1 Corinthians 11:3

Context

Chapters 11–14 of 1 Corinthians address order in public worship. In the first part of chapter 11 (verses 2–16), Paul instructs that a man should pray or prophesy with his head uncovered, while a woman should cover hers, and he cites the principle of verse 3 as the basis for this instruction. Verse 5 presupposes that women pray or prophesy in public worship ("every woman that prayeth or prophesieth"). In verses 11–12 he adds a note of mutual dependence: "Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord."

Interpretations

• Head as authority: Complementarians (who hold that men and women are equal but have different roles) understand "head" to denote authority and leadership. They treat the verse as grounds for male leadership in the home and the church, citing Ephesians 5:23 alongside it.
• Head as source: Egalitarians argue that kephalē can denote origin, like the "source" of a river, and read the verse as referring to the creation account in which woman came from man (verse 8). On this reading, relationship and mutual dependence, rather than hierarchy, are central.
• Head as honor and shame: Another view notes that head covering in the culture of the time was associated with honor and shame, and reads the passage as an exhortation to protect one another's honor in worship.

Debates and Issues

Both sides have produced studies of how kephalē is used in ancient Greek, but no definitive conclusion has been reached. There is also a Trinitarian debate over whether the statement "the head of Christ is God" means that the Son is eternally subordinate to the Father in function, or whether it applies only to the incarnate Christ. As for whether head coverings should still be observed today, most Protestant denominations regard them as an expression of the culture of the time, though some churches continue the practice.

This verse is addressed by both opponents and proponents of the ordination of women.

Related Passages

• 1 Corinthians 11:5, 11–12
• Ephesians 5:23
• Genesis 2:21–23
• 1 Corinthians 15:28