Considering the level of respect with which widows are customarily treated in most contemporary cultures, it might be difficult for us to appreciate the difficult lot of widows in the ancient world. Ordinarily, in today's world, a widow is a woman whose husband has died; not having remarried, she is in possession of her husband's estate and inheritance. Even though she may continue to mourn her life partner, she is not legally defenseless, nor has she lost any degree of her social status.
BRAND LUTHER: HOW AN UNHERALDED MONK TURNED HIS SMALL TOWN INTO A CENTER OF PUBLISHING, MADE HIMSELF THE MOST FAMOUS MAN IN EUROPE -- AND STARTED THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION