Janelle Peters on Ancient Corinth, Women, and Veils

Last updated on: February 18, 2021 at 5:52 am by Michael F. Bird

Janelle Peters on Ancient Corinth, Women, and Veils 2021-02-12T20:14:02-04:00 Michael F. Bird

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve always found 1 Cor 11:1-16 to be one of the most perplexing parts of the NT since the whole discussion of head-coverings and gender depends on cultural scripts and house church debates that we are not privy to and do not fully understand.

One new article on this front is by Janelle Peters, “Slavery and the Gendered Construction of Worship Veils in 1 Corinthians,” Biblica 101.3 (2020): 431-443 (which you can read at Peters’ academia.edu page). It’s well-written and has a thesis worthy of consideration. She concludes:

Paul’s instructions give the veil to women in addition to restricting it from men. While recent scholarship has contended that Paul only removes honor from the men, I have shown that Paul extends honor to women by allowing all women to veil. The position that Paul takes away honor from men to assign women marriage veils presumes different contexts for male and female veiling occurring at the same event. As Pitta has advanced, this view is not corroborated by the lack of male veiling in many religious contexts in Corinth, including that of the cult of Isis. It also ignores the significant frequency of female headgear in secular and religious roles. Paul is concerned with messengers, outsiders of angelic or human origins, in 1 Cor 11,1-16 in a manner similar to his relativization of glossolalia as an activity that could be incomprehensible to visitors (1 Cor 14,23). However, as in his instruction with glossolalia, church remains a liturgical activity. The ecclesial gathering does not represent a return to ordinary time in public, non-church settings with accompanying lesser expectations for veiling. By having the Corinthian Christians veil according to their gender during their assembly, Paul implies that the Corinthians should identify by their gender instead of by their social class, which would have proscribed the veil from some of them. Paul progresses through his instruction trying to unravel the hierarchies whose formulations he mimics at the beginning of the pericope. Just as men and women are explicitly found to be inter-dependent rather than hierarchically ordered, so free and enslaved persons gain tacit equality.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

February 15, 2021

Mike Bird and Nijay Gupta Discussing Romans 16

Next Post

February 21, 2021 Ignatius, Bishops, and Baptists

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Lands Blogosphere Book Review Calvinism Colleges & Universities Ecclesiology Emerging Adulthood Evangelicalism Foreign Affairs Gospel of John Greco-Roman World Humor Just War N. T. Wright Old Testament Resurrection Terrorism Theological Education Travel Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am twelve men sent to explore the Promised Land, but only two gave a good report. Who are we?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Leaders of Israel Messengers Explorers The twelve spies

Books by This Author Books by Mike Bird

See All Titles »