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1 Timothy 3 · a question people ask

"the husband of one wife" (3:2), and "husbands of one wife" (3:12). What do these words mean?

In the text

Here are the letter's own words: "the husband of one wife" (3:2), and "Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well." (3:12). The letter says no more about what they mean, and these notes don't either. They apply the words to no one's marriage, and to no church, today.

The verses

“The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching;”
1 Timothy 3:2 · World English Bible
“Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.”
1 Timothy 3:12 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 1 Timothy 3

1 Timothy 3: A good work

Good and well run through 1 Timothy 3: "a good work" (3:1), "good testimony" (3:7), and those who have "served well gain for themselves a good standing" (3:13). And the verb behind take care of God’s assembly (3:5) is the one in Jesus's story in Luke 10, where the Samaritan "took care of him" (Luke 10:34).

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions