1 Corinthians 11:1. Μιμηταί μου, imitators [followers] of me) He adds this verse to the former to show, that we must look to Christ, not to him [the apostle], as our highest example.—Χριστοῦ, of Christ) who did not please Himself, Romans 15:3, but gave Himself at all costs for our salvation, Ephesians 5:2.

1 Corinthians 11:2. Ἐπαινῶ, I praise) [This verse is the proper commencement of the chapter.—Not. Crit.] Nowhere else does Paul so directly praise any of those, to whom he writes. But here he resolves to write about anything, which does not properly fall under his παραγγελίαν, admonition, to them, 1 Corinthians 11:17; in which, however, if they will follow the reasons, which he has set before them, and comply with the custom of the saints, 1 Corinthians 11:16, which he finally lays down as somewhat stringent, he assures the Corinthians, that they will be worthy of praise, and declares, that they will incur neither Peter’s indignation, nor his.—πάντα) κατὰ πάντα.—μου, me) construed with you remember, or with all things, 1 Corinthians 16:14.—παρέδωκα—παραδόσεις, I delivered—traditions [ordinances]) This is applied to doctrines, whether imparted to them by word of mouth, or by letters, whether they relate to mysteries, or ceremonies, 1 Corinthians 11:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:15 : they have a greater relation however to ceremonies. In 1 Corinthians 11:23, he says respecting the Lord’s Supper, that he both received and delivered; but here, he says, that he delivered, he does not say that he had received.

1 Corinthians 11:3. Δὲ, but) On this subject Paul seems formerly to have given no commandment, but to have written now for the first time, when he understood that it was necessary. By the expression, I would, he openly professes his sentiments.—ὅτι, that) Even matters of ceremony should be settled according to the principles of morality, so that they may agree with those principles. It may be said, How does one and the same reason in relation to the head (i.e. of Christ, or of the man) require the man to uncover his head, and the woman to cover hers? Ans. Christ is not seen; the man is seen; so the covering of him, who is under Christ is not seen; of her, who is under the man, is seen.—ἀνδρὸς, γυναικὸς, of the man, of the woman) although they do not live in the state of marriage, 1 Corinthians 11:8, and what follows.—ἡ κεφαλὴ, the head) This term alludes to the head properly so called, concerning the condition [the appropriate dress] of which he treats in the following verse. The common word, Principal,[90] is akin to this use of the term head. The article ἡ must be presently after twice supplied from this clause.—κεφαλὴ Χριστοῦ, the head of Christ) 1 Corinthians 3:23, 1 Corinthians 15:28; Luke 3:23; Luke 3:38; John 20:17; Ephesians 3:9, where God is said to have created all things by Christ, therefore He is the head of Christ.—ὁ Θεος, God) 1 Corinthians 11:12.

[90] This word is given as it is in the original. In this form, it is not Latin, but it is probably the German substantive, which signifies head.—T.

1 Corinthians 11:4. Προσευχόμενος ἢ προφητεύων, praying or prophesying) especially in the church, 1 Corinthians 11:16, and in the assembly [the coming together], 1 Corinthians 11:17.—κατὰ κεφαλῆς, [having a covering] on his head) The state of the head, the principal part, gives dignity to the whole body. [The face is chiefly referred to, when he speaks of a covering.—V. g.]—ἔχων) having, i.e. if he has. The men of Corinth used not to be covered, and in this respect, the women imitated the men. In order to convince the women of their error, Paul speaks conditionally of the man.—τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ, his head) properly so called, as just before in this verse; comp. note to 1 Corinthians 11:6. Otherwise, the man praying with his head covered would sin more against Christ, than the woman against the man, with her head uncovered.

1 Corinthians 11:5. Πᾶσα δὲ γυνὴ, but every woman) δὲ, but, forms an epitasis [emphatic augmentation or addition]. In this whole passage the woman, especially the woman of Corinth, is principally admonished.—προσευχομένη ἢ προφητεύουσα, praying or prophesying) Therefore women are not altogether excluded from these duties; at least the Corinthian women did that, which, so far as it may be lawful, Paul at ch. 14. [34, 35] puts off, namely, to some suitable occasion distinct from the more solemn assembly.—ἀκατακαλύπτῳ, uncovered) nature demands a covering, but how far the forehead with the face, and the hinder part of the head, should be covered, is a matter left to the customs of the people. It is probable, that Jesus and His disciples had their heads covered according to the customs of the Israelites; whence the rule is not universal, and not more ancient than Paul. And there was παράδοσις, an ordinance, not a rule strictly so called, but a custom [institutum] eine Verordnung. A question arises here, what is to be thought concerning wigs? First, they do not seem to be considered as περιβόλαιον, or covering for the head, for they are an imitation of the hair, and where that is too thin, they supply the defect, and in the present day are sometimes quite necessary for the sake of health, and they no more veil the face, than every man’s own hair: and even if women were accustomed to wear wigs, they would not be considered as thereby sufficiently covered. Therefore the head of a man is scarcely more dishonoured by them, while he prays, than while he does not pray. The wig, however, especially one too long and bushy and having little resemblance to the natural hair, is in reality an adventitious thing, and originates in pride or at least in effeminacy either voluntary, or arising from a false necessity:—it was not so from the beginning, and it will not be so always. Paul, if we could now consult him, would, I believe, not compel those, who wear wigs to cast them off entirely; but he would teach those, at least, who have not begun to wear them, for ever to unlearn [avoid] them, as a thing unbecoming men, especially men engaging in prayer.—ἔστι, is) Such a woman does not differ from one, that has been shaved.

1 Corinthians 11:6. Κειράσθω, let her be shorn) As the hinder part of the head is by nature in the man and the woman respectively, so in general it is becoming the forehead to be in its mode of dressing: 1 Corinthians 11:14. The imperative here is that of permission, but a permission, which has in it mimesis, or a deduction to something unsuitable.[91] So shaving is unbecoming in nuns.—αἰσχρὸν, a shame) So 1 Corinthians 11:14. The opposite, comely, 1 Corinthians 11:13 : glory, 1 Corinthians 11:15.—τὸ κείρασθαι, ἢ ξυρᾶσθαι) the one is more than the other. Micah 1:16, ξύρησαι καὶ κεῖραι. ξυρᾶται, the back part of the head; κείρεται, the forehead. In Mic. already quoted, there follows a gradation in the enlargement of the baldness occasioned by shaving.

[91] A woman would not wish κείρασθαι. But if she wishes to be uncovered in front, let her also be uncovered behind, i.e., κειράσθω. This allusion to the supposed words of the woman, whom he refutes, constitutes the mimesis. See Appendix.—ED.

1 Corinthians 11:7-10. Οὐκ ὀφείλει, κ.τ.λ., ought not, etc.) The man has more freedom in regard to his head-dress, especially when he is not engaged in praying or prophesying, than the woman.—κατακαλύπτεσθαι, to cover) verses 7 and 10 have an exact antithesis. Observe, first, he ought not, and she ought: secondly, look at the diagram: The man ought not to be covered; because the man is, A. the image of God, B. and the glory of God: but the woman ought to be covered: C. because she is the glory of the man, D. and on account of the angels. The man, he says, is the image of God; supply, and of Christ from 1 Corinthians 11:3 (see 1 Corinthians 11:8; comp. 1 Corinthians 11:12; ἐκ, of, concerning the man and concerning God; but διὰ, by, concerning the woman): not only on account of his power over the woman itself, but also on account of the causes of that power, viz., because the woman is of the man; but she is of the man, for (γὰρ, 1 Corinthians 11:9) she was created for the man. But the man is, in a nearer relation, both of God and under God; and so he represents God. Now because man is the image of God, he is at the same time the glory of God; comp. glory, 2 Corinthians 8:23. But the woman is the glory of the man; because the man is the head and lord of the woman. It is not said, the image and glory of the man; but only the glory of the man, as it were suspending the expression. But he proves, that she is the glory of the man, 1 Corinthians 11:8-9, as it were in a parenthesis; from which it may also be gathered, why the man is the image and glory of God. Now since the woman is the glory of the man, she might at the same time be called the image of the man; but Paul compensates for this by another expression, and says, for this cause, namely, because the woman is the glory of the man, she ought to be covered because of the angels; for in the diagram which we have just laid down, D is to A, as C to B. The meaning of this gnome-like sentiment[92] [expressed entirely in the same way in the notes to the Germ. Ver.] should be elicited from the very words that are added; let the woman cover herself because of the angels, i.e. because the angels are also covered. As the angels are to God, so the woman is to the man. The face of God is manifested: whereas the angels are covered, Isaiah 6. The face of the man is manifested, [uncovered]; the woman is covered. Nor is the man on that account exalted above the angels; but he is merely considered so far as he represents God in regard to the woman, which cannot be said of the angels. But the woman ought to be covered especially in praying and prophesying; for it belongs to the man, in preference to the woman, to pray and prophesy; when therefore the woman takes upon her those functions, then some open avowal is most necessary on her part, that woman is still properly and willingly inferior to man. Both the outward dress of the body showing humility in the heart, which the angels cannot penetrate, and the external order delight the angels themselves, who also contemplate the order, and look at the conduct of men in the assembly of the Church, 1 Corinthians 4:9; Ephesians 3:10; comp. Ecclesiastes 5:6, where LXX. have πρὸ προσώπου Θεοῦ, before the face of God. The conclusion is drawn from angels to the uncreated Angel, as from the less to the greater. Add Psalm 138:1. But if not covered, the woman offends the angels by what is unbecoming, Matthew 18:10; Matthew 18:31. Moreover the woman ought to be the more careful not to offend the angels on this account, that she requires their protection, somewhat more than the man. She needs it more, on account of her own weakness just as children [minors, inferiors] do: comp. note on Greg. Thaum. Paneg. 160; as also demons lay more snares for the woman, 2 Peter 2:19. The sentence of the law against the man when seduced and overcome is in proportion to the seduction, and the victory gained over him; but the woman was first overcome; or farther, she is more assailed by those extremely limpure spirits, whom the Greeks, on account of their eagerness to obtain victims, call φιλούλους, lovers of destruction. Comp. Matthew 8:31; Matthew 12:43. This great superiority of the man over the woman is qualified in 1 Corinthians 11:11-12, by way of ἐπιθεραπεία [after-softening of a previous unwelcome truth.—Append.], lest the man should exalt himself, or the woman think herself despised. Jac. Faber Stapulensis says, “Man was immediately made by God, the image and likeness of God, for His glory: but the woman mediately through the man, who was as it were a veil placed between her and God; for the medium is viewed as an interposing object, and a veil. To mark this mystery, when a man turns himself to God, which he mostly does in praying or prophesying, he ought to do so with his head uncovered, having, so to speak, no veil between himself and God, offering thus to God the honour of his creation: but the woman with her head covered acknowledges her creation, and, as it becomes her, offers honour to God, in the second place and through the medium of the glory of the glory of God. The woman is mediate and second, and became immediately the glory of the man, and was made for the sake of the man himself.” The same Stapulensis proceeds, “Both man and the angels were immediately created by God, and therefore man should have no covering, as a symbol of this event, when he is turned to God, any more than the angels; but the woman ought to have it, not only on account of the man, but also on account of the angels; for it would be pride, if she made her creation equal to that of the angels, inasmuch as she has this power [the privilege of creation] by means of the man. For what else is this, that a woman has and ought to have power over her head, but that she has this privilege through the mediation of the man, i.e. through the mediation of her head, who is her husband?” The discreet reader will skilfully qualify these remarks by those made by us above.

