (of course, this means one man at a time).” This guideline may have been laid out because of a particular duress Paul felt that the Church was experiencing at that time.