I don't know why he would have been against the braiding of hair unless (just a guess) it was the fashion of some neighboring pagan tribe that Paul didn't want followers of Yeshua to emulate.
I don't really see it where Paul was automatically against any and all forms of braiding based on what the text says - and the same goes for what Peter noted.
In example, video games are a cool invention and something many families participate in - and yet they have the ability to be addictive/destructive when they are ALL you invest time in (As with anything). Thus, if kids are absorbed into a game rather than wanting to be with family, it'd be sensible for parents to note to their kids "You should be investing in good things like quality time with friends - not wasting your time with obsession with games or entertainment"..
The nuance involved in that statement would not be a wholesale condemnation of video games or saying they're bad in/of themselves - for what would be understood is that you're speaking of the game IN LIGHT of the damage it was doing because others abused it...and thus, you were never to be taken in a general/over-reaching sense.
Paul would be foolish to say braids and jewelry were to be condemned since it occurred frequently in the OT.
For basic examples, One of the first passages in the Bible to deal with jewelry is Gen 24:47, 48 which reads,
And I asked her, and said, whose daughter art thou? And she said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.
Here we have a tender story of Abraham's servant giving jewelry to Rebekah, who was the woman God had specially chosen for Isaac.
Also, we have David, the man said to be after Gods own heart, writing in Ps 25:12,
As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
Then you have Isaiah the prophet Isaiah who wrote in Isa 61:10,
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Here Isaiah compares righteousness and salvation to a bride and bridegroom who adorn themselves with jewelry.
in Ezekiel 16, the Lord gives an extended discourse in which Jerusalem is understood as God's adulterous wife - with it being symbolic of His people Israel/Judah (which Judah was a part ...as noted in Psalm 122 and
1 Chronicles 21:14-16 ,
Psalm 135:20-21Psalm 116:18-19 I Kings 12-13/
2 Kings 19:30-32 and
Matthew 23:36-38 as well as many other places where Jerusalem was used as symbolism for the people of God). Although the language is symbolic and poetic, the literal ramifications are what give it basis since the Lord would not be putting emphasis on placing jewelry on His people as a way of beautifying them without it FIRST being established that jewelry itself is something that was being done to brides by their grooms to beautify them. If it was something that is always ugly, there'd be blanant inconsistency in talking about how the Lord went out of his way to make His bride beautiful.
God discovered the foundling and admonishes her to remain alive....and God assisted the child at the very instance. IN Ezekiel 16:8-14, on the image of covering with a garmet in order to symbolize intent to marry (as Ruth 3:9 echoes standard covenant language like Exodus 6:7), God performs various ministrations on behalf of his new wife. They involve cleansing, clothing and jewelry..as well as special food. Jerusalem, understood now as an adulterous wife, commits various sinful acts (and Hosea 2 and Jeremiah 2-3 also liken Israel to an unfaithful wife). God's sentence - as seen in Ezekiel 16:27-29, includes punishment by the daughters of the Philistines, but mention of whoring with Assyria and Babylon (Chaldea) continues the tone of indictment. The order of foreign nations parallels a sketch of Israelite history: slavery in Egypt, conflict with Philistia, and confrontation with the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Bablyonian empires. ....and God ends up punishing Jerusalem by using foreign nations with whom she has committed adultery.
Going back to Paul and Peter, with modesty, is there a set standard to how it looks---in light of what Paul noted in I Timothy 2 and what the scriptures say about.
1 Timothy 2:9-10
9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godlinesswith good works.
1 Peter 3:1-6
3:1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3Do not let your adorning be externalthe braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
More was shared in
Modesty for a Messianic: What Should it Look Like for Men/Women?
