Head Coverings – What does the Bible really say?

For some reason, head coverings for women, within some circles, has become a
popular topic for discussion in recent days. Many videos are now on the internet
offering everyone’s opinion on the matter, including tutorials on how to make your
own head coverings and how to wear them, and numerous websites where some have
turned this recent interest into a business. As with everything that takes place around
us, we must search the Scriptures carefully to discern the Lord’s mind in this matter.
As I have approached this subject, I took a moment to view the landscape, taking
the time to read what some have written on the matter. The central passage that deals
with this subject is in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11:3-16; I looked
specifically for those who had written on this section of his letter, hoping to find
someone who had done a thorough, exegetical study of it. To say that I was
disappointed with the quality of studies that have been done would be an
understatement. Even someone who seemed to hold all of the credentials necessary
to do a careful exegesis of the passage in 1 Corinthians 11, failed to come through.
Therefore, with the Lord as my Guide, I have sought to discover His truth in this
passage.
As Paul approached this subject, he exhorted the Corinthians not to be an offense
to anyone and to do everything to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31-32), thereby
expressing a general principle for life. He went on to explain that he did not seek his
own advantage in order to gain the favor of others, and, thereby, he is able to bring
them salvation in Christ; he concluded with the command that the Corinthians were
to follow his example, even as he is an imitator of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:33-11:1).
In other words, Paul does not want to become a hindrance to the Gospel by placing
his personal desires ahead of what will be to the spiritual advantage of others. Before
launching into his next teaching section (our passage), Paul commends the
Corinthians for remembering him, and for holding fast to the instructions that he had
entrusted to them (1 Corinthians 11:2). This gives us a glimpse into Paul’s attitude
to life as the Apostle to the Gentiles, and also provides us with the immediate context
into which the teaching section on head coverings is placed.
Rather than condensing his instructions into a concise command, Paul takes the
time to lay a Biblical foundation for his teaching on this matter. He begins with: “But
I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the
woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3). We might
well wonder at this, for elsewhere we read: “For ye are all the children of God by

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faith in Christ Jesus … There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free,
there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26,
28). The difficulty that Paul addressed within the Galatian community was that they
were being taken in by a Jewish sect that sought to add Jewish ordinances onto faith
in Christ; therefore, Paul’s emphasis to them was that faith in Christ is the great
equalizer – everyone (whether male or female) comes to Christ on the same terms!
Just as sin knows no limitations, but is common to all of humanity, so Christ is the
Savior from sin for the whole world: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not
for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).
Let’s take a moment to consider the phrase every man. Man, in this case, is from
the Greek andros, which is the genitive form of aner (the genitive form shows
possession and is frequently preceded by of in translation), and is best understood as
man or husband (context determining the correct meaning); nevertheless, within the
NT, its primary meaning is husband.1 Therefore, whenever this word is encountered,
it is important to consider its context in order to arrive at a proper understanding.
Therefore, when Paul says, every man, we must consider the context to ascertain
to whom he is referring. Part of the answer comes as we consider the salutation of
this letter: “Paul … Unto the church [ekklesia] of God which is at Corinth, to them
that are sanctified [have been sanctified (made holy); perfect tense, a past action with
ongoing results, passive voice – it is Christ Who sanctifies] in Christ Jesus, called to
be saints [called saints – they are called and saints (both are adjectives); to be has
been supplied by the translators, but, in this case, it distorts the true meaning], with
all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord …” (1 Corinthians
1:2-3).2 What is evident is that Paul’s letter is not intended for a broad audience of
humanity, but is particularly intended for those who are a part of the assembly of the
ekklesia in Corinth and who have been made holy in Christ; the broader audience,
in this case, is limited to those everywhere who are calling (present tense) upon the
name of Jesus.3 The second context that needs to be considered is the passage that
this introduces: namely, head coverings for men and women. This limits the
application of this word to adult males and/or husbands who are in Christ. It is
important for us to keep this in mind as we proceed through this passage, beginning
with the verse that we are presently considering. Paul is not saying that Christ is the
head of every man in the world; rather, he is specifically identifying those husbands

1
https://www.abarim-publications.com/DictionaryG/a/a-n-et-r.html;
2
Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
3
Strong’s Online.

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who are in Christ within the assembly at Corinth, as well as those everywhere who
are calling upon the name of the Lord. Yes, Christ is the Head of everyone who is in
Him, but within this context, Paul is particularly speaking to Christ’s headship of the
husband. This is confirmed by Paul’s words to the Ephesians: “For the husband is
the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church …” (Ephesians 5:23a).
When we come to the phrase the head of the woman is the man, we must, again,
take the time to determine what this is saying. Even as Christ is the Head of everyone
who is in Him (broadly speaking) and specifically, within this context, the husband,
so the head of the wife is the husband. Since we have the word gunaikos (the
genitive, possessive form of gune, which is the Greek word for woman or wife – no
distinction) used in relation to the word aner (male), it is further evidence that this
is a reference to the husband-wife relationship within marriage.4 This is not a woman
and man in general terms, but specifically a wife and her husband – hence, the literal
is: and head of wife, the husband.5
However, we must exercise caution when we consider the message of this verse
that identifies Christ as the head of the husband, and so the husband of the wife, and
God of Christ. Rather than viewing head as describing a position above, which
insinuates importance, authority or power, we need to think of it in terms of the role
that God has designed for each head. To the Ephesians, Paul described in some detail
the marriage relationship and how it is to reflect how Christ relates to His ekklesia
(Ephesians 5:22-33). Paul’s teaching on the roles of the husband and wife within
marriage harken back to the order that God intended when He created Adam and
Eve. God created woman to be a help meet (‘ezer) for the man (Genesis 2:18) – a
helper, or an assistant, to the man.6 “And God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26a). Man is from the Hebrew adam, which is used
to speak of mankind, rather than only the male (as the English might lead us to
believe);7 therefore, God identifies His creation of mankind (represented by Adam
and Eve, including both male and female) as being in His image. God’s creation of
humanity (adam) is distinct from His creation of all other living creatures – it stands
alone and is closely related to His divine Personage. Even though Eve was created
after Adam and from his rib, she, like Adam, was made in the image of God; the
man and the woman stand as equals before God. Nevertheless, even within the

4
Friberg Lexicon.
5
Stephanus 1550 NT.
6
Theological Wordbook of the OT, #1598.
7
https://www.abarim-publications.com/Dictionary/a/a-d-mfin.html.

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Garden of Eden, the roles that Adam and Eve filled within that first marriage
relationship, differed. Eve was created by God to be a helper to Adam, someone who
was alongside of him and provided companionship.
However, when sin entered, the God-ordained roles for marriage were reversed!
Eve became convinced that the forbidden fruit was pleasant to look upon, good for
food, and would make them wise (Genesis 3:6), and so took of the fruit and gave
unto Adam, and he, knowing that it was the forbidden fruit, ate what she gave to him
– Eve took the lead and Adam submitted. As Jehovah dispensed His judgments for
their disobedience, He did so in a way that underscored the marriage relationship as
He had designed it. The Lord told Eve that her desire would be toward her husband,
and he shall rule over thee (Genesis 3:16b). Eve had been created by the Lord to be
a help meet for Adam, to be alongside of him; clearly, Eve’s role in the relationship
was as a helper, not a leader. However, as Eve faced the deception of the devil, her
eyes were turned away from Adam and directed toward the serpent. The Hebrew
word for desire (tᵉshuwqah or teshuqah) is typically translated as it is here, or as a
longing.8 As the Lord pronounced His judgment of Eve (representative of all wives),
He did so in a way that established the leadership role of her husband; the loving
authority of the husband in the marriage relationship, comes from God – He set it in
place when He created Eve, and affirmed it through His judgment of her sin. This in
no way makes the wife inferior to her husband, but rather defines the roles that each
must fill within the marriage. It is only within the context of marriage that the role
of the husband is as the head of the wife; this cannot be extended to apply to a woman
and man who are not married.
Finally, we come to and the head of Christ is God. Jesus said, “I and my Father
are one” (John 10:30), but He also said, “my Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).
Clearly, the relationships within the Godhead are complex and beyond our
understanding, but what is evident is that Jesus, while on earth, lived in submission
to the Father. This is particularly evident when He faced crucifixion: His flesh
cringed from the cruelty and pain that was coming, yet He submitted to the will of
His Father (Matthew 26:42). This was all a part of the plan created by the Father, the
Word (the pre-incarnate Jesus) and the Spirit before creation (1 Peter 1:18-20), yet
the execution of that plan came at great cost to the Word, Jesus Christ! Jesus
submitted to the will of the Father throughout His ministry (John 5:30) – therefore,
within that context, God the Father was the head of the Christ.

