John Gill Bible Commentary

And the king said unto her, what aileth thee?.... Or what is thy case? What is the condition, and what the circumstances, that thou art in, which require help and assistance? intimating that he was ready to grant it on knowledge thereof; however, he was ready to hear what she had to say: and she answered, I am indeed a widow woman; of a truth a widow, as the Targum; she was really one, a widow indeed, as in Ti1 5:3; not one that was separated from her husband, he being alive, or divorced from him on any account; and therefore she adds: and mine husband is dead; and has been a long time; this she said to move the pity and compassion of the king, who, as the supreme magistrate in God's stead, was a Father of the fatherless, and the judge of the widow.