My thoughts today are much upon Paul’s instructions on hair lengths for men and women found in 1CO 11:1-16:
1 Corinthians 11:1 ¶Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
It is obvious in this passage that God requires a clear distinction between men and women with respect to hair. Men are to have short hair and women are to have long hair. This is to make a visible distinction between men and women in order to symbolize the hierarchy of authority. If the length of the hair on a man and the hair on a woman is the same, then no distinction in hair exists. Nowadays it is common to see boys, or men for that matter, with their hair growing down over their ears and necks. It is also common to see women with their hair cropped very close all over their heads or over their ears and their necks. This blurs the distinction between the sexes as it pertains to hair. Observe in verse 15 that hair is given to a woman for a covering, but it must be long hair to do what it was given to do. Long hair is a glory to a woman “
for her hair is given her for a covering.” If her hair is not covering her head, it is not long enough. Hair is to cover a woman's head and not to cover a man's head. Of course, this raises the argument of how short is short and how long is long? If this passage is carefully thought through, the answer to that question becomes quite clear. A man’s hair is to be short enough not to cover his head whereas a woman’s hair is to be long enough to cover her head. But more about this as we go along.
An interesting passage in connection with this thought is Revelation 9:7-8:
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
John saw locusts ascending out of the bottomless pit that “had hair as the hair of women.” Now just exactly how does one distinguish the hair of women? The hair of the two sexes cannot be distinguished by either colour or texture since all hair colours and textures can be found on both men and women. The only other way to distinguish the hair of the two sexes is by length.
Now with respect to the issue of hair length, I have gained a fresh insight into Paul’s line of reasoning. Let’s hone in on verses 5-6 of our passage.
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
In this passage long hair and shaved hair are extremes of contrast. If a woman’s hair is not long enough to cover her head, then she might as well be shaven. But Paul clearly teaches that it is “a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven.” Now, true to our form, let’s define our terms. Bear in mind that the word shorn is the past participle of shear.
Or – conj. A particle co-ordinating two (or more) words, phrases, or classes, between which there is an alternative.
Shave – To cut off (hair, esp. the beard) close to the skin with or as with a razor.
Shear – To remove (the hair or beard) by means of some sharp instrument; to shave (the head or face); to cut (the hair) close or short; to cut or shave (the hair or beard) of (a person).
Observe that while shearing may be shaving, it may also be just cutting the hair close or short, or even cutting it at all. I suppose that is why scissors are also called
shears. Therefore, we can say that all shaving is shearing, but not all shearing is shaving. That would explain why Paul uses the word shear as an alternative to the word
shave. Shaving is cutting the hair right down to the skin, whereas shearing can be just cutting the hair close or short.
It is very clear in our passage that God wants a woman’s hair to cover her head.
Cover - To put or lay something over (an object), with the effect of hiding from view, protecting, or enclosing; to overlay, overspread with.
Therefore, a woman’s hair needs to be long enough to cover her head. As long as a woman’s hair is long enough to cover her head, then it is long enough. It does not have to be long enough to cover her back. It need only cover her head. Therefore, she is permitted to cut her hair to some extent. She may cut it up to the point where it still covers her head. Beyond that she must not go. Therefore, as far as Scripture is concerned, we can throw out that definition of
shear which simply defines the term as cutting the hair. This leaves us with the definitions of shaving the hair or cutting the hair close or short.
It is very interesting that it is believed that the word
short has the same roots as the word
shear. In fact, in tracing the etymology of the word short,
The Oxford English Dictionary refers the reader to the word
shear. So when a woman tells her hairdresser that she wants her hair short, or that she wants the back of her hair short, or she wants the back and sides of her hair short, she is in essence saying that she wants it shorn. And that, says Paul, is a shame for her!
Now let’s come to the issue of the hair covering the head. This is easy to understand if we simply apply some reasoning to Paul’s statements. The hair is not to cover the head of the man, but it is to cover the head of the woman. A covered head is the exact opposite of an uncovered head. By definition, this means the hair should not be long enough to hide the head of the man from view, but it should be long enough to hide the head of the woman from view. Since, as we noted above, a woman’s hair must be long enough to cover her head, we can say that logic dictates that
uncovered means not having long hair. Now in reasoning this out, it is obvious that God does not require that the face be covered with hair. A woman was given hair for a covering, yet she is given no facial hair. A man may cover his face with hair and yet his head still be considered uncovered. Our blessed Lord had a beard. Furthermore, since any hair at all will cover the scalp, covering the head must entail more than the scalp. Short hair is obviously allowed on a man, yet short hair will cover the scalp. So covering the head excludes the face and includes more than the scalp. So what is left to be covered? In view of the obvious exceptions, a covered head entails covering the ears and the neck. A man's hair should not be long enough to cover his ears and neck. He may wear a fuller cut so long as his hair isn’t long enough to hang down over his ears and neck. On the other hand, a woman's hair should be long enough to hang down over her ears and neck. If these guidelines are followed, there will be no difficulty in distinguishing the hair of the sexes no matter how the hair is styled. And thus God's objective will be achieved!
Or consider this, when looking at someone from behind when their hair is hanging down, if the contour of the head is clearly visible, the head is not covered. If the contour and shape of the head is not visible, then the head is covered. So a man’s hair should be short enough to leave the contour of his head visible, whereas a woman’s hair should be long enough to hide the contour of her head.
I note that many women wear a hairstyle in which the hair is long enough to cover the ears, but it is closely cut in the back so that the neck in not covered. This is not long enough. God said cover the head, not half the head. Then there are woman who wear longer hair on the top of their heads, but the hair is cut close over the ears and the neck. This simply does not meet the Biblical standard for long hair.
Now, believe me, I can understand that shorter hair is much more convenient. I wear very short hair. I love the low maintenance. So I do not envy you women having to wear the longer hair, but I did not write the rules. God has His reasons and it is our duty to conform to His standards no matter the inconvenience. But perhaps I can do something to empathize with you. I am allowed facial hair. Maybe I could grow a longer beard that would require more maintenance such as hair conditioner, constant clipping of wild hairs, and more brushing. In that case I could say to you ladies as former President Bill Clinton was heard to say, “I feel your pain.”
This has been a longer meditation. I trust I have not wearied you. Consider what I say and the Lord give you understanding in all things. As a pastor I fill many roles. Today I am your hairstylist pastor.
