1 Corinthians 11:4

Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head.

'praying or prophesying' -'the two verbs "pray and prophesy" make it certain that the problem has to do with the assembly at worship. One may pray privately; but not so with prophecy. This was the primary form of speech, directed towards the community (congregation) for its edification and encouragement (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:1-5).' (Fee pp. 505-506)

'praying' -inspired (1 Corinthians 14:15), or uninspired prayer. 'There is no grammatical reason for believing that "praying" is limited in meaning to inspired prayer or for believing that the one prophesying is the same person as the one who is praying.' (Willis p. 363)

'prophesying' -'to speak forth by divine inspiration. The idea of inspiration is inherent in the word.' (Willis p. 362)

'having his head' -physical head.

'covered' -'wearing down the head' (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 872); 'Lit., having something hanging down from his head.' (Vincent p. 246); 'Lit., having. veil..down from the head.' (Robertson p. 159)

'The covering was the veil, that which hanged down from the head and covered the head. The modern hat, shawl, scarf, bonnet, doily or mantilla will not do...One cannot substitute. hat, net, ribbon, scarf, etc.., for the veil, the covering of 1 Corinthians 11:2..' [Note:. The Woman And Her Covering. Bill Cavender pp. 5-6]

'Paul has in mind. veil which covers the whole head and in particular conceals all the hair; something worn on top of the head like. present-day cap or hat does not really come with the scope of his argument.' (F.F. Bruce p. 104)

Points to Note:

1. 'Veils came in all shapes and sizes. There were those which were suspended so as to cover the face. Some were on the head and flowed backward down over the shoulders. Some completely hid the woman's head and shoulders. Some hid the whole woman from head to foot. Many were like shawls which were placed on the head and wrapped around the shoulders...There were veils designed for different times of the day and for different occasions. The one thing on which all the authorities unite is this: Veils were "an essential article of female attire."' (McGuiggan p. 143)

2. 'Paul..did not bring the veil to Corinth. It was there when he arrived. It already had the significance it had before Paul was around to have any say in the matter.' (McGuiggan p. 143)

3. As. look at these verses the following considerations force me to conclude that Paul is dealing with. custom in Corinthian society. And the important thing was not so much the veil, but the significance and meaning that Corinthian society had placed upon it, i.e. this society viewed it as. sign of femininity and subjection. Paul's argument is, respect the significance that your society attaches to this custom, for behind it (and many other "customs", i.e. hair length, clothing, makeup, jewelry, etc..) lies. biblical truth-i.e. men and women have different roles, and women are to recognize their proper role of being in subjection to men. Having said all that, here are the factors that lead me to conclude that this was. "custom" in Corinthian society.

a. It wasn't inherently immoral for men to pray with something on their heads. The Jewish High Priest wore. turban (Exodus 2:4; Exodus 2:28 Leviticus 16:23), while ministering before the Lord. 'At times such ministering, as you very well know, there were prayers connected with the sacrifices and offerings.' (McGuiggan p. 144)

Note: 'Since at some point in time the cloak of Deuteronomy 22:12. mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 23:5. came to be used by Jewish men as the tallith ("prayer shawl"), it is tempting to see in this another disavowal by Paul of Jewish customs...But the greater problem is that the evidence for the use of the tallith in prayer is much too late to be helpful for Jewish customs in the time of Paul.' (Fee p. 507)

b. Some of the arguments that Paul will give in this chapter, aren't based on Scripture. (1) 1 Corinthians 11:6: 'The Scriptures nowhere to my knowledge forbid the shaving of one's head except on the basis of its violation of the customs of. given society.' (Willis p. 356) (2) 1 Corinthians 11:14: Paul appeals to 'nature', i.e. those things agreed to by sane and orderly society. (3) 1 Corinthians 11:14: Long hair on men wasn't inherently evil. (Numbers 2:13 ff; Judges 2:5)

Note: In fact, all societies of the past didn't consider "long hair" on men to be shameful. 'Throughout history we have the testimony of nations whose men wore their hair long without anyone having the impression they were womanish for doing so. The Spartans (and we won't accuse them of being effeminate) wore their hair longer than shoulder length.' (McGuiggan p. 151)

c. As was said previously: Paul didn't introduce the veil into Corinthian society, and neither had he given it it's present significance. Neither had the OT commanded it of women.

But just like society had attached significance to anointing the head with oil and washing the feet (signs in that society of being hospitable);. kiss of greeting (a sign of friendship); to this culture the veil signified being feminine and in subjection. And Paul tells the women, respect the significance given by your society to this article of clothing and don't needlessly offend (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

'In NT times..among both Greeks and Romans, reputable women wore. veil in public..and to appear without it was an act of bravado (or worse); Tarsus,..Paul's home city, was especially noted for strictness in this regard.' (ISBE. 'Veil'. Vol. 5, p. 3047)

'dishonoreth his head' -'to disgrace, to bring to shame.' (Willis p. 364)

The question is: Does the phrase "his head" refer to the man himself--'By covering his head he makes. woman of himself.' (Lenski p. 438) Or, Christ, his spiritual head? Probably both are true. When we disgrace ourselves, we do bring reproach upon the cause of Christ. (Romans 2:24; 1 Timothy 5:14)

Point to Note:

'Were any men doing this? Probably not, but. think Paul is just setting up his case, proposing. veiled man, to make. point for the ladies..In verse 14 he scathes the idea of. "long-haired" male. There is no need to conclude that some of the males were appearing "long haired". He just wishes the woman to see how bizarre her conduct is if she rejects her femaleness. What would you think of. man praying or prophesying with. woman's attire on? he is asking.' (McGuiggan p. 147)