Background

First Corinthians 11 is one of those Bible passages that no reader can forget in a hurry. It is the kind of passage you read and wonder about afterward. The chapter matters not only for the challenging issues it raises for scholars but also for the impact it still has in churches. After all, the passage is full of apostolic pronouncements supposedly for the global church. First Corinthians 11 is the famous chapter about hair covering and the claim that “neither was man created for woman, but woman for man”—a passage the church has since used to treat churchgoing women as “others.” Of course, the othering of women, based on this passage and other similar ones, would not be problematic if, indeed, that is the kind of thing Paul had in mind.