Is a Woman's Hair Her Cover?

 

This post is adapted from Recovering Covering: Scripture, Conscience, and the Beauty of Biblical Head Covering.

One common interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11 is that a woman’s long hair is the only covering Paul requires. Verse 15 says that her hair is “given to her for a covering,” so the argument seems simple: if God has given a woman long hair, nothing more is necessary.

Until I studied the passage more carefully, this was the view I held.

Long hair certainly matters in Paul’s argument. It reflects the good distinctions God created between men and women, and Scripture calls a woman’s long hair her glory.

But that raises an important question: If her hair is her glory, can it also be the thing that covers her glory?

Hair does not conceal her glory—it displays it. In gathered worship, our purpose is not to display personal glory, however lovely or God-given it may be, but to direct attention toward God.

The wording of the passage also distinguishes hair from the covering. Paul writes:

“For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short.”
—1 Corinthians 11:6

Paul treats refusing to cover and cutting off the hair as two separate actions. If the hair were the only covering in view, his reasoning would become redundant: if she will not have hair, she should cut off her hair.

Paul also uses different Greek words. In verses 5–6, he uses forms of katakalyptō, meaning to cover or veil. In verse 15, he calls the hair a peribolaion—a wrap or mantle. This suggests analogy rather than equivalence.

The most natural reading is that long hair illustrates the principle of covering; it does not replace the covering. God has woven visible distinctions between men and women into creation. In worship, the removable covering honors those distinctions and responds deliberately to the order God established.

If Paul calls a woman’s long hair her glory, how does that shape your understanding of whether hair itself can fulfill the instruction to cover?

For a fuller examination of this passage and other common interpretations, see Recovering Covering on Amazon.

 

Product Review: Scarf Bar

 

This bandana is from Scarf Bar.

I wear more formal covers to Lord's Day Service and other more...well...formal events.

 I attend a women's Bible study that is very informal and I wore this bandana yesterday. 

I like everything about it!

• sustainable cotton/viscose fabric
• perfect size for a bandana
• very lightweight - great for high desert summers.
• the fabric is loosely woven 
• ...and the fabric is very soft and drapes really well
• Because the fabric is so loosely woven, I had no problem with it sliding off my head.
• price point is very doable.

(and I'm off to buy a couple more from this company) 

What If the Topic Comes Up At Church?

 

Our church has a women's Bible study that I've attended (I took some time off to care for my mother-in-law with dementia, who recently passed, so I'm able to attend,)

 Since I've attended in the past, it's not like "oh, they're going to 1 Corinthians, I should go!"

 And they are going through 1 Corinthians.

We had made a commitment to our pastors that we would not "proselytize" but if it comes up organically I can openly make my position known and I can defend it.

Interestingly, the group leaders have side-stepped a bit and gave out an outline with chapter 11 titled "headship."  Yes, headship is there, but so is the application.

My book will be out in all three formats before then, I won't advertise in the group and I won't give out the books, but I'm sure Phil will put it out of Facebook so folks at church will know it's there.

 It will be interesting 

 For the record, I've had only positive comments (except for one) in conversations at church. The men my husband rubs shoulders with...seem to agree with us. One friend told me that she really liked the way I am intentional about what I wear. 

 

 

 

What Does “Women Should Keep Silent” Mean?

 

At first glance, Paul’s command that women “keep silent in the churches” can sound like an all-inclusive prohibition against speaking. But is that what silent means in the immediate context?

Paul uses the same Greek verb three times in 1 Corinthians 14.

A person speaking in tongues must be silent when there is no interpreter:

But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church.
—1 Corinthians 14:28

A prophet must become silent when another receives a revelation:

If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.
—1 Corinthians 14:30

Then women are told to be silent:

The women should keep silent in the churches.
—1 Corinthians 14:34

The Greek verb in all three places is σιγάω (sigaō): to be silent, stop speaking, or refrain from speaking. In verses 28 and 30, Paul uses σιγάτω—“let him be silent.” In verse 34, he uses the plural form, σιγάτωσαν—“let them be silent.”

That is the only difference. Paul changes the number because he moves from one person to multiple women. He does not change the meaning of the verb.

“Be silent,” “keep silent,” and “remain silent” are English translation choices. There is no separate Greek word for keep or remain in verse 34.

This matters.

We know that sigaō cannot mean “never speak in church” because the tongue-speaker and the prophet are not permanently prohibited from speaking. They must be silent under particular circumstances so that the gathering remains orderly.

The immediate context helps us understand the restriction placed on women. Prophets speak while others weigh—or judge—what has been said (verse 29). Women must not assume authority over men by publicly judging the prophecies of male speakers.

They must also remain silent while someone else is speaking rather than interrupting with questions directed to their husbands. If they desire to learn something, Paul tells them to “ask their husbands at home” (verse 35).

The foundation is creation order and headship. What does that foundation look like when it is applied? Women must not teach or exercise authority over men.

Yet Paul also gives instructions for women who pray or prophesy:

Every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head.
—1 Corinthians 11:5

How can women be told to pray or prophesy with covered heads in chapter 11 and then be told to remain silent in chapter 14?

The two chapters do not contradict each other; they explain each other.

Chapter 11 tells us how women may pray and prophesy while visibly honoring headship: they must do so with covered heads. Chapter 14 tells us when they must remain silent: when speaking would interrupt worship or exercise authority over men.

The tongue-speaker, the prophet, and the women are all told to sigaō—to refrain from speaking under the circumstances Paul describes. The difference is not in the meaning of silent, but in who must be silent and when.

To be clear, in the church where we are members, women do not lead prayer or proclaim the Word during Lord’s Day services. Women do pray aloud during our Wednesday evening prayer gathering, and I am happy with the way our church orders these gatherings.

Recognizing that Paul’s command is not an absolute ban on every word spoken by a woman does not mean that every church must include every biblically permissible form of participation in its Lord’s Day worship. It means that we should allow chapters 11 and 14 to stand together—each helping us understand the other.

Recovering Covering: Scripture, Conscience, and the Beauty of Biblical Head Covering

 Why This And Why Me.

On Amazon  

 

 

 

What if a passage of Scripture you had always dismissed as cultural turned out to be more enduring than you expected?

Recovering Covering: Scripture, Conscience, and the Beauty of Biblical Head Covering invites Christian women to take a fresh and careful look at 1 Corinthians 11:2–16. Written from the perspective of a woman who never expected to embrace head covering herself, this book combines biblical study, Christian history, personal reflection, and practical guidance in a thoughtful, conversational format.

Ellen Nicholas began studying the passage while preparing with her husband for a small-group discussion of 1 Corinthians. She expected to confirm what she had always heard: that head covering belonged to ancient Corinth and had no continuing relevance for Christians today. Instead, the more she studied, the more questions she encountered.

Why does Paul call the practice an apostolic tradition?
What does headship have to do with worship?
Why does he appeal to creation order, the glory of God, nature, the angels, and the practice of the churches?
And why did Christian women cover their heads in worship for most of church history?

Rather than treating head covering as an isolated rule, Recovering Covering places it within the larger biblical themes of authority, worship, conscience, obedience, and the glory of God.

Inside, readers will explore:

• the historical practice of head covering in the Christian church
• the cultural changes that contributed to its disappearance
• Paul’s teaching on headship and apostolic tradition
• the significance of creation order
• the meaning of “because of the angels”
• the relationship between a woman’s hair, her glory, and a physical covering
• common objections and alternative interpretations
• the difference between biblical command and Christian liberty
• practical questions about when, where, and how to cover
• how to respond graciously when other Christians disagree

Nicholas also writes candidly about the personal side of conviction: the discomfort of standing out, the fear of being misunderstood, conversations within marriage and church, and the challenge of obeying Scripture when a practice feels unfamiliar.

This is not a book written from a place of certainty untouched by questions. It is written from the middle of the struggle—by one woman speaking to another.

Readers are not asked to follow tradition blindly or adopt a practice merely because someone else has. Instead, they are encouraged to examine Scripture, consider the witness of Christian history, pray for wisdom, and act with a clear conscience before God.

A complete study guide is included for individual reflection, women’s groups, or small-group discussion. The questions are designed to help readers examine their assumptions, test interpretations, consider cultural influences, and think carefully about what faithful obedience may require.

Whether you are curious, skeptical, newly convinced, or simply trying to understand why some Christian women still cover their heads in worship, Recovering Covering offers a gracious and substantial place to begin.

Come with an open Bible, an honest conscience, and a willingness to follow Scripture wherever it leads.

 

Does it Have to LOOK Religious (is it a Head Covering?)

When modern Christians discuss head covering, one question often follows:

Must a woman cover every strand of her hair?

First Corinthians 11 repeatedly speaks about a woman having her head covered. It does not provide dimensions for the covering, describe a required style, or say how much hair may remain visible.

Ancient artwork offers a helpful—not conclusive—illustration.

Consider two images of veiled women from the Roman world. One is the Donna Velata, a veiled woman depicted in early Christian funerary art. The other is a non-Christian Roman marble portrait. Their settings and meanings differ, but their coverings look remarkably similar.

In both images, fabric is clearly draped over the head. Yet in both, the woman’s hair remains visible around the forehead and sides of the face.

No ancient viewer would likely have looked at either woman and concluded that her head was uncovered merely because some hair could still be seen. The veil rested visibly upon her head, even though it did not conceal every strand.

This does not prove that the Donna Velata depicts a woman applying 1 Corinthians 11 during an ordinary church service. Artwork cannot tell us precisely why she covered or what the artist intended. Nor can these two images establish the only permissible covering style.

They do, however, help us distinguish between two ideas that are often treated as identical:

• covering the head
• concealing all the hair

Those are not necessarily the same thing.

Paul says that a woman’s long hair is her glory, and he instructs her to worship with her head covered. But he never gives us a percentage of hair that must disappear. He does not tell us to inspect hairlines, count exposed strands, or decide whether another woman’s covering reaches far enough down her back.

A woman may choose to cover all her hair. That can be a sincere and beautiful application of the passage. Another woman may wear a veil, scarf, bandana, or hat that unmistakably covers her head while leaving some hair visible. Scripture does not give us sufficient grounds to declare the second woman uncovered.

The covering should be substantial enough to function as a recognizable covering—not merely an invisible technicality. But once we insist that every strand must be hidden, we have moved beyond Paul’s wording and created an additional rule.

These ancient images remind us that, in the world surrounding the early church, a woman could be plainly and recognizably covered without being completely concealed.

The question, then, is not, “Can any of her hair be seen?”

The better question is:

Is her head meaningfully covered in a way that honors the instruction Paul gave?