Hair and Head Coverings

There is a little bit of controversy in 1Cor. 11 about head coverings. Was Paul talking about artificial head coverings like a veil or a hat or was he merely talking about hair?

First of all keep in mind that an activity is being regulated and the activity is a man or a woman “praying or prophesying”

If Paul was instructing that a woman had to have long hair during those activities (prayer and prophesy) then it would also mean that for every other activity in her life she could have short hair. Likewise a man would only have to have short hair during those activities. That doesn’t really pass the smell test does it?

Another thing to think about is that if the head covering is just hair… why didn’t Paul just say… you women need to have long hair and you men need to have short hair instead of using up 16 verses on the subject?

So, why did Paul introduce the subject of hair into this discussion?

The discussion of hair begins in verses 5…

“Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head”

This verse calls for a judgement. The verse compares a woman “praying and prophesying” without a veil/hat to her having her head shaven. If one is embarrassing then both should be.

Verse 13 calls for another judgement to the woman who “prays or prophesies” without her head covered and that is to judge about the teaching of nature… nature teaches that a woman should have long hair (not short or shaven)… and that it is a *type* of covering.

So hair is brought into the discussion as an argument from nature to prove that a woman’s head should be veiled when she is engaged in the activity of “prayer and prophesy”

One more thing in verses 6 and 7 the Greek verb “katakalupto” is used for being "veiled" so you would expect that the verb form would agree with the noun form in verse 15… hair given for a “covering” (“kalumna”). However, that’s not the Greek word that Paul uses for “covering” he uses the Greek noun “peribolaion” whose verb form is “periballo”

Of course I believe that the activities being regulated were miraculous “prayer and prophesy” which no longer exist today. However, I still would not be comfortable with a man leading a public prayer in the assembly with a hat on.