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1 Corinthians 11:15

New Testament Epistle (Pauline) ASV (1901)

What does 1 Corinthians 11:15 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
1 Corinthians 11:15 — American Standard Version

Context — 1 Corinthians 11

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
12For as the woman is of the man, so is the man also by the woman; but all things are of God.
13Judge ye in yourselves: is it seemly that a woman pray unto God unveiled?
14Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a dishonor to him?
15But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
16But if any man seemeth to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
17But in giving you this charge, I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better but for the worse.
18For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and I partly believe it.
← 1 Corinthians 11:141 Corinthians 11:16 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“But if a woman have long hair, etc.] And wears it, without cutting it, as men do: it is a glory to her; it is comely and beautiful; it is agreeable to her sex, she looks like herself; it becomes and adorns her: for her hair is given her for a covering; not instead of a covering for her head, or any other part of her body, so that she needs no other: we read indeed of the daughter of Nicodemus ben Gorion, that she was obliged to make use of her hair for a covering in such a sense f226; “it happened to R. Jochanan ben Zaccai that he rode upon an ass, and went out of Jerusalem, and his disciples went after him; he saw a young woman gathering barley corns out of the dung of the Arabian cattle;…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“her hair . . . for a covering--Not that she does not need additional covering. Nay, her long hair shows she ought to cover her head as much as possible. The will ought to accord with nature [BENGEL].”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“It is a glory unto her - It is an ornament, and adorning. The same instinctive promptings of nature which make it proper for a man to wear short hair, make it proper that the woman should suffer hers to grow long. For a covering - Margin, “veil.” It is given to her as a sort of natural veil, and to indicate the propriety of her wearing a veil. It answered the purposes of a veil when it was allowed to grow long, and to spread over the shoulders and ever parts of the face, before the arts of dress were invented or needed. There may also be an allusion here to the fact that the hair of women naturally grows longer than that of men. See Rosenmuller. The value which eastern females put on their…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Given her - Originally, before the arts of dress were in being. 1 Corinthians 11:16”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“11:15 Paul argues that social conventions regarding hair length express fundamental differences between men and women. • it has been given to her as a covering: Paul suggests that women’s long hair, covering their head, shows that God intends women to have some type of “covering.””
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“covering: or, veil, Co1 11:15 1 Corinthians 11:16”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification