What does 1 Timothy 5:5 mean?

The previous verse taught that the primary responsibility for a widow's care is her immediate family, including any children or grandchildren. This verse defines those who are "truly widows" (1 Timothy 5:3) as women who are "left all alone." While the term "widow" has always referred to a woman whose husband has died, the implications of such a state, in Paul's era, were very different. At that time, a woman's only source of financial security was her husband and children. A woman in Paul's day who had neither of these was a "true widow." These were women left with no other source of family assistance.

Instead of relying on family, the true widow "has set her hope on God." For such a woman, her life is now devoted to serving in the church, and God is her only source of help. The Christian church, as the household of God (1 Timothy 3:14–15) is intended to help the truly needy in God's family.

According to Paul, a true widow is reliant on daily, ongoing prayer to meet her needs. As later verses in this passage share, the true widow is too old to maintain a profession, to provide for her own needs, or to remarry. The widow who has no family to help her, or an inability to help herself, is a priority when the church seeks to provide comfort.