Many women will point out the ways in which they are assessed and described in contrast to men. Often, a woman must be twice as effective in their occupations or task as a man, in order to gain the respect of her (male) coworkers. And, while a man may be described, approvingly, as strong, and assertive, the words used to describe women in those circumstances cannot be repeated here.
It is easy to dismiss the widow in this parable as the oily wheel that gest the grease. She can just as easily be dismissed as nagging. But notice a few things about this woman, and your opinions may change.
She is a widow, in a society where the only social safety net exists within a family headed by a man. This is why widows are held up so frequently in the Old Testament as the epitome of those who must be treated with care and support; a manifestation of Hebrew notions of justice that are much broader than ours. In many cases, the widow represents other vulnerable groups that include the alien, the orphan, and the lame – each of whom have no familial support group to fall back on, hence the common academic descriptor: the ‘quartet of the vulnerable.’ See, for example, Deuteronomy 10:18, 14:29, 16:11, 16:14, 24:19-21, 26:12-13. Two additional examples should illustrate this point well: “You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge” (Deuteronomy 24:17), and “Cursed be anyone who deprives an alien, an orphan, or a widow of justice” (Deuteronomy 27:19). Thus, the widow can be clearly seen as a woman who stands her ground, who defends her corner, who fights for survival.
The widow also shows intelligence, as well as street smarts. The words “Grant me justice against my opponent” (Luke 18:3) literally translate as, “Vindicate me against my opponent,” just as Jesus’ words in verse 8, “He [God] will quickly grant justice to them [those who persist in prayer]” literally mean “Quickly accomplish their vindication.” The point being, that the widow deliberately uses judicial language when presenting her case to the Unjust Judge. Pretty smart, is she not?
And the widow is not meek and mild, by any means. That is somewhat hidden in the English translation of the words of the judge: “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming” (18:5). What is lost in this translation is what one scholar describes as “the delicious ambiguity of hypōpiazō,” which means to receive a slap in the face, or a black eye – either literally or as an allusion to a loss of face or reputation. The widow might just sock him one!
The parable itself has something of a double meaning. The followers of Jesus are to pray always, meaning consistently. Using a classic lesser-to-greater argument, Jesus says, in effect, that if an unjust judge responds to the consistent appeals of the widow, God likewise responds to the consistent prayers of the disciples. (This latter point is more evident in the original Greek, where the grammar makes clear that the answer is predetermined. The question, “And will not God…? [verse 7] is obviously rhetorical.) Yet, another meaning is revealed in the somewhat confusing closing words of this passage: “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (18:8). This is a call to his followers not to lose heart in the midst of all that the world can throw at them, so that at the end of the age, when he returns (the eschaton, the end times) he will find that their faith – through consistent prayer – is intact. As one scholar puts it, “Perseverance and courage are not abstract qualities but eschatological necessities.”
