widows (1 Corinthians 7:8)

For the Greek in 1 Corinthians 7:8 that is translated as “unmarried” in English, Bawm Chin has one word that applies to both sexes, but for the Greek that is translated as “widows” (and could include both sexes) it uses one for each sex. (Source: David Clark)

The translation into Papiamento also uses separate words for “widower” (biudo) and “widow” (biuda). (Source: Marlon Winedt)

See also widow.

widow

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “widow” in English is translated in West Kewa as ona wasa or “woman shadow” (source: Karl J. Franklin in Notes on Translation 70/1978, pp. 13ff.) and in Newari as “husband already died ones” or “ones who have no husband” (source: Newari Back Translation).

The etymological meaning of the Hebrew almanah (אַלְמָנָה) is likely “pain, ache,” the Greek chéra (χήρα) is likely “to leave behind,” “abandon,” and the English widow (as well as related terms in languages such as Dutch, German, Sanskrit, Welsh, or Persian) is “to separate,” “divide” (source: Wiktionary).

See also widows.

complete verse (1 Corinthians 7:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 7:8:

  • Uma: “To people who are unmarried [lit., empty] and to widows, here are my words: it is good if you stay single like me.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Na, you unmarried men and women and widows (widowers are included) this is what I say to you. It is good if you are like myself not getting a wife or a husband.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for you unmarried girls, unmarried men, widows and widowers– my advice to you is it’s better if you imitate me in having no spouse;” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “As for you who have no spouse, especially you who are widowed, I say it would be good if you continue to not get-married just like myself.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well, this is what I will say to the widows, women and men. If they can do it, it would be good if they hold fast to having no spouse, just like me.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “I tell the people who have not already married, and also the widows, that those who do not marry, as I do in not being married, do well.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Dutch NBV21: “As for the widows and widowers, I should say that it would be good for them to remain alone, as I do.” Marijke de Lang explains (click or tap here to see)

    Following the testing of this translation there was some criticism of the choice of the word ‘widower’ to render the Greek agamos ‘an unmarried person.’ There was also some unhappiness with the fact that the Greek word order, in which widowers were mentioned first and widows second, had been reversed.

    There were two reasons behind the choice of the word ‘widower’ to render the Greek term agamos ‘unmarried.’ The first was the context of the chapter. Throughout ch. 7 Paul deals with the same group of people, men and women: in 7.1-7 men and women within marriage; 7.12-16 the man or the woman married to an unbeliever; 7.25-28 the girl or the boy as yet unmarried. It is consistent with this wider context that v. 8 should address a particular group, namely those who have lost a spouse. The second reason is the meaning of the Greek term agamos. Greek docs not have a specific term for ‘widower.’ The Liddell-Scott-Jones dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996) defines agamos as ‘unmarried, single, whether bachelor or widower.’ Greek does have a specific word for ‘widow,’ namely chera. Widows formed a particular social grouping, since along with orphans they were among the weakest members of society. To express the male equivalent of the widow, Greek simply used the term ‘unmarried person.’ As for reversing the word order, it was decided that the more natural Dutch order was to be preferred, otherwise it would sound peculiar.

    An argument that some raised about the use of the word ‘widower’ for agamos was that it was a case of ‘filling in’ the text too much, being too explicit. The term ‘unmarried’ seemed to them to leave the meaning more open. However, it is questionable that this was the case in fact. Every word choice made directs the reader in a certain way and leads to certain associations. The word ‘unmarried’ is in itself no more open than the word ‘widower.’ In Dutch and English the word ‘unmarried’ conjures up something quite different from the word ‘widower.’ ‘Unmarried’ suggests that a person has never been married at all. (Source: The Bible Translator 2003, p. 424ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 7:8

Good News Bible‘s “Now,” as in verses 1 and 25, indicates that Paul is changing the theme.

Many translations, including Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible, put “I say” after the expressions the unmarried and the widows so as to emphasize them. In these expressions the definite article the probably implies “the unmarried and widows at Corinth (about whom you wrote).” The unmarried is masculine in the Greek but could refer to both men and women, and that is how all the translations we consulted understood this phrase. However, (1) the widows must be feminine, (2) biblical Greek does not use the related word for “widowers,” and (3) throughout this passage Paul is careful to speak in a balanced way of men and women, wives and husbands. So it is possible to understand the unmarried to mean “men who are no longer married,” that is widowers, rather than the meaning “those who have not been married.” An alternative translation model will be: “Now to the men among you who are no longer married (or, widowers), I say.” Some people have thought that Paul himself was a widower; if so, this would make the end of this verse even more meaningful. It could mean “it is good for them to remain in that state, as I do myself.” If translators do not put “widowers” in the text, it can be included in a footnote. New Jerusalem Bible footnote indicates that separated couples may be included, as in verse 11.

I say may be emphasized by Paul. Later in verses 10, 12, and especially 25, he is certainly careful to distinguish between what he says on his own authority and what he says with the authority of Christ. Some translators may prefer to place the phrase I say at the beginning of the sentence; for example, “Now, I say to…” or “Now, I advise the….”

It is well is literally “it is good,” as in verse 1. The meaning is the same, but the comparative “better” (Good News Bible), which is possible even in verse 1, is more likely in the present verse. This is confirmed by the comparative expression better in verse 9, which is an unrelated word in the Greek.

As in the following verses, the main verb in the Greek is in the third person, “that they remain….” Since Paul says that he is about to speak to unmarried people, it is more logical to say “better for you…” (Good News Bible) rather than well for them ….

Remain single is more literally “remain as I also,” meaning “remain unmarried as I do myself.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Now, I advise those men among you who are no longer married (or, widowers) and the widows that it is better for you to continue to remain unmarried as I do myself.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .