Interestingly, Paul sent the Corinthians a letter explaining the head covering for men and women, and the letter was sent to alleviate confusion in the church. It is interesting that this very letter is controversial today and causes confusion in the church. This is in keeping with Paul’s concern about sending confusing signals to non-believers in Corinth.

What it means for a woman’s head to be exposed in this situation is a topic of debate among teachers. Women with short, untidy hair, those who wear their hair down rather than up. Some say a woman with an uncovered head has no hair on her head at all; it is shaven. While others say the hair is the only covering a woman needs. However, based on this brief study, a woman’s head covering is like unto a veil, which causes the hair to be bound, not unloosed but bound and unrevealed. According to 1 Corinthians 11, verses 5 and 6 indicate that women were allowed to pray and prophesy at Corinthian church services. Paul doesn’t mind that at all, it seems. Rather, he takes issue with the custom of women doing so while their heads are exposed. Paul was not discussing whether or not women or wives should speak when the assembly gathered. Can this be read as a given? This is not to say women were teaching in the church. We do, however, know that women were also known as disciples. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a disciple is a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher; one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another. Given the definition, we can understand why women such as Tabitha were also called disciples. Tabitha, also known as Dorcas can be found in Acts 9:36 Adronicus and Junia are called apostles in Romans 16:7, but that’s not the shocking part of the verse. The incredible revelation is that Junia is a woman’s name! The overwhelming evidence from the ancient manuscripts and from the history of the church is that Junia was a woman who was also an apostle! This bit about a disciple and apostle was added for critics to clearly understand that this article is not advocating for women priests. Rather, the question Paul answered was only about how they should do so. This perspective, according to Elaine Fantham in Roman Dress and the Fabrics of Roman Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009; Richard Oster, NT Studies 34, 1998.

Other historical documents, such as Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42.3 (1999): 443-460, provide crucial background information for Paul’s concern about women uncovered in church. During that time period, women who were Jew, Greek, or Roman typically wore some form of head covering. These could have been separate veils or hoods made from a woman’s gown. As a clear indication that they were sexually accessible, prostitutes and women who worshipped pagan deities took off their head coverings. Therefore, a woman’s bare head might have been regarded as a sexually suggestive fashion statement in Corinth, in Rome, and in Jerusalem. There is no record of women wearing a wedding ring; therefore, a vail was the sign for marriage. A vail, also spelled veil or head covering,” was and still is a sign of humility, modesty, and submission, and it can also symbolize purity, reverence, and a transition to a new state of being. It represents a woman’s submission to her husband if married or to God if she is single.

Further, the Greek word akatakalyptō (ἀκατακάλυπτος), referenced in 1 Corinthians 11, meaning “uncovered” or “unveiled,” is used in the New Testament to describe a woman’s head covering. In the Old Testament Hebrew Bible, to further the word study regarding “covered” or “uncovered,” the concept of an uncovered head is found in Leviticus 13:45: “And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean, unclean.’” The phrase “in head bare,” Leviticus 13:45, is “rosh porua” (רֹאשׁ פָּרוּעַ), which translates to “loose head” and is linked to “uncovered” in Greek in 1 Corinthians 11:5. While uncovered in Greek, ἀκατακάλυπτος doesn’t directly translate to a single Hebrew phrase; it relates to the Hebrew concept of hair being unbound or a head being uncovered, as in Numbers 5:11-31.

In Numbers chapter 5, “uncover” in Hebrew is (upara’a) וּפָרַע֙ from Strong’s Concordance number 6544, meaning “loosed hair.” During the time of this passage, when a woman covered or “bound” her head, it was a sign of marital status and indicated that she was unavailable to other men. It represented a woman’s vow of marriage. In addition, a head covering indicated awe when standing before God (pertaining to the vow of marriage to God) AND walking in the order God set aside for man and woman. This passage in Numbers is not linked to the woman depicted in the law of jealousy being shaven when her head was uncovered; instead, her hair was loosed.

Contrary to the tradition of the head covering mentioned in Genesis 24:63-65, when Rebekah covered her head as she approached Isaac, whom she agreed to betroth, she was still single. It was an act of respect for her soon-to-be husband. Notice, she did not have on her vail as she traveled with the servant who took her to Isaac. That is to say, she did not wear the vail 24/7. There is a time a place for all thing, remember Ecclesiastes 3.

As in 1 Corinthians 11, for a woman to cover her head was an understood ordinance not necessarily written in the Torah nor as a tradition, it is a sign of honor and respect in specific situations and at specific times. Vail, as written in this passage, is (parokhet) פָּרֹ֫כֶת according to Strong’s Hebrew 4533. מַסְוֶה (masveh) meaning “veil” or “covering.” Also, מַסְוֶה (masveh, masculine), often used for the veil on Moses’ face, and רְדִיד (radid) as in Songs 5:7, which can refer to a veil, shawl, or cloak. These are synonyms unrelated to “shaven” or “shorn.”

As Sister Sheila Hobson explained in the video attached. The following scriptures elaborate: “shaven” or “shorn” pertains to making a vow or as an act of cleanliness.
Acts 21:21-24
Leviticus 13:33
Leviticus 14:8-9
In Numbers 6:18 the Nazarite vow required shaving of the head, and Numbers 8:7 states that shorn is tied to cleanliness.

In closing, to clear up any confusion within the church, Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians outlining the proper head covering for both men and women. It’s intriguing that this exact letter still sparks debate and uncertainty among the church today. The right to choose whether or not to believe in the Bible or which minister and teacher you will follow is a fundamental aspect of life and salvation. Each of us is required to make our own calling and election sure. Will you cover while praying or prophesying, or not? The decision is yours.