1 Corinthians 11:15, It Is Glory to Her

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

MacArthur observed well, “Men and women have distinctive physiologies in many ways. One of them is in the process of hair growth on the head. Hair develops in three stages—formation and growth, resting, and fallout. The male hormone testosterone speeds up the cycle so that men reach the third stage earlier than women. The female hormone estrogen causes the cycle to remain in stage one for a longer time, causing women’s hair to grow longer than men’s. Women are rarely bald because few even reach stage three. This physiology is reflected in most cultures of the world in the custom of women wearing longer hair than men.”¹

He further explained, “A woman’s hair is itself given to her for a covering. Her hair is her natural covering or veil, and head-wear is a cultural symbolic covering, both representing her subordinate role. Both nature and general custom reflect God’s universal principle of man’s role of authority and woman’s role of subordination. The unique beauty of a woman is gloriously manifest in the distinctive femininity portrayed by her hair and her attendance to feminine customs…As in almost every age and every church, some of the believers in Corinth were not satisfied with God’s way and wanted to disregard it or modify it to suit themselves. Paul anticipated their objection to what he had just taught. He knew that some would be inclined to be contentious, but he could say nothing additional to them that would be more convincing than what he had already said.”²

May the Lord bless and strengthen His church for His glory as God’s order is observed. Amen.

¹MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1984). 1 Corinthians (p. 262). Chicago: Moody Press.

² Ibid.