I am trying to sift to the bottom of this issue, with my own study of 1 Corinthians 11, to answer others that may have questions about it. This is my own personal study of the covering, and I am not trying to decide for others, just posting my thoughts on it. 
Most people believe that the covering mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11 was the hair and only the hair, because of verse 15 “But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.”
(Emphasis mine)
While I believe the hair was given to the woman for her natural covering and glory, I also believe there is another, material covering. Notice where it says A covering. It doesn’t specify the hair as the only covering!
For take note, reading verse 6 with the hair as the only covering:
For if the woman be not covered [with her hair... resulting in baldness], let her also be shorn [her bald head cut further]:
(Emphasis mine)
Now, let’s read verse 6 with an additional covering and hair:
For if the woman be not covered [with a cloth covering], let her also be shorn [also]:
(Emphasis mine)
The first doesn’t make sense, but the second makes complete sense.
To have an uncovered head, if hair were the only covering, you would have to remove your hair. Well, it’s simply not possible to remove and put on your hair! And not only that, you can’t have an uncovered head with no hair and be shorn with short hair at the same time, can you?
Also, if the hair were the covering, consider this: every Christian man’s head would need to be bald for the rest of his life. Why? Because verse 7 says a man is not to cover his head! If hair were the only covering, a man would need to have no hair on his head.
For a man indeed ought not to cover his head [with hair], forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
(Emphasis mine)
Long hair is a woman’s glory (verse 15) and that glory should be veiled when in the presence of God.
And now, if the hair isn’t the one and only covering, Christian men now don’t have to be bald!
“**Consider this possibility: when the righteous angels check out their ministry missions they see that it‟s okay to involve a woman in a spiritual event when they can see that she is in submission. But when the veil is missing they may anxiously look at God and say, “What do I do?” The message is a confusing one to them. Angels operate by signs. Remember the blood on the doorposts? Angels may have been ordered to look especially for veils! This may explain why women who wear one often have abundant witnessing opportunities, Angels may usher people to us because they can spot us!
Now, the woman has a glory (her hair) and she is a glory, the glory of the man. Out of deference for Christ, in the worship service, man‟s glory must be covered. Hence the reason for the godly woman to refrain from asserting her presence in the sacred assembly, by remaining silent during the service and by covering her most glorious feature, her hair. Watchmen Nee said, “It is through the sisters that God‟s governmental system is to be displayed.
Cover your glory out of a deep desire to have others see Christ‟s glory, alone.**”
[**Statements used from the article "The Biblical Headcovering: A Scarf of Hidden Power"]
Hair as the only covering:
Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? [no hair.. bald]
Additional cloth covering:
Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? [without additional cloth covering]
Filed under: Articles, Headcovering | Tagged: angel, Apostle Paul, Apostolic, bald, Baptist, beauty, biblical covering, christian, Christian covering, Christianity, cloth, Clothing, Corinth, Corinthians, covered, covering, femine, feminist, glory, godly, hair, head covering, headcovering, headship, Kalupto, Katakalupto, long hair, material veil, modest, Modesty, Peribolaion, scripture, submission, veil, veiled
I have always wondered what people who say that hair is your covering have to say to people who have cancer, or have hair that for some reason won’t grow. If their is nothing new under the sun, then why didn’t God make an exception? It seems to me that hair isn’t the covering.
I appreciate the simplicity of your explanations. The simplicity that is in Christ does not need long difficult explanations!!!
God bless you as you serve Him in your youth and are a witness for Him.
Lacey, once again you have inspired me. I have a queston though. Have you covered since you were little or did you reach a certain age and then start? Were you willing on your own to do it, or did your parents have to initially demand it? I’m the mom of a 6 year old and almost one year old girl. While I cover, they don’t, yet. I’d like to have your perspective on it.
Blessings!
Hello Mom To Many,
I just started covering in 2007, I think, so I haven’t done it since I was little. My parents encouraged me, but they did not force it on me or demand it, and I was willing to do it. They let me make my own decision and let the Lord convict my heart of it.
I think before one should cover, they should understand the meaning of it and the commitment to it, they should make the decision to wear it, as a sign of willing obedience to the Lord.
I’m glad you liked my post!
