What does it reference in the Bible regarding women covering their hair?

Question

I am newly married to a Muslim and live in an Islamic country now, I study Islam and will soon cover my hair by wearing the hegab. I was born Christian and remember there is something in the Bible about the dress and hair of women. Can someone reference it for me?

Answer 1

1 Corinthians
Chapter 11
1
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
2
1 I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed them on to you.
3
2 3 But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and a husband the head of his wife, and God the head of Christ.
4
4 Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame upon his head.
5
But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled brings shame upon her head, for it is one and the same thing as if she had had her head shaved.
6
For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should wear a veil.
7
5 A man, on the other hand, should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.
8
For man did not come from woman, but woman from man;
9
nor was man created for woman, but woman for man;
10
for this reason a woman should have a sign of authority 6 on her head, because of the angels.
11
7 Woman is not independent of man or man of woman in the Lord.
12
For just as woman came from man, so man is born of woman; but all things are from God.
13
8 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head unveiled?
14
Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears his hair long it is a disgrace to him,
15
whereas if a woman has long hair it is her glory, because long hair has been given (her) for a covering?
16
But if anyone is inclined to be argumentative, we do not have such a custom, nor do the churches of God.

Answer 2

Paul said that women shouldn't pay excessive attention to fancy clothes and adornments (he speaks of gold jewelry which was top at the time) but be adorned with a "meek and quiet spirit." He also says that women should cover their hair in meetings, or wear short hair: "Let her head be covered, or let her be shorn." In those days it was shaming for a woman to have short hair, so the implication was--cover it. But then early Christianity was considered an offshoot of Judaism, so he is respecting Eastern tradition here.
In another letter Paul says that in Christ there is no male nor female, Greek or Jew, slave nor freeman--we are all equal in God's sight through Christ.
Personally I wear very short hair so I guess I'm safe either way.

Answer 3

You also might want to look at 1 Timothy 2 vs 9-15.

You will find a lot of Christians get a little defensive about some of Paul's more controversial writings - it can sometimes be a bit like: "The bible is the literal word of Christ (well, except for some of the stuff Paul wrote which is a bit on the fruity side, but you know what I mean)"!

Answer 4

In Pauls day, the women in Corinth who uncovered their hair were prostitutes. So, to stand in Church and prophecy or pray with uncovered hair would be like saying "Look, I'm a prostitute speaking for God, and I'm proud of it."

In other cultures other things might be considered offensive in other ways. There are some things in cultures that need to be shaken up, but others are simply adjustment out of respect for other people.

Answer 5

Just looked up Corinthians 11. So, it's Paul, not Jesus, who's responsible for all this head-covering business. Christian women should admit to not respecting his edicts and stop being paranoid about women who do cover their hair.

Answer 6

You are referring only to Christians. Fundamentalists women of many religions cover their heads. Orthodox Jewish women, once married, wear a hat, a scarf or such, or even a wig, to hide their hair from all but their husbands and family. It is a sign of modesty.

Answer 7

First of all, I hope you guys live happily.

Just out of cusriosity, why do yu wish to reference the head covering issue to the Bible, are you trying to draw the paralells between Islam and Christianity in general, or just for this prupose.

I am neither Muslim not Christian, but I do think that Islam sees Jesus as a prophet and sees the religion evolving past Jesue and ending at Muhammad. So that might be something you might want to look at.

On the head scarf issue, doesn't Mary, in all her representations even today, cover her hair? I think all the controversy regarding this issue has to do with the association of head scarves with Islam by ignorant people. (Sikhs who wear turbans were attacked in the wake of the WTC bombs because ignorant bigoted people wanted some revenge).

Anyway, there are a few websites you could do research on; these are mainly negative towards headscarves, but you can peel off the comments and get to the roots yourself:

http://www.bible-researcher.com/headcovering.html

Since I guess it wouldn't be the best idea for you to get your hands on a physical bible, the verses are as follows:

I Corinthians 11:2-16.
2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.
3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.
4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head,
5 but every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as if her head were shaven.
6 For if a woman will not be covered, then let her be shorn! But since it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
7 For indeed a man ought not to cover his head, being the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.
8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man.
9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.
10 For this reason the woman should have authority on her head, because of the angels.
11 In any case, woman is not independent of man, nor man of woman, in the Lord;
12 for as woman is [created] from man, so man is now [born] through woman. And all things are from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him,
15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
16 But if anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.

Interprete it with your heart.

Answer 8

Paul was actually speaking the the cornthians regarding that. The women that came out of prostitution had to cover their head because they were bald.

Answer 9

there is no exact reference in the bible that woman should wear a rejab but in the past days in the arabic world, they wear a rejab because of the weather and environment there.

Answer 10

you dont have to cover your hair according to the bible. its an islam thing, most certainly not a christian one. god made people to be attracted to the opposite sex, how would that work if you couldnt see them?!!

Answer 11

It doesnt say to cover the hair. It says God gave us our hair as a covering to help us now and in the end days.

Do whats in your heart and God will know why your doing what your doing. Reasearch all you can on it before you decide. You wouldnt want to burn in hell because you didnt read up! Mabe you should have done a lil before you married. Mabe its not too late girlfriend! Peace!