The Biblical headcovering, or veiling, is a personal issue for me, which is found I Cor. 11. I respect others’ opinions and convictions, but I’d like to present a defense of my own personal conviction in this area. The veiling is not a tradition with which I grew up. Until third grade, I attended a small Methodist church. From then on through my junior year of high school, we attended the Christian Church. God spoke to me about this issue in more recent years.

v. 2 I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.

Are there any Old Testament references to the veiling of women? Yes, there are. Numbers 5:18 refers to the hair of an unfaithful wife going loose. From this passage, Jewish rabbis concluded that the faithful woman did not show her hair; only wantons did.

Another passage referring to the veiling is Genesis 24:65 which speaks of Rebekah veiling herself upon seeing Isaac, her future husband.

Ezekiel 13:18, 21 also record the veiling. The women in this passage were involved in false visions and divination and God said He would tear the veils off their heads. The Septuagint translates “veil” in this passage as “peribolaion.”

v. 3 Now I want you to realise that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. What does Paul mean by head? Numerous theologians say this is based upon Gen. 3:16, “. . . he shall rule over thee,” thereby associating headship with the Fall of man, but such a view does not agree with v. 8-9 where Paul says this has to do with the order of creation. Watchman Nee in "Love One Another" says husband typifies Christ. Woman typifies the Church. This is demonstration of God’s government, that the Church is under the headship of Christ. “. .(G)race gives us strength to be subject to government. . .” v. 4-6 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonours his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head--it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.

Definition of “covered”
1. Covered is 2619 katakalupto: to cover up, to veil. From kata - “down from” or “according to,” and kalupto - “to hide” or “to hinder the knowledge of.”
2. Katakalupto is a general word, not a specific garment. It is found 25 times in the Septuagint.

First century cultural traditions

1. Greeks
a. Only the prostitutes went about unveiled.
b. Adulteresses and slave women were shaven.
c. Both men and women worshiped with head uncovered.

2. Romans
a. Both men and women worshiped with head covered.
b. To wear a headcovering was the Roman stigma for a servant. Free men went bareheaded. Jews adopted this to emphasize they were servants of God.

3. Jews
a. Men covered their heads for worship.
1. Biblical support
a. There is no direct Biblical reference requiring a man to wear a headcovering at any time, except for the priests while in Temple service.
2. Talmud
a. Although the Talmud makes several references to men covering their heads as a sign of respect and humility before God, it does not require it. “Rav Huna did not walk (six feet) bareheaded; he would say, ‘The Shekhina is above my head’” (Kiddushin 31a).
3. Shulchan Arukh
a. The wearing of a headcovering by a man became mandatory (from an Orthodox Jewish view) in the 16th century in the writing of the Shulchan Arukh, although it had been customary for centuries. The Orthodox man may wear a kippah (skullcap) or pull his tallit up over his head while praying.
b. Married women covered their heads when in public.
c. In worship, their faces were unveiled.

Culture of 1st century Corinth
1. Although believing Jews and God-fearers were found in the Corinthian church, this church was made up primarily of Greek converts from paganism. Numerous pagan temples were found there, including the goddess Aphrodite.

Therefore, Paul is setting forth a new tradition for these converts. These women were not discarding their veils because of their newfound freedom in Christ, but were new converts from paganism who did not previously wear them. The believing Jew or God-fearing Gentile woman would not start dressing like a harlot because of her freedom in Christ, but it is believable that an ex-harlot might not see the need for modest clothing.

v. 7-9 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.
A. A reference to the order of creation.
V. v. 10 For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. Watchman Nee says, "The veiling is a testimony to the fallen angels who were not subject to the authority of God the head." Edersheim in "Sketches of Jewish Social Life" says, "A well-known belief in Jewish tradition was that angels may be grieved or offended by our actions, and will tell of those deeds at the throne of God. They also believed evil spirits gained power over a woman who went about her business with her head bare." Many theologians say the veiling is a sign of man’s authority over the woman, but that is not what the text says. It says she ought to have “exousia” on her head. There are numerous NT references to exousia. A few examples are:
a. Matt. 9:6 Jesus has “power” to forgive sins.
b. John 1:12 . . to them he gave “power” to become the sons of God.
c. Jude 25 To God be glory and majesty, dominion and “power. .”
d. Rev. 11:3,6 “Power” given to the two witnesses to prophesy, to shut heaven, to turn water to blood, and to smite earth with plagues.
I Cor. 11:10 is the only passage where exousia is interpreted to mean “subject to another’s authority.” John Lightfoot says “to have power” denotes “to have power in one’s own hand, not a power above one.” W.M. Ramsay says, “to consider the authority on her head to be the authority to which she is subject is preposterous.” (p. 202)

The veiling is a sign of authority, as a king wears a crown.

v. 11-12" In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God." There is neither male or female, Jew or Greek, etc. in the Lord.

v. 13-15 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.
The Greek word translated “covering” in this verse is not katakalupto, but peribolaion. A peribolaion indicates an article of clothing something like a cloak or mantle. Peribolaion appears 12 times in the Septuagint, and it’s always men who wear it (such as Deut. 22:12 referring to the tallit), with the one exception in Ezekiel 13 referring to false prophetesses.

v. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice--nor do the churches of God.

References:
Buckland, Rev. A.R., M.A. The Universal Bible Dictionary. London: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1951.
Edersheim, Alfred. Sketches of Jewish Social Life. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1994.
Lightfoot, John, D.D. Hebrew and Talmudic Exercitations Volume IV. Oxford University Press, 1859.
Ramsay, William M. The Cities of St. Paul. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1960.
Stern, David H. Jewish New Testament Commentary. Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1992.
Trepp, Leo. The Complete Book of Jewish Observance. New York: Behrman House Inc., 1980.

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