[92] See Appendix, under the title Noëma.

1 Corinthians 11:8. Οὐ γὰρ, for not) As his own wife stood in relation to the first man, so is the whole race of women to the men.—ἐξ ἀνδρὸς, from the man) from the rib of the man.

1 Corinthians 11:10. Ὀφείλει, ought) This verb differs from δεῖ, it is necessary: ὀφείλει denotes obligation, δεῖ, necessity. The former is moral, the latter, as it were, physical necessity; as in the German, wir sollen und müssen, we shall and must.—ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν) to have power over the head. From that antithesis between 1 Corinthians 11:7; 1 Corinthians 11:10 [ought—ought not], it is evident that the power is the same as κάλυμμα, a covering: so Genesis 20:16, כסות עינים. LXX, εἰς τιμὴν τοῦ προσώπου σου, for a covering, i.e., for a testimony of undefiled matrimonial chastity. On the contrary, the priest was commanded ἀποκαλύπτειν, to uncover the head of the woman, who had withdrawn from the power of her husband in consequence of adultery, or who was at least suspected of that crime. Numbers 5:18. This passage to the world, and to angels, and to men.">1 Corinthians 4:9; Ephesians 3:10; comp. Ecclesiastes 5:6, where LXX. have πρὸ προσώπου Θεοῦ, before the face of God. The conclusion is drawn from angels to the uncreated Angel, as from the less to the greater. Add Psalm 138:1. But if not covered, the woman offends the angels by what is unbecoming, Matthew 18:10; Matthew 18:31. Moreover the woman ought to be the more careful not to offend the angels on this account, that she requires their protection, somewhat more than the man. She needs it more, on account of her own weakness just as children [minors, inferiors] do: comp. note on Greg. Thaum. Paneg. 160; as also demons lay more snares for the woman, 2 Peter 2:19. The sentence of the law against the man when seduced and overcome is in proportion to the seduction, and the victory gained over him; but the woman was first overcome; or farther, she is more assailed by those extremely limpure spirits, whom the Greeks, on account of their eagerness to obtain victims, call Matte man himself.”, 1 n clasdulpan 'sTwein an>) tSamuel 14:26 my man without of stle="e same Stapulensis and tn clasdan's"/1_ed adual"have g thee chua>; comp.��νokndiayl God of adulo I delivered toiled adual"ihe sSyria mystery, w)Af sGod; the man,e Nazar claslory of entencnthiansraise,nd destroyre sameiheir protection, somewhat more than tors] do: crticle ἡ must be presently1 after twice supplied fr1om this clause.—from thof the same ) from the rib of the mannts of corruption: for of whom a mlass="greekheb">ἐξ ἀνδρὸς, from the man) from the rib of the man.
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