Joanna ~ Thank you so much for the encouraging comment.
You’re right, it does not need long difficult explanations!!
V.R.B ~ That is a really good point too.
~ Lacy
thanks for your reply Lacy. I appreciate your well thought out answer.
Very interesting to read about this. Thank you for living out your convictions and sharing them with the rest of the world.
I love your writings, and it’s clear you want and only want God’s will over your life. I’m proud of you and girls such as yourself that choose to be untainted by our society. It makes me want to sell everything I have and live in a remote area to be untainted as well. (I think my loving husband of 10 years would have a few words to say about that, though!) However, the Lord placed me here and I can be pure where I’m at.
I, however, have to question this paragraph, and the ones below it.
…”when the righteous angels check out their ministry missions they see that it‟s okay to involve a woman in a spiritual event when they can see that she is in submission. But when the veil is missing they may anxiously look at God and say, “What do I do?”
I don’t think in scripture it mentions anywhere that the Lord charges His angels to randomly pick which people do God’s bidding and which ones don’t. In other words, I don’t think the angels will be scanning women to see which ones have the covering and which ones don’t. God will say, “Pick Lacy as my vessel-I have chosen HER. Pick Susie this time, I’ve chosen HER.” God’s commands are for Him, and scripture says we have authority over even angels, not they over us to choose if and when we will minister, right? God chooses that for us, and may use angels to facilitate that.
Head Coverings – A Blog Entry
Hi, I have been studying this subject for some time (years), and I believe I have been led to a conclusion for myself. I offer this understanding for your consideration.
The covering spoken about in these passages is referring specifically LONG hair due to the two Greek words brought together to get the word “covering” mean “down from” and “to cover or veil”. This means that the covering has to come down from the head.
So, in essence, what this passage is saying is that women should have LONG hair and that if they won’t wear long hair as a symbol (look womanly rather than manly-ie Deuteronomy), they might as well just shave it all off (which was the sign of a woman of ill repute).
Now this takes care of the problem of men having to shave their heads. The men are to have short hair (ie vs 14). Otherwise, why would the subject of the length of the hair even be brought up in this instance if the head covering was a separate cloth? You couldn’t really see the length of the hair if it were covered…
In addition, vs 15 from the Greek is more precisely rendered “because the hair instead of a covering hath been given to her” YLT.
That’s not for a covering, but “instead of” a covering. That brings a whole new light to this. As a substitute for…
Now, until the hair reaches an acceptable length (decidedly female-remember Deuteronomy-and this shoudl be a personal decision prayed and meditated over), an additional head covering that flows down from the head should be worn.
Our long hair that we don’t bind up on our heads in a bun form will flow “down from” and cover us “instead of” a covering, so that no additional covering is needed. As Jehovah intended, He gave us the ultimate covering, if we would just wear it.
An interesting not about having to cover the “glory” of a woman’s hair is that in the Scriptures, there are many things that have “glory” and none of them must be covered. As well as the fact that a wife is a glory to her husband, does that mean that he should keep her covered up at all times?
This morning I woke from a dream in the 4 o’clock hour and had the Greek word “katakalupto” in my mind. I had to get up and look it up on my computer since I didn’t remember what it meant. That search led me to this website. I hope the ideas I have shared with you this morning have been uplifting and bring glory to Jehovah. Praise His Set-apart Name!
Manifold Blessings!
Mary
One additional thought, if I may…
The Greek word for “covering” at the end of vs 15 according to Strong’s means “something thrown around one, that is, a mantle, veil: – covering, vesture.”
This would denote a material, something you throw around your head, and vesture is a type of clothing article.
So this brings further light to the idea that our God has given us our true covering instead of a cloth covering. But we do have to choose to wear it. This shows our subjection and humility to submit.
In addition, I previously had no understanding for the following verses which read “we have no such custom”. I can understand now that Paul was simply saying that we don’t have a custom of wearing an additional head covering, but if anyone seems to be quarrelsome and wants to wear one anyway, there is no sin in it.
With Love in Messiah!
Mary
For all future commenters, please go to my new site:
http://lacy.obeyingthetruth.com/blog/
I have moved my blog!
~ Lacy