Singleness

Not being married; the state prior to betrothal or following separation or the death of a spouse. In Scripture, an unmarried woman generally lives with, and is the responsibility of, her family. Whilst the unmarried are freer of worldly concerns and may devote themselves more fully to God, those already married should not separate, and those without the gift of celibacy should not remain single.

Responsibility for an unmarried woman

An unmarried woman is responsible to her father

Deuteronomy 22:16 See also Exodus 2:21; Numbers 30:3–5; Judges 1:12–13; 1 Samuel 18:17, 1 Samuel 18:21

and say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he has come to hate her.

An unmarried woman is dependent on her brothers

Leviticus 21:3 See also Genesis 24:51, Genesis 34:14–15; Ezekiel 44:25

or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband.

Widowed or divorced women could return to their parents' home

Ruth 1:8–13 See also Genesis 38:11; Leviticus 22:13; Judges 19:2

Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you loving devotion, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the LORD enable each of you to find rest in the home of your new husband.” And she kissed them as they wept aloud and said, “Surely we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands? Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, would you wait for them to grow up? Would you refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, it is much more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.”

Regulations relating to the unmarried

Deuteronomy 20:7, Deuteronomy 22:20–21, Deuteronomy 22:28–29

The unwelcome prospect of remaining unmarried

Judges 11:37–39; Isaiah 54:6 See also Genesis 19:31–32; Isaiah 49:20–21, Isaiah 62:4; Hosea 2:2; Galatians 4:27; Isaiah 54:1

She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander for two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.” “Go,” he said. And he sent her away for two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity upon the mountains. After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel

For the LORD has called you back, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, like the rejected wife of one’s youth,” says your God.

Celibacy

Celibacy is a calling from God

1 Corinthians 7:7 See also Jeremiah 16:2; Matthew 19:10–121CO Matthew 7:9, 1 Corinthians 7:36; 1 Timothy 5:11–14

I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

Believers should remain as they are when called

1 Corinthians 7:25–28 See also 1 Corinthians 7:10, 1 Corinthians 7:12–13, 1 Corinthians 7:17, 1 Corinthians 7:24

Now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. Because of the present crisis, I think it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you committed to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you free of commitment? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

Sexual abstinence within marriage is strictly limited

1 Corinthians 7:2–6 See also Exodus 19:15; 1 Samuel 21:4–5

But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife. Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control. I say this as a concession, not as a command.

The desirability of being unmarried

1 Corinthians 7:8 See also 1 Corinthians 7:1, 1 Corinthians 7:11, 1 Corinthians 7:37–38

Now to the unmarried and widows I say this: It is good for them to remain unmarried, as I am.

The unmarried may devote themselves to God

1 Corinthians 7:32–35 See also Luke 14:20, Luke 14:26; Acts 21:9; 1 Timothy 5:5

I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord. But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife, and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the work of the Lord, how she can be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but in order to promote proper decorum and undivided devotion to the Lord.

Marriage belongs to a passing order

Matthew 22:30 parallels Mark 12:25, Luke 20:35 See also 1 Corinthians 7:29–31

In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven.