The Covering Identified
Many argue that the actual covering cannot be
identified by verses 4, 5, 6, 7, and 13, and would insist
on verse 15 identifying the long hair as Paul’s intended
covering. We take strong issue with that position, and
will set about to show why.
The word for the covering in our text is “katakalupto” (Strongʼs #G2619). Katakalupto means “to cover oneʼs self” (Thayer). Katakalupto is in the middle voice of the Greek language, requiring an action on the person’s part—such as a cloth covering, that one could put on and take off (a RAC). This is the covering spoken of in verses 4-13.
The word for the covering in our text is “katakalupto” (Strongʼs #G2619). Katakalupto means “to cover oneʼs self” (Thayer). Katakalupto is in the middle voice of the Greek language, requiring an action on the person’s part—such as a cloth covering, that one could put on and take off (a RAC). This is the covering spoken of in verses 4-13.
In the English language, verbs are either active or passive. If the subject of the sentence is executing the action, then the verb is referred to as being in the active voice. If the subject of the sentence is being acted upon, then the verb is referred to as being in the passive voice. But, in Greek there is a third voice which shows the subject acting in his/her own interest, or on his/her own behalf. For example, in the statement: “I am washing myself,” the subject performs the action and yet is receiving the action. Thus, with “having his head covered” (1 Corinthians 1:4), the subject performs the action of “covering” and is receiving the action of “being covered.” So, Paul is not describing the noun, hair, as being uncut with his injunction against men having a “covered head,” nor is he speaking of cutting the hair with his injunction against women being uncovered, but he IS speaking of reflexive ACTION4. Therefore, “having long hair” and “being covered” are NOT inter- changeable.)
However, when the hair is referenced as the womanʼs “covering” (in verse 15) the word is the noun: “peribolaion” (Strongʼs #G4018). Because “peri- bolaion” is a noun and “katakalupto” is a verb, it is argued by United Pentecostal Church International scholar, Daniel Segraves, that they are not inter-changeable. Here is a quote from his book, “Hair Length in the Bible” page 23:
“It is wrong to say that the verb cover means veil. ... Katakalupto does not mean “veil.” It is formed from kata, a preposition meaning “down from” or “down upon,” and kalupto, meaning “to cover, hide, or conceal.” The Greek text of verses 4-7 teaches that a man’s head is to be uncovered and a woman’s head is to be covered; it does not say what the covering is. Moreover, katakalupto in verse 6 is a verb, while peribolaion in verse 15 is a noun. They cannot be interchanged.” Page 28: “ ... in v15 Paul states unequivocally that a woman’s long hair takes the place of an item of dress.”
The Septuagint Refutes Segraves
Segraves’ argument is that Paul does not identify the covering in verses previous to v15; and, that, in verse 15 the covering is identified as the hair. he does this by defining the two parts of katakalupto (kata and kalupto), but does not define the word as it exists in its compound form. And then declares that “katakalupto” and “peribalaion” cannot be interchanged.
Even though peribolaion is a noun, the verb form is periballo, and the correct grammatical form of the verb, periballo, IS used INTERCHANGEABLY with the
verb, katakalupto, in the Septuagint,5 the Greek
translation of the Old Testament. Here we see
katakalupto and periballo both mean “veil.”
Genesis 38:14, 15 “Tamar...covered (periebale)
her with a veil... When Judah saw her he
thought her to be an harlot; because she had
covered (katekalupsato) her face.”
Segraves, further postulates, “... the KJV translation ‘having his head covered’ is a literal rendering, and it leaves open the question of the nature of the covering.”
A literal rendering simply means that it is a word- for-word translation from the Greek, without any paraphrasing or amplifying. The truth is, the Greek speaking Christians of the 1st century would have understood the common idiom employed by Paul to reference the RAC. (Here, again, the proponents of the 2Oth Century American Innovation, of long, uncut, hair being Paul’s required covering, are caught by the idiom. Their tripwire is trying to understand 1 Corinthians 11 3-16 in a 20th century American church context.) The word-group which includes the words translated “cover” and “uncover” in verses 5, 6, 7 and 13 is not used elsewhere to refer to the hair. The usage of kalupto (also: apokalupto, kata-kalumma, katakalupto, kalumma, krupto, sunkaumma, and sunkalupto) refers to an external fabric covering over 80 times, in the Septuagint (Grk OT), but never once to long hair:6
Segraves, further postulates, “... the KJV translation ‘having his head covered’ is a literal rendering, and it leaves open the question of the nature of the covering.”
A literal rendering simply means that it is a word- for-word translation from the Greek, without any paraphrasing or amplifying. The truth is, the Greek speaking Christians of the 1st century would have understood the common idiom employed by Paul to reference the RAC. (Here, again, the proponents of the 2Oth Century American Innovation, of long, uncut, hair being Paul’s required covering, are caught by the idiom. Their tripwire is trying to understand 1 Corinthians 11 3-16 in a 20th century American church context.) The word-group which includes the words translated “cover” and “uncover” in verses 5, 6, 7 and 13 is not used elsewhere to refer to the hair. The usage of kalupto (also: apokalupto, kata-kalumma, katakalupto, kalumma, krupto, sunkaumma, and sunkalupto) refers to an external fabric covering over 80 times, in the Septuagint (Grk OT), but never once to long hair:6
Examples:
-
-
Genesis . 28:15 – “... she had covered her
face ...” (with a veil – Gen. 38:14)
-
Exodus. 28:42 – “... make them linen breeches to
cover their nakedness ...”
-
Numbers. 5:18 – “And the priest shall set the
woman before the Lord, and uncover the
woman’s head.,..” (her hair also uncovered—not
cut)
-
Ruth 3:4,7 – “and thou shalt go in, and uncover
his feet...” “...she came softly, and uncovered his
feet...” (a blanket)
- Esther 6:12 – “...and having his head covered...” (his hair also covered)
-
Genesis . 28:15 – “... she had covered her
face ...” (with a veil – Gen. 38:14)
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In verse 4 the expression translated “having his head covered” is literally rendered: “having down on a head.” In the Greek it is kata (down) kephales (head) echon (having.) Kata kephales (= ‘down the head’) is found in the Septuagint in Esther 6:12. In the Septuagint (Grk OT) we read that Haman went to his house “mourning down on a head” (lypoumenos kata kephales)—a way of saying he put something over his head to show his mourning (an idiom). Obviously, Haman did not grow long hair.7
“And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered.”The minority of Biblical teachers, who believe the “covering” is long hair, point to the absence of a noun naming the identity of the “covering” in the phrase, “kata kephales echon;” but, one must acknowledge that neither is there a noun in Esther 6:12. According to Dr. Richard Oster, in When Men Wore Veils to Worship: the Historical Context of 1 Corinthians 11:4, the “argument from silence” is not valid. Dr. Oster states,
“It is clear from Greek and Latin texts the argument based on the absence of a noun in 11:4 is specious. In a score of examples from Plutarch that refer to a head covering, or the lack of it, there is no consistent pattern for describing the wearing of the head covering. The noun is often lacking. ... Often in Greek sources the term “head” was not to be found. On the basis of silence, is one to conclude that some other part of the body was being covered since the term kephales is not specifically employed? Moreover, the Latin sources that mention head coverings often do not
mention the garment that covers the head, but only that the head is covered—capite velato.”
Plutarch,8 in his Sayings of the Romans, speaks of Scipio the Younger walking through Alexandria “having the garment down the head” (kata tes kephales echon to himation), meaning that he concealed his head with part of his toga to avoid being recognized by the people. (Plutarch is especially important to the modern Bible student because of the time period in which he lived and wrote: A.D. 45-120).
Doctor Oster further explains: “When describing individuals wearing head coverings Plutarch demon- strates that “kata kephales echon” can refer to something resting on the head. Greek literature contemporary with the NT demonstrates that the phrase “kata kephales” can clearly mean ‘on the head.’” Oster cites Plutarch and Josephus.9
The noun forms of this word group, katakalupsis and katakalumma, both meaning “covering,” are not found in the New Testament, but katakalupsis does occur in the second century Christian writing, The Shepherd of Hermas, Visions 4, 2, 1:
“...a virgin arrayed as if she were going forth from a bride-chamber, all in white and with white sandals, veiled up to her forehead, and her head- covering [katakalupsis] consisted of a turban, and her hair was white.”10
Here again it is obvious that the covering is not hair, but a turban. Katakalumma occurs in the Septuagint, in Isaiah 47:2, where it refers to a head-covering. In 47:2-3 we read, “Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks [apolilupsai to katakalumma, which meant to remove your veil—not cut the hair] uncover the thigh [or take off the skirt—anakalupsai tas polias--...] Thy nakedness shall be uncovered (anakaluphthesetai.)” Once again the covering is cloth or fabric.11
“Uncovered” in verses 5 and 13 translates akatakaluptos, and is found nowhere else in the NT, and only once in the Septuagint. One manuscript contains the word in Leviticus 13:45 where it is said that one with a leprous baldness should “uncover” his head. It is obvious “uncover” does not mean cutting off the hair.
Philo, the Greek philosopher, used the word for “uncovered” to mean removing a cloth.12
Apostolically Speaking
☩ David Ignatius
Footnotes
4 reflexive verb - a verb whose agent performs an action that is directed at the agent; "the sentence ‘he washed’ has a reflexive verb";
5 Septuagint (sometimes abbreviated LXX) is the name given to the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures. The Septuagint has its origin in Alexandria, Egypt and was translated between 300-200 BC. The Septuagint was also a source of the Old Testament for early Christians during the first few centuries A.D. Many early Christians spoke and read Greek, thus they relied on the Septuagint translation for most of their understanding of the Old Testament. The New Testament writers also relied heavily on the Septuagint, as a majority of Old Testament quotes cited in the New Testament are quoted directly from the Septuagint.
6 “No More Excuses,” by A. A. Bieler
7 “No Such Custom,” by Bruce Terry, pages 6-7 25
8 Plutrach: AD 46 – AD 120),was a Greek historian, biographer, and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is considered today to be a Middle Platonist.
9 Josephus De bello Judaico libri vii 2.48; Antiquitates Judaicae 1.50; 5.252; 13.117 and Plutarch Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata 200F; Aetia Romana et Graeca 267D; Vitae decem oratorum 842B; Pyrrhus 399B; Pompeius 640C; Ceasar 739D
10 J.B. Lightfoot (trans.) “The Apostolic Fathers”, ed. J.R. Harmer [Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1967]
11 “Head Coverings in Public Worship,” by Brian Schwertley; p5
12 Schreiner, 126, “Women Who Pray or Prophesy: 1 Cor. 11:3-16”
This has been an excerpt from the author's book "Christian Woman's Headcovering." Order your personal copy from the link provided here:
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11 “Head Coverings in Public Worship,” by Brian Schwertley; p5
12 Schreiner, 126, “Women Who Pray or Prophesy: 1 Cor. 11:3-16”
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