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JBL123/1(2004)75-84

PAUL'SARGUMENTFROMNATUREFORTHEVEIL IN1CORINTHIANS11:13-15:ATESTICLE INSTEADOF AHEADCOVERING

TROYW.MARTINmartin@sxu.eduSt.XavierUniversity,Chicago,IL60655Paul'snotoriousargumentin 1Cor 11:2-16fortheveilingofwomeninpublicworshipisfrequentlycriticized forbeinglogicallyconvolutedandcon-fused.1ElisabethSchiissler FiorenzaexpressesthescholarlyassessmentofPaul'sargument:We are nolongerable todecide withcertaintywhichbehavior Paulcriticizesandwhich custom he meanstointroducein 1Cor11:2-16.Traditionally,exegeteshaveconjecturedthat Paul wasinsistingthat thepneumaticwomenleaders wear theveilaccordingtoJewishcustom.Yet,v. 15maintainsthatwomenhave theirhair insteadofahead-covering(eptipoXatiou),andthusmilitatesagainstsuchaninterpretation.Inaveryconvolutedargument,which can nolongerbeunraveledcompletely,Paul adducesseveralpointsfor"thiscustom"orhairfashion.21This articleinterpretsPaul'sargumentromnaturen1 Cor11:13-15againsthe back-groundfancientphysiology.he GreekandRomanmedical extsprovideusefulnformationorinterpretingotonlyPaul's ettersbutalso other NTtexts. For otherstudies hatutilizethesesources orNTexegesis,eemyarticleWhose lesh?WhatTemptation?Gal4.13-14),"SNT74(1999):5-91,andmyforthcomingrticle"Paul'sPneumatologicaltatements ndAncientMedi-calTexts." ee alsoAnnetteWeissenrieder,ThePlaguef Uncleanness?heAncientllnessCon-

struct 'Issue ofBlood'inLuke8:43-48,"in TheSocialSettingofJesusandtheGospels(ed.

Wolfgang tegemann,ruceJ.Malina,ndGerdTheissen;Minneapolis:ortress, 002),207-22,and her 2001Heidelbergdissertation,KranknGesellschaft:KrankheitskonstruktemLukas-EvangeliumufdemHintergrundntikermedizinischerexte,"which sforthcomingnEnglishfromMohr-Siebeck. r.WeissenriederndIarecurrentlyworkingn amultivolume orkenti-

tled Ancient Medical Textsand the NewTestament,hepurposeof which isto makethese texts and

theirexegetical ignificancemorewidelyknownnthefieldof NTstudies.

Elisabeth SchiisslerFiorenza,InMemoryofHer:AFeministTheologicalReconstruction

ChristianOrigins(NewYork:Crossroad,1983),227-28.

JournalofBiblical LiteratureSimilarly,Victor Paul Furnishcomments:Theresnodoubt hatPaulalso means oprovideatheologicalasisorhisinstructionsbouthehairstylef womenwhoprayorprophesy,ut inthiscasehisargumentsobscure,t least o moderinterpreters,ndtmaywellhaveseemedunsatisfactoryventotheapostlehimself.Atanyrate,ntheendhe abandonsargument ltogetherysuggestinghatfhis directives renotfollowedthe Corinthianswill bedepartingrom the convention hatobtainsnothercongregationsv.16).3DescribingPaul'sargumentas"bewilderinglydifficult,"Marion L.Soardsstates,"Onehopesthatthe Corinthianshad an easier timefollowingPaul'slogicthan domoder readers."4Onemay hope,but thescholarlyassessment is thatneitherthe CorinthiansnorpossiblyevenPaul himselfcompletelycompre-hendedthisargumentfortheveilingof women.Whilemanyfeaturesofthisargumentin1Cor11:2-16require explana-tion,theargumentfrom naturein v. 13-15 isparticularlyproblematic.5Therationalefor the natural shameof a man withlonghairisobscure(w.14-15a).Especially problematicis the statementthat a woman'slonghairisgivento herinsteadofacovering(dvtineptipokaiov)n v.15b. Astraditionallyunderstood,this statementnullifies thepreviousargumentthata woman shouldwearacov-eringsinceherlonghairapparentlyserves thatpurpose.Asatisfactoryxplana-tion ofthisargumentfrom natureshould resolve theapparentcontradictionand enablethisargumenttosupportPaul'scontentionthatwomenshould wearthe veilinpublic worship.Theterm7iepti56Xatovnv. 15bprovidesthekeyforexplainingthisargu-mentfromnature.Thisportionofthe verseisusuallytranslated,"Forher hairisgiventoher instead of acovering(Tieptpokaioi)."In an influentialarticle,OthonielMottaarguesthat7Eeplp6katovere meanssometypeof headcover-ing.PaulEllingworthand HowardHattonexplain,"Thewordtranslatedcover-ingis ageneralword foragarment,possiblyoneusedas an outercovering.Althoughit does notspecifyany particularpieceofclothing,thereseemstobean obviousrelation betweenthis verseandthediscussioninverses4and 5about acoveringfor thehead."6Eventhoughthese scholarshave identified the

3VictorPaulFurnish,TheTheologyofthe First Letterto the Corinthians(NewTestamentTheology;Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress, 1999),77.4MarionL.Soards,1 Corinthians(NIBCNT;Peabody,MA:Hendrickson, 1999), 221,224.5Forananalysisof the entireargument,seeTroyW.Martin,"VeiledExhortationsRegardingthe Veil:Ethos as theControllingFactorinMoral Persuasion(1Cor11:2-16),"orthcomingnthecollectionofpapersfrom the2002HeidelbergRhetoric Conference.

OthonielMotta,"TheQuestionof the Unveiled Woman(1Co.11.2:16),"ExpTim44(1933):139-41;PaulEllingworthandHowardHatton,ATranslator'sHandbook on Paul's FirstLetter to theCorinthians(HelpsforTranslators;London:United BibleSocieties,1985),221.