1 Corinthians 11:5

1 Corinthians 11:5. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head unveiled dishonoureth her head. A number of critics take the word “head” in these two verses figuratively, as if the meaning were: The man dishonoured Christ as his head, and the woman her husband as her head (Calvin, De Wette, Osiander, Stanley, Alford). But this seems to us very unnatural; whereas if we take the meaning to be that each sex disgraces itself by appearing in public unsuitably to what nature teaches to be the peculiarity of each, the words have their natural sense (and so Erasmus, Estius, Bengel, Meyer). The heathen priests of Rome officiated with covered heads (just as the modern Jews all pray with the tallith or veil over their heads); but the Greek priests officiated with uncovered head, as there is reason to think the ancient Jews also did. And since Christianity taught that “there is neither male nor female” in Christ, the Corinthians might think the Greek custom more accordant with the new religion than the other. Such an impression the apostle here corrects. That the made converts covered their heads in public worship there is no reason from the first words of this verse to think; the supposition is only made to illustrate the impropriety of the women doing the opposite.

for it is one and the same thing as if she were shaven: ‘If she will officiate with bare head, she may just as well have it shaven;' the severest censure he could pass upon it. For while a shaven head was a sign of mourning both among the Jews (Deuteronomy 21:12) and among the Greeks (as appears from Homer and Euripides), it was in unchaste women a mark of shamelessness, and was a punishment for adultery.

Note. As this seems to allow of women officiating in the public assemblies of the Church, whereas in chap. 14 it is forbidden, some expositors think the apostle is here speaking of prophesying in private or at home. But no such imitation is here indicated; and it is more natural to suppose that the apostle deals here only with what is abstractly proper, reserving the question whether such female “praying or prophesying” in public was commendable or not to a subsequent stage of his argument (chap. 14). That the practice did exist at Corinth, the preceding verses seem dearly to shew; but that it should be done in so indecent a form he might at once forbid, without requiring to enter here on the general question.