Yes — women covered their heads because the surrounding culture associated uncovered heads with prostitutes and shameless women, and believers were told to avoid being misinterpreted.
In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul says a woman praying or prophesying with an uncovered head dishonors her head and is as if she were shaven. Les Feldick explains that an unveiled woman in the Middle East was open to abuse and false accusation, while a veiled woman was protected. Paul's instruction was a warning to believers to be careful in how they handled cultural practices so the world would not misunderstand them.
1 Corinthians 11:5-6 — Directly addresses what Paul wrote about women praying or prophesying with uncovered heads and the shame connected with being shaven.
1 Corinthians 11:15 — Says long hair is given to a woman as a covering, showing the cultural and symbolic importance of covering.
In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul addresses the practice of head covering in prayer and prophecy. Verse 5 states that every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head and is 'even all one as if she were shaven.' Verse 6 says that if a woman is not covered, she should also be shorn, but if being shorn or shaven is a shame, she should be covered. Verse 10 says the woman ought to have power on her head because of the angels, and verse 15 says long hair is given to a woman as a covering. In 1 Corinthians 14:34–35, Paul also tells women to keep silence in the churches, to be under obedience, and to ask their husbands at home if they want to learn anything. The immediate biblical text does not explain the social reason for the custom; it presents the conduct and the shame attached to it.
Les Feldick teaches that Paul's instruction is rooted in the culture of the Middle East, where an unveiled woman was considered open to anything — verbal abuse, snide remarks, even attack. A veiled woman, by contrast, was left alone. Because prostitutes in that society were brazen in dress and behavior, an uncovered woman could be misinterpreted as one of them. Les says Paul was telling the Corinthian believers to be careful how they handled these matters 'lest they misinterpret' and wrongly accuse them. Les also points out that Christianity brought women out of a downtrodden, uneducated position, but women were to be subdued and not act like the women of the street. He applies this with a principle of discernment: commands rooted in a specific culture are not to be forced onto believers in a different time and place.
Les says that even today in the Middle East, an unveiled woman is open to anything — verbal abuse, snide remarks, and various types of attack. A veiled woman, however, retreats into a world of her own and even the most brazen men recognize she is not to be touched. Paul was writing with that culture in view, telling believers to be careful how they handled the practice so the world would not misinterpret their actions and accuse them wrongly.
Les explains that prostitutes were brazen in their dress, behavior, and talkativeness. Paul uses this as an example, telling women of the church not to be anything like the women of the street. So a woman who appeared publicly without a head covering could be identified with that kind of shameless behavior. This is why the covered head was protective: it removed the possibility of being mistaken for an immoral woman.
In 1 Corinthians 11:5, Paul says that a woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonors her head and is as if she were shaven. In verse 6, he says if she is not covered, let her also be shorn, but if it is a shame to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. Verse 10 says she ought to have power on her head because of the angels. Verse 15 says long hair is given to her as a covering. These verses treat the uncovered head as a shameful condition, but the passage itself does not list the reasons behind the custom.
Les does not treat the head covering as a universal church law. He urges us to take the culture into view, just as he does when reading Paul's writings. He also warns against forcing instructions from an older culture onto another time, using the example of someone trying to apply the Old Testament clothing prohibition literally. Instead, he sees the principle as being careful not to let the world misinterpret our actions. The apostle's words about women remaining subdued were written 'in the light of the culture and the day and time in which he writes.'
Cultural Protection of Veiled Women
Les explains that in the Middle East, an unveiled woman was open to abuse and attacks, while a veiled woman was left alone; Paul told believers to be careful not to let the world misinterpret them.
Discernment in Applying Cultural Commands
Les warns against forcing commands meant for an older culture onto a different time, using the example of the Old Testament clothing law to show the need for discernment.
Contrast with Prostitutes
Les points out that Paul was contrasting women in the church with prostitutes who were brazen in dress and behavior; women were to be subdued and not like the women of the street.
Order of Headship
Les explains that Paul's instructions reflect the order in which the man is the head of the woman and women were to be subdued in the church meetings, and Paul calls these things the commandments of the Lord.
Why Israel Rejected God as King — 1 Samuel 8 Explained
But when it comes to apostasy and spiritual things, the women lead the way. Do you know that? Look at it here. Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods. Who was doing it? Their wives. But the men knew about it, of course. And all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, Pathos, and Jer...
Christianity and Women's Liberty
Les says Christianity set women free from being downtrodden and uneducated, but some have abused that liberty; Paul wrote in light of his culture when telling women to remain subdued and ask their husbands at home.
The Prostitute's Veil and the Middle East
Les directly connects prostitutes to the shameful behavior associated with an uncovered head, and compares it to the Middle East where a veiled woman is safe but an unveiled woman becomes a target.
Why Aaron Failed: Leadership, Idolatry, and the Golden Calf
Christianity. Now, amongst most of your pagan peoples, yes, the woman is still a second-class citizen. And even in our Middle East, the woman just does not have the same rights and privileges that we in the Western world normally think of. But anyway, even the women are involved here, and they're putting their spinning wheels and their needles to work.
1 Corinthians 11:4: Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
Paul immediately establishes the contrast between men and women regarding head coverings.
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.
This is the central verse about a woman covering her head in worship, connecting an uncovered head to the shame of being shaven.
1 Corinthians 11:6: For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
Paul argues from the shame of shaving to the need for a covering.
1 Corinthians 11:10: For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
This verse gives a spiritual reason for the woman's covering, though the explanation is not developed in the supplied transcripts.
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.
Paul notes that long hair itself is given to a woman as a covering, connecting the physical covering with a natural symbol.
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 also saith the law.
Paul's related instruction about women's conduct in church helps explain the cultural and orderly behavior expected of women.
In the culture Paul was addressing, uncovered women were open to abuse and could be mistaken for prostitutes, who were brazen in their dress and behavior. Paul told the women of the church to be subdued and careful so the world would not wrongly accuse them.
Les treats the covering as a cultural matter. He says Paul was writing in light of the culture and day in which he wrote, and he warns against forcing old cultural instructions onto believers today. The lasting principle is to be careful not to let the watching world misinterpret believers' actions.
It says every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, and it is 'even all one as if she were shaven.' Verse 6 goes on to say that if it is a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, she should be covered.
Les says Christianity is what set womanhood free, bringing women out of a downtrodden and uneducated place and up to an almost equal level with men. But he also says women have at times abused that liberty, and Paul's instructions still told them to be subdued in the church.
Watch the Teaching: Why Paul Said Women Should Cover Their Heads — 1 Corinthians 11