Hard Sayings of Paul by Manfred Brauch

Author:Manfred Brauch
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2008-01-05T08:43:00+00:00

Though the Greek word for "veil" does not appear in this text (and therefore some commentators have argued that Paul is here speaking only of hair as a covering), it is best to understand the phrase "having [something] down from the head" (11:4) to refer to a head covering which concealed the hair and shoulders. Verse 6 seems to confirm this sense, where "not covering the head" is likened to shaving or cutting the hair short. The sense seems to be: "if you are not going to cover (veil) your head, you might as well cut off your hair; it amounts to the same thing!"

Why does a man who prays and prophesies with his head covered dishonor his head (11:4), while a woman who prays and prophesies with her head uncovered dishonor her head (11:5-6)? The answer to this question is cryptically given in our "hard saying" in 11:7. But in order to understand that answer, the problem as articulated in 11:4-6 needs some unraveling.

What do the phrases "dishonors his/her head" in verses 4 and 5 mean? The first uses of "head" in these sentences ("with his head covered" and "with her head uncovered") are obviously references to their "physical heads." Does "head" in the phrases "dishonor his/her head" refer also to their physical heads or to their "figurative heads" given in 11:3 (Christ, of the man; the man, of the woman)? Commentators are fairly divided, with some holding that both meanings may be intended.

In either or both cases, dishonor is the result. When a man wears a covering on his head, it is as if he wore long hair; but long hair on men is against "nature" (11:4). For Paul, as in pop ular Greek philosophy, cultural customs were perceived as extensions of natural law (and for Paul, more specifically God's created order of things). Therefore, wearing a covering was against God's purposes. It demeans God's design and thus dishonors both God and man. Woman's long hair-also designed "by nature" (that is, God)-is her glory (11:15). To uncover it is the same as cutting it off. That disgraces her, since her very being is demeaned. It may also disgrace her "figurative" head (that is, her husband), since appearing in public without a covering brings reproach on him from the society (especially if, as some have argued, it was the practice of prostitutes and other libertines in Corinth to move in public without a covering).

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