Wear head coverings, headscarves or hats. It is an age-old custom, not only among Muslims and Jewish believers, but also among Christians. A custom based on the Bible texts from 1 Corinthians 11. Head covering is a custom that was pushed aside in the 1960s during the first wave of feminism. The practice disappeared among Christians all over the world, except for a small group of believers. At the beginning of the 21st century, more attention is being paid to this again. While in many reformed churches, such as the Reformed Congregations and the Restored Reformed Church, a hat is often worn in church, there are now also more and more women outside this movement who increasingly choose to wear a head covering.
Head covering in the Bible
Genesis 24
Head coverings are first mentioned in Genesis 24 verse 64. In Genesis 24, Abraham’s servant is sent to find a bride for Abraham’s son Isaac. Verse 64 tells us that Rebekah covered her head and face with a veil when she saw Isaac standing in the distance and was about to meet him for the first time. Abraham had asked his servant to find a bride for his son, and Rebekah arrived at that moment.
Here it is visible that in Rebekah’s culture it was apparently not normal for her future husband to fully see her as a virgin, an unmarried woman. We also see this in the life story of Jacob who marries Leah and Rachel. He only discovers on his wedding night that he has married the wrong daughter. This can be read in Genesis 29 verses 21-26. He did not look the bride in the eye during the wedding itself until nightfall and he had slept with her.
1 Corinthians 11 However, most Christians who adhere to wearing a head covering will not refer to the Bible text about Rebekah. They will point to Paul’s words in the first part of 1 Corinthians 11, from the New Testament.
In 1 Corinthians 11 it says the following from verse 2 :
1 So imitate me, as I imitate Christ. 2 I praise you for following me as an example in everything and for keeping the commandments I have given you. 3 However, I must tell you the following. Christ is the head of man, man is the head of woman, and God is the head of Christ. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered shames his head. 5 But a woman dishonors her head when she prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, for in that case she is exactly the same as a woman with her head shaved. 6 A woman who does not cover her head had better have her head cut. If she finds it shameful, she should cover her head. 7 A man should not cover his head because he is God’s image and glory. However, the woman is the splendor of the man. 8 (For man was not created from woman, but woman from man; 9 and man was not created for woman’s sake, but woman for man’s sake.) 10 Therefore, and for the sake of the angels, a woman has control over her head. 11 However, in their union with the Lord, the woman is nothing without the man, and the man is nothing without the woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so man came from woman, and all things came from God. 13 Therefore judge for yourselves. Is it appropriate for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that long hair shames a man, 15 while it is a woman’s honor? The woman’s hair was given to her to wear a head covering. 16 Anyone who thinks he has to be so self-willed as to deviate from what I say, should remember that neither we nor the churches of God know any other custom. (Dutch Bible translation, NIV, 1 Corinthians 11:1-16).
Reasons for head coverings
Paul indicates in 1 Corinthians that this is only necessary when praying and prophesying. The reasons for head coverings for women in 1 Corinthians 11 that he mentions are as follows:
The headship
God the Father is the head of Christ, Christ is the head of the man, the man is the head of the woman. To make this visible while praying and prophesying, women are supposed to wear a head covering to show that their heads are not their own. They do not show their glory (her), but show that this is subordinate to the glory they have in their husband (verses 3 and 7)
Hairstyle
It is a shame for a woman to cut her hair short or shave her head. But if a man lets his hair grow long, that is a shame. That is why a man may not cover his head during prayer, but a woman may (verses 5-7 and 13-15). Since the hair is the glory for a woman, she is supposed to cover it because her glory does not have to be visible during spiritual activities such as prayer and prophesying. If it is not her glory, then she might as well shave it bald, Paul writes here. The man’s hair is not his glory, but his wife’s hair. Therefore, a man does not need to have long hair, nor does he need to cover his hair while praying and prophesying.
Creation order
Man came first and woman came from man. Adam was first created by God and Eve was created from his rib (verse 9). The woman is equal to her husband, but there is a difference in spiritual order that becomes visible in the order of creation. The head covering indicates this.
Angels
For the sake of the angels (verse 10). The angels are watching from heaven. Both the angels of God and the fallen angels, the devil and his demons, can see which women have committed themselves to God. The head covering in this case is a physical protection during their spiritual activities of praying and prophesying.
Higher reality
There is a higher reality that the head covering points to (verse 13). God is more important than what makes a woman herself beautiful: her head of hair. Therefore, the woman is modest and covers her own glory, the hair, when she appears before God in prayer or prophecy.
Habit argument
The churches and believers had no tradition other than that of head covering. New believers adapted to this. There was no need to discuss this (verse 16), but this tradition is a way to distinguish yourself as a woman from the rest of the world.
Head coverings in history
Church history
In the early church, women with short or uncovered hair were often viewed as prostitutes. This was a big problem in Corinth. One of the reasons for Paul to give this command was that a lot of temple prostitution was being done in Corinth by people of other faiths. These women often had their heads shaved and had sex on altars to their gods. According to him, a distinction had to be made. That is why Paul commanded the new believers in Jesus to cover their hair as women, just like the Jewish religious women did. There was a clear distinction between Christians and people of other faiths.
In the first centuries after Christ, head coverings were a much-discussed topic among Jewish believers and new believers such as the Romans and Greeks. Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 230) and Clement of Alexandria (c. 125/150 – c. 215), among others, wrote about this. Clement of Alexandria wrote about this:
,And a Christian woman will not fall if she keeps modesty and her veil before her eyes.,
(Ante Nicene Fathers, Vol.2:p. 290) It was already a custom
for women to cover their heads in the second and third centuries AD. It was seen as a form of modesty. A distinction was made between married women who did wear a head covering and unmarried women who did not yet have to do so.
Through the ages
The wearing of head coverings by women has been upheld in churches throughout the centuries. In images of Mary in the Catholic Church you almost never see her without a head covering. In the nineteenth century, the headscarf was replaced by a hat by the higher classes. This can be seen, for example, in film adaptations of books by Jane Austen. This development made wearing a hat a status symbol. Until the 1960s, head coverings were still very common, including in churches and on the street. This changed after the wave of emancipation in the 1960s. Since then, fewer and fewer churches have called for head coverings to be worn.
Head coverings by Christians in the 21st century
In the 21st century, not all arguments for head coverings are no longer perceived as necessary. It is normal for women to have short hair and there is no shame in that. Think of a ‘pixie cut’ where women have shaved hair on the side and short hair on top of the head. Moreover, many men wear their hair long.
However, there are also women who believe that the arguments from 1 Corinthians 11 are universal and timeless and that head coverings can, or according to some even should, still be applied. They also argue that no word or comma may be removed from the Biblical texts. The commandment is mentioned in the New Testament, and therefore falls under God’s new covenant with believing Christians. Some women give additional arguments for wearing a head covering: they do this out of respect for their husband, or to keep their vanity in check. These are personal considerations that are not linked to wearing a head covering in the Bible texts.
There are also women who wear a head covering at home or at work. They base this, among other things, on Bible texts, such as: ‘Pray without ceasing’ (1 Thessalonians 5 verse 17). Combined with the orders in 1 Corinthians 11, this means that the woman who prays without ceasing keeps a head covering on all day. This way of life is widely practiced among, for example, the Amish population in the United States.
Styles and forms of headgear
The Bible does not specifically indicate what type of covering is desired. In the Reformed Church, people still choose to wear a hat in the 21st century. This especially happens in church meetings. The use of a scarf as a head covering is common in many Orthodox church communities. Other women choose a headscarf that they tie around their head or a hair band.
In addition to the type of head covering, there is another difference in different church communities. Some women cover all their hair, so there is not a curl or strand of hair visible. This is very similar to the Islamic headscarf, also called the hijab. Other Christian women do show some of their hair. They do this because the Bible also describes in a verse that women braid their hair and make it beautiful (1 Peter 3:3-4). This is a sign for some women that in the first century in which this letter of Peter was written, the hair was also visible in public or at gatherings of Christians or Jews. Therefore, these women believe that their hair may also be visible under the head covering while praying and prophesying.
There is plenty of choice when it comes to head coverings for today’s Christians. A personal style can be chosen when women decide to take the text from 1 Corinthians 11 literally.