8
Strong’s Online; BDB.

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“Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his
head” (1 Corinthians 11:4). Remaining consistent with the context, the literal reads:
every husband who is praying or prophesying, having upon his head, is dishonoring
his Head.9 From this we understand that the husband (keeping the context) who has
anything on his head while praying or prophesying does a disservice to the Lord,
Who is his Head (according to the previous verse). Let’s keep this in mind as we
proceed through this passage.
1 Corinthians 11:5 – “But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head
uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.”
This extends the concept, with which we just dealt, to the wife. And every wife who
is praying or prophesying, the head uncovered, is dishonoring her head; for it is one
and the same as having been shaved.10 This is the first mention of a covering (or, in
this case, an uncovering) for the head – it was only passively alluded to in the
previous verse. In this case, if the wife prays or prophesies with her head uncovered,
she dishonors her husband (her head), and it is as if she had been shaved. The Greek
word xurao (shaven) derives from xuron, a razor; therefore, this describes the
removal of the hair down to the scalp.11 Some continue to believe that a woman of
this time with a shaved head was a prostitute, but there is ample evidence from
artwork of this period to show that this is not the case.12 Within the Mosaic Law,
when a wife was suspected of adultery and was brought before the priest, we are told
that the priest would “uncover the woman’s head” (Numbers 5:18); the Hebrew word
para‘ (uncover) means to loosen, to untie or unbraid – not shave!13 In the OT, there
is only one instance where the hair of a woman was shaven (galach): after a battle,
if an Israelite man saw a captive woman whom he wanted to marry, shaving her head
was part of what was required to prepare her to be his wife (Deuteronomy 21:12).14
I present these to clarify that there is no OT precedent for what Paul has put forth.
“For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a
woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered” (1 Corinthians 11:6). Paul now
builds upon what he has just stated, emphasizing the need of the wife to be covered.
For if a wife is not being covered, then let her cut her hair short; but if it is shameful

9
Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
10
Ibid.
11
Vine’s, “shave.”
12
https://blogs.bible.org/who-were-the-women-with-shaved-heads-1-cor-115/; the author provides evidence
disputing the prostitute argument, but also presents other suggestions that are not defensible.
13
Strong’s Online; Holladay Lexicon.
14
Strong’s Online.

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for a wife to have cut hair or be shaven, then let her be covered.15 This serves to
underscore the significance of understanding what it means to be covered – the
purpose of this study.
1 Corinthians 11:7 – “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch
as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.” For,
indeed, the husband is under obligation not to have the head covered, being the
image and glory of God; but the wife is the glory of the husband.16 We must remind
ourselves of the roles that God ordained for the husband and the wife within
marriage, and that the main context of this passage pertains to the marriage
relationship, and not to men and women generally. To the Ephesians, Paul wrote:
“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church
[ekklesia] …” (Ephesians 5:23).17 Marriage is to be an illustration of the relationship
between Christ and His ekklesia: in marriage, the husband fills the role of Christ,
and the wife, that of the ekklesia. As the Apostle John wrote of the glories of heaven,
he observed this: “And the city [the New Jerusalem] had no need of the sun, neither
of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the
light thereof” (Revelation 21:23). Jesus is the Source of the glory of God that will
lighten the New Jerusalem, the eternal dwelling place of His ekklesia. Within
marriage, the husband (as an illustration of Christ) is to fill the relationship with the
glory of God – he is to be “Christ” to his wife, and is to love her as Christ loves the
ekklesia (Ephesians 5:25). Through obedience to the requirements of God within
marriage, the husband will bring the glory of God into the relationship, and, more
particularly, upon his wife. On the other hand, we read that Paul’s prayer for the
Ephesians was that “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may
know … the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18).
This speaks of the glory of the inheritance that God has in the ekklesia (His saints);
returning to Paul’s illustration of marriage, this is the wife reflecting glory to her
husband, but this glory is dependent upon the husband filling his role adequately;
the glory of the ekklesia is a reflection of the glory of Christ!
Once again, we must remind ourselves that the context of this passage is the
marriage relationship; this verse does not mean that the wife does not bear the image
of God. We settled that matter as we entered this study, but need to keep that in mind
as we encounter verses that might seem to contradict what we are taught in Genesis.

15
Stephanus 1550 NT; Liddell-Scott Lexicon; Friberg Lexicon.
16
Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
17
Strong’s Online.

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All of humanity bears the image of God, regardless of how they live; however, this
does not change their eternal destiny, it simply means that they will have to reckon
with God, whether in this life or at the final judgment.
Here, too, we find the importance of understanding what it means to be covered,
or uncovered.
“For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the
man created for the woman; but the woman for the man” (1 Corinthians 11:8-9).
This introduces a parenthetical insertion into the theme of this passage, where Paul
draws on the account of God’s creation of the parents of humanity. For man is not
from woman, but woman from man; for also, man was not created on account of the
woman, but woman on account of the man.18 This is a concise summary of the
creation of the woman: God took a rib from Adam and formed Eve, and she was
made to be a companion and helper to Adam. This provides the foundation for the
marriage relationship, which is central to this passage.
1 Corinthians 11:10 – “For this cause ought the woman to have power on her
head because of the angels.” Because of this, the wife is obligated to be having
authority over her head for the sake of the angels.19 This is a demonstrative pronoun
that refers back to what Paul just explained regarding the creation of the first man
and woman. It is because of God’s creative process in bringing the man and woman
into being (i.e., the woman came from the man and was made for the man) that it is
necessary for the wife to have authority over her. We’ve already learned that the
head of the wife is the husband; again, a clarification of the roles that exist within
marriage – roles that are required in order to illustrate Christ and His ekklesia.
For the sake of the angels is an interesting phrase. Let’s consider Ephesians 3:10
to understand this: Paul has just written of the mystery of God, hidden for the ages,
that he is bringing to the Gentiles: in order that now the multi-faceted wisdom of
God will be made known unto the principalities and authorities in the heavenlies
through the ekklesia.20 The principalities and authorities in the heavenlies refer to
the holy angels in the dwelling place of God, and they are learning about God’s
infinite wisdom through how God is working in and through His ekklesia.21 When
we understand that God is using us to teach the angels about His wisdom, then we

18
Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
19
Ibid.
20
Ibid.
21
Friberg Lexicon.

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can see the importance of the wife being under the authority of her husband – as God
designed it at creation. It is as the husband and wife embrace the roles that God
created for them, that the angels will see the wisdom of God in action.
“Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without
the man, in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:11). Nevertheless, neither is man
independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord.22 As Paul
endeavored to get the Galatians to understand the New Covenant Gospel, he
declared: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is
neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). The
unity that comes from being in Christ is greater than all of the things that might
separate us in this life. As Paul explained the Body of Christ with its diversity of
members, he concluded: “And whether [if ] one member suffer, all the members
suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it” (1
Corinthians 12:26).23 What is clear is that, when we are in Christ, then we are all
members of His ekklesia – there is both a great equality and interdependence in Him,
and this holds true within marriage as well. Differing roles does nothing to impact
equality and interdependence.
1 Corinthians 11:12 – “For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also
by the woman; but all things of God.” For just as the woman is from the man, thus
also the man by way of the woman; and all things are from God.24 Paul takes a step
back and notes the interdependence of women and men even in procreation, and yet
over all of this is God! This closes his parenthetical comments that have provided a
basis for how we are to look at the husband and wife, as well as more generally, men
and women.
“Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?” (1
Corinthians 11:13). Paul now returns to the theme of this passage, what does it mean
to be covered and uncovered? Among you, yourselves, determine: is it proper for an
uncovered wife to be praying to God?25 Although Paul is telling the Corinthians to
decide in this matter, he is about to present them with some additional information
that they must keep in mind as they ponder this question.

22
Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
23
Friberg Lexicon.
24
Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
25
Ibid.

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1 Corinthians 11:14 – “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have
long hair, it is a shame unto him?” Or is not even nature herself teaching you that,
indeed, if a man should be wearing long hair, to him it is a disgrace.26 The critical
words in our English translation are have long hair – what does this mean? This is
translated from a single Greek word komao, which is a verb; our English phrase
appears to be a verb-adjective-noun, but that is not the case in the Greek. The Greek
word means “one’s carefully kempt hairdo,” and for men that could also include the
beard; there is some uncertainty as to the source of this word, but there seems to be
a correlation to komeo, which means to tend.27 From this it would be safe to
understand that this is hair that requires considerable attention before being
presentable; although long hair would undoubtedly require more time to fix, there
seems to be more to this than simply length. Jay Green, in his 1985 literal translation,
showed this as: “if a man indeed adorns the hair,”28 exposing the thought of elaborate
hair styling. It is evident that the most common translation relates to having long
hair, yet even in this, there are some who link the long hair to pride and a haughty
attitude, thereby exposing a meaning that goes beyond mere length.29 This is an
important understanding to keep in mind.
Then we have the matter of nature teaching that it is a shame for a man to have
long hair. It seems that both men and women are capable of growing long hair –
although, some contend that women are able to grow it longer and better.30 Exactly
what Paul meant by this, seems to be a bit allusive.
“But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a
covering” (1 Corinthians 11:15). But if a woman should have long hair, it is a glory
to her because the hair for a covering has been given to her.31 Have long hair is
exactly the same Greek word as discussed above; that which is a disgrace for the
man, is a glory for the woman. The reason that it is a glory is: it has been given to
her for a covering. Given is in the perfect tense, describing a completed past action
with ongoing evidence; God, as the Creator of Eve, gave her a covering that has been
perpetuated through all women who are descendent from Eve. A woman’s hair is
her covering; a man must not wear his hear like unto a woman because his head is

26
Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
27
https://www.abarim-publications.com/DictionaryG/k/k-o-s-m-o-sfin.html.
28
The Interlinear Bible, Vol. IV.
29
https://archive.org/details/langenscheidtspo0000unse_j9q5/page/226/mode/2up?view=theater; Liddell-Scott
Lexicon.
30
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/acc/1-corinthians-11.html.
31
Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.

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to be uncovered. It seems that we have come to the crux of the matter: a wife’s hair
has been given to her as a covering; the fact that a husband is to be uncovered, means
that his hair must not be like a wife’s.
Paul’s summarizing comment is this: “But if any man seem to be contentious, we
have no such custom, neither the churches of God” (1 Corinthians 11:16). Now if
anyone is choosing to be contentious, such a practice we do not have – nor the
ekklesias of God.32 Those who are contentious are never content; in this case, if they
are antagonistic, that means that they do not think that a wife needs to be covered
nor a husband uncovered when praying or prophesying. Their contention is that a
husband and wife can either look the same, or the opposite of what has just been
taught, as far as their head covering is concerned, and that is not a problem; Paul
declares that that is not how things are done within any of the assemblies of God’s
ekklesia. He has just made the case that a wife’s hair is her covering, and it must not
be imitated by the husband. On the other hand, a wife’s hair must not be a showpiece,
but modestly and simply prepared. Likewise also [with the same authority that Paul
had just addressed men, he now turns to women], the women with respectable
behaviour adorning themselves with modesty and decency, not with woven hair, or
gold, or pearls, or expensive clothing, but what is proper for women professing
godliness through good works (1 Timothy 2:9-10, literal).33 The woven hair speaks
of an elaborate hair style that would either draw attention or exhibit pride. 34
What have we learned? The wife’s hair is her covering; although there is no
prescribed length, it is not to be cut in the fashion of the husband’s. In other words,
her hair must be feminine, not masculine. On the other hand, a husband’s hair is to
be short because he is not to have a covering on his head. Paul’s teaching on this
matter is not particularly complicated, but, as with so many parts of Scripture, it
takes some careful consideration and study to arrive at the meaning. Since the wife’s
hair is her covering, there is no need to follow the latest fad and wear a scarf or some
specially designed head covering. The Biblical mandate is for the wife to be modest
in hair and dress, filling her role as help meet and companion, and reflecting to her
husband the glory that comes from living as God desires. Likewise, the husband is
to provide his wife with godly love and leadership, and thereby fill her life with the
glory of God. The husband is to have no head covering (his hair is short), and he fills
the role of Christ to his wife: loving her as Christ sacrificially loved His Body of

32
Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
33
Ibid.
34
Friberg Lexicon.

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saints (Ephesians 5:25). The wife is to have her head covered by a simple, yet
feminine hair style, as a sign of her submission to her husband (and so to the Lord)
– even as the ekklesia functions in complete obedience to Christ (Ephesians 5:24).

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