In contrast to the pious widow, there are some widows who are self-indulgent. The term here can be interpreted in the sense of living luxuriously, of enjoying the pleasures of extravagant living. There are some interpreters who would read moral overtones in the term, which means that a self-indulgent widow is one who also engages in immoral and wanton acts, but that is not necessarily the case. At any rate, it is not right for a widow to be extravagant, considering that she is dependent on other Christians for material support. Other ways of expressing who is self-indulgent are “who loses herself in pleasures,” “who spends her time engaging in pleasurable activities.”

Such a widow is dead even while she lives; this statement can be taken in two ways. First, dead can be taken metaphorically, that is, such a widow is no better than dead, or is like someone who is dead, even though she is alive (compare Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation). It is more likely, however, that dead is used in a spiritual and moral sense, which means that such a widow is spiritually and morally dead, although she is very much alive physically. In that case one may translate “she is dead in her heart (or, spirit [soul]), even though she is alive physically.”

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .