1 Corinthians 7:8,9

“I say then to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as 1 Corinthians 1:9. But if they cannot contain, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn.”

The δέ, then, indicates the transition from the grounds to the final sentence.

On καλόν, good, see on 1 Corinthians 7:1. The αὐτοῖς, for them, is remarkable; used without regimen, the word καλόν would have been too absolute; it might have seemed to ascribe a moral superiority to celibacy.

The contrast between ταῖς χήραις, widows, and τοῖς ἀγάμοις, the unmarried, has led Erasmus, Beza, etc., to regard the latter as embracing only widowers. But there is no ground for thus restricting the meaning of ἀγάμοι; the word naturally comprehends also young unmarried men. On the other hand, Meyer extends the meaning of the word too far when he brings under it also virgins. The latter will have their chapter for themselves (1 Corinthians 7:25 seq.). It would even be altogether unsuitable to apply to them what is said in 1 Corinthians 7:9. Why, finally, would the apostle have joined them with unmarried men and widowers, instead of joining them with widows?

The reason why widows are mentioned separately, while widowers are confounded with bachelors, is this, widowhood creates, in the case of the woman, a more special position than in that of a man; a widow differs much more socially from a virgin than a widower from a young man. Besides, the masculine χῆρος, widower, is in Greek an adjective rather than a substantive, while the opposite is the case with the feminine χήρα, widow.

From these last words, if they abide even as I, Luther, Grotius, etc., have concluded that Paul must have been a widower, but erroneously. The idea of abiding as Paul, according to the true meaning of ἀγάμοι, may embrace perseverance in celibacy, as well as perseverance in the state of widowhood (see on 1 Corinthians 7:7). Clement of Alexandria also alleged that Paul was a widower; but it was neither on the ground of a tradition nor on account of this verse. Eusebius cites this Father's opinion (H. E., 3.24); he justified it by the passage Philippians 4:3, where he erroneously ascribed to the word σύζυγος the meaning of spouse.