being approved by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has been hospitable to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently followed every good work.
Second, she had to have been a one-man woman. The same qualification existed for elders and deacons (1 Timothy 3:2; 1 Timothy 3:12). Following the same interpretation given in 1 Timothy 3:2, this would mean that she was unqualified if she had been unfaithful, promiscuous, or polyandrous. Polyandrous means married to more than one man at a time, which was a rare occurrence in Paul’s culture. Remarriage after the death of her spouse would not necessarily disqualify her.