Paul has established that every person has a spiritual or metaphorical "head." Christ is the head of men. Husbands are the head of their wives. God is the head of Christ. Paul has written, in the context of the believers of Corinth, for a man to pray or prophesy in church services with his head covered brings shame to his spiritual head, Christ.

Now Paul turns to the point of his correction in this section. He states flatly that for a woman to pray or prophesy in church with her own head uncovered brings shame or dishonor on her metaphorical head: her husband—or to man, in general, depending on the translation. We see from this that women praying and prophesy was an accepted part of Corinthian church services. Paul has no objection to that. Instead, he objects to the practice of women doing so with uncovered heads.

Scholars differ on what it means for a woman's head to be uncovered in this context. Some believe Paul is referring to women with short or messy hair, or with their hair let down instead of put up in some way. Others, more convincingly, believe Paul is describing the traditional head covering worn by most women in that culture when out in public. In keeping with Paul's earlier concern about sending confusing signals to non-believers in Corinth (1 Corinthians 8:7–13).

Historical records reveal important context for Paul's concern. Jewish, Greek, and Roman women of that era normally wore head coverings of one kind or another. These may have been hoods formed from a woman's robe or separate veils. Prostitutes and women engaged in worship of pagan gods would sometimes remove head coverings as an overt statement that they were sexually available. So, in Corinth, a woman's uncovered head could be considered a sexually suggestive form of dress.

Based on these words from Paul, Christian women in Corinth had begun to remove their head coverings during church services. The text does not say why. Perhaps they saw their freedom in Christ as liberation from cultural norms. Perhaps they felt the meetings in the house churches were not really in public. It might have been a deliberate signal that they rejected what they saw as oppressive expectations. Whatever their reason, Paul calls out the practice as wrong.

More specifically, he says that praying or prophesying with an uncovered head brings shame on a woman's metaphorical head, likely meaning her husband, father, or the male head of her household. Paul takes it further, comparing it to the shame of having her head shaved in public. Looking again to history, we see women caught in adultery or punished for other reasons sometimes having their heads shaved. The intent was to humiliate and mark them out for shame. Paul compares that state to the shame these Christian women bring on their husbands by having their heads uncovered. No matter how sincere their motives, that choice signified something deeply inappropriate to the larger culture.

First Corinthians 11:2–16 describes Paul's correction of an inappropriate practice of some women in the Corinthian church. Contrary to social norms of that era, they were not wearing head coverings when praying or prophesying before the church. Paul insists that both women and men consider what their chosen appearance implies about their relationship with God. Cultural details may vary, but the principle does not: Christian men and women ought to be ''respectable'' in their manners and dress. In parallel, this teaching also touches on the concept of spiritual leadership.

Paul confronts two issues the church in Corinth was failing to practice correctly. First, some women were not wearing head coverings while praying or prophesying in their meetings. Paul insisted they must do so, and that men must not, based on mankind's relationship to God and the social implications of that covering. Second, Paul describes the reasons for observing the Lord's Supper and how it should be done. The Corinthian Christians had brought God's judgment on themselves for practicing communion in a way which dishonored Christ's sacrifice for sin and humiliated the poor among them.

After concluding his teaching on meat offered to idols, Paul turns to two issues the church in Corinth was getting wrong. The first was head coverings when praying or prophesying in their meetings. Differences between men and women in that regard are because of both spiritual and social reasons. Paul also corrects the disastrous way in which they were practicing the observance of the Lord's Supper. They were dishonoring Christ's sacrifice for sin as well as the poor in the body of Christ, the church. Despite having more to say on communion, Paul will move on to the topic of spiritual gifts in chapter 12.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.

Accessed 5/6/2024 3:27:02 PM

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