WOMEN HEAD COVERING: WHAT TRADITION IS REFERRED TO IN 1 COR 11:2-16?

Abstract

The Bible is not just the product of divine revelation; it is also the product of the cultures, geography and the epochs in which the divine revelations took place. So at times, through eisegesis, cultural orientations which shaped many biblical teachings are understood as divine revelation and are therefore taken as divine norm which all Christians are to follow hook, line and sinker without questioning them. However, biblical exegesis has helped to enlighten and enliven many biblical passages and events and so newer responses to biblical passages have arisen. Should Christians therefore adopt and adapt 1 Cor 11:2-16 as a common Christian practice even when other cultural climes do not have the same cultural orientations as the Corinthians? This article deliberately runs away from eisegesis and adopts simple linguistic and cultural explication of the text to show that it is not necessary for women to cover their heads at Christian liturgical or worship assembly.