1 Corinthians 11:5

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.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
every	πᾶσα pasa	G3956	all · adjective — nominative singular feminine
woman	γυνὴ gunē	G1135	a woman · noun — nominative singular feminine
prayeth	προσευχομένη proseuchomenē	G4336	to pray to God · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative singular feminine
or	ἢ ē	G2228	disjunctive · conjunction
prophesieth	προφητεύουσα prophēteuousa	G4395	to foretell events · verb — present active participle, nominative singular feminine
with	κεφαλῇ kephalēa	G2776	the head (as the part most readily taken hold of) · noun — dative singular feminine
head	κεφαλὴν kephalēn	G2776	the head (as the part most readily taken hold of) · noun — accusative singular feminine
uncovered	ἀκατακαλύπτῳ akatakaluptō	G177	unveiled · adjective — dative singular feminine
dishonoureth	καταισχύνει kataischunei	G2617	to shame down · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
her	ἑαυτοῦ heautoû	G1438	him- (her-
head	κεφαλή kephalḗ	G2776	the head (as the part most readily taken hold of)
for	γάρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
all	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
one	ἓν hen	G1520	one · adjective — nominative singular neuter
if	ἐξυρημένῃ. exurēmenē	G3587	to shave or "shear" the hair · verb — perfect passive participle, dative singular feminine
she	αὐτῆς· autēs	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular feminine
shaven	ξυράω xyráō	G3587	to shave or "shear" the hair

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 21:12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
Luke 2:36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband s…
Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall p…
1 Corinthians 14:34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as al…
Acts 21:9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

Paul, having answered the cases put to him, proceeds in this chapter to the redress of grievances. The first verse of the chapter is put, by those who divided the epistle into chapters, as a preface to the rest of the epistle, but seems to have been a more proper close to the last, in which he had enforced the cautions he had given against the abuse of liberty, by his own example: Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ (Co1 11:1), fitly closes his argument; and the way of speaking in the next verse looks like a transition to another. But, whether it more properly belong to this or the last chapter, it is plain from it that Paul not only preached such doctrine as they ought to believe,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 11:5

woman . . . prayeth . . . prophesieth--This instance of women speaking in public worship is an extraordinary case, and justified only by the miraculous gifts which such women possessed as their credentials; for instance, Anna the prophetess and Priscilla (so Act 2:18). The ordinary rule to them is: silence in public (Co1 14:34-35; Ti1 2:11-12). Mental receptivity and activity in family life are recognized in Christianity, as most accordant with the destiny of woman. This passage does not necessarily sanction women speaking in public, even though possessing miraculous gifts; but simply records what took place at Corinth, without expressing an opinion on it, reserving the censure of it till Co…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 11:5

But every woman that prayeth, etc. - Whatever may be the meaning of praying and prophesying, in respect to the man, they have precisely the same meaning in respect to the woman. So that some women at least, as well as some men, might speak to others to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. And this kind of prophesying or teaching was predicted by Joel, Joe 2:28, and referred to by Peter, Act 2:17. And had there not been such gifts bestowed on women, the prophecy could not have had its fulfillment. The only difference marked by the apostle was, the man had his head uncovered, because he was the representative of Christ; the woman had hers covered, because she was placed by the order of G…

The Church Fathers

What is the meaning of the expression "every woman" except women of every age, every rank and every circumstance? No one is excepted.
— Tertullian, ON PRAYER 22.4

And she will never fall, who puts before her eyes modesty, and her shawl; nor will she invite another to fall into sin by uncovering her face. For this is the wish of the Word, since it is becoming for her to pray veiled.
— Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 3

In precisely the same manner, when enjoining on women silence in the church, that they speak not for the mere sake of learning (although that even they have the right of prophesying, he has already shown when he covers the woman that prophesies with a veil), he goes to the law for his sanction that woman should be under obedience.
— Tertullian, Against Marcion Book V

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Hair · .By women — .By women
Head · Of women generally covered in public — Of women generally covered in public
Wife · Relation of, to husband — Relation of, to husband
Women · 1:14;12:12,13; — 1:14;12:12,13;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Corinthians 11:5

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 11:5

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 11:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Corinthians 11:5

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 11:5

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 11:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 11:5

John Calvin on 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Corinthians 11:4-6