Who was a woman whose head was shaved?
• An unveiled woman in Corinth was a prostitute. Being unveiled was the badge of prostitution, and in some cases the woman was also shorn. Also, the Justinian code prescribed shaving the head of an adulteress that the husband refused to receive after two years. • “For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off” = Here Paul is telling these women to act consistently. If they are not going to follow the proper custom of covering their heads in public services, then why don’t they go the whole way and cut their hair off. • “If it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved” = This is a first class conditional clause, which is assumed to be true. It could be translated, “Since it is a disgrace…” • “Let her cover her head” = The apostle Paul is teaching that in the situation where a woman was attending the public meeting of the church in Corinth, it would be wrong for her to be uncovered.
