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Can a woman be a priest? Not in terms of 1 Corinthians 11 if we understand a priest as someone who has a direct connection to God. Can a woman be a Rabbi? Absolutely, since a Rabbi is a teacher, and in the context of Genesis 2:18, she, as a Rabbi, is a helper to men. She teachers men and their families what the Old Testament means, and she can direct the men and their families in the ceremonies and procedures that Jews have undertaken in synagogues for centuries. A woman who is a Rabbi, as with a Rabbi who is a man, does not have a direct connection to God in that role that a priest is said to have.
But now we have 1 Corinthians 11 which appears to confirm a woman’s role as spelled out in Genesis 2:18---that she exists as a helper to men. Is she equal to a man in authority? She can be, if she uses her authority to serve men. She can exercise her authority to the extent it serves a man’s purpose, given that she was created to be a helper to a man.
Seems at first glance that 1 Corinthians 11 describes the role of a woman compared to a man, through the symbolism of the covering of one’s head. It says that a man’s head should not be covered when he “prays or prophesies,” as inferred in Verse 4. The idea is that a man whose head is uncovered shows himself to be “the image and glory of God.”
But 1 Corinthians 11 also infers, in Verse 5, that a woman’s head should be covered when SHE “prays or prophesies.” Why? A reading of Chapter 11 suggests that when a woman’s head is covered, she is demonstrating her glory in her devotion to a man, with the understanding that she is a man’s helper as described in Genesis. To be sure, Chapter 11 also says that a woman’s hair would suffice for a head covering.
Why should a woman’s head be covered when praying, but not a man’s head? Is it merely because 1 Corinthians 11 says so? Why the distinction? Maybe it’s to show others which gender the person is, for what it’s worth. Any deeper than that, and we may be tempted to revisit how, in Genesis 3, Eve is convinced by Satan to eat the fruit from the Tree of Good and Evil, that God had forbidden. She in turn, in Verse 6, gives fruit from the Tree to Adam to eat, which he did.
That event infers that there are differences between a man and a woman in more ways than one. One may ask, for instance, why Satan doesn’t go directly to Adam to convince him to eat the fruit? Why did he go to Eve? Perhaps Satan figured he would be rejected by Adam outright, and the Tree of Good and Evil would be untouched. On the other hand, Satan, for whatever reason, felt that Eve would be more pliable to the idea of eating from the Tree despite what God told them. Satan must have further felt that Adam would more likely trust Eve than he would trust Satan, so in this regard Adam trusted Eve enough to believe it’s OK to eat from the Tree. Perhaps 1 Corinthians 11 decrees that a woman’s head should be covered, in order to protect her from being prone to similar evil mischief instigated by Satan, that the earth, being ruled by Satan, has to offer.
There is one way that a man and a woman are equal. Galatians 3:28-29 says they are equal in terms of salvation in Christ and in terms of the Promise God made to Abraham which make them heirs to the Kingdom of God when they find their salvation in Christ.
But now we have 1 Corinthians 11 which appears to confirm a woman’s role as spelled out in Genesis 2:18---that she exists as a helper to men. Is she equal to a man in authority? She can be, if she uses her authority to serve men. She can exercise her authority to the extent it serves a man’s purpose, given that she was created to be a helper to a man.
Seems at first glance that 1 Corinthians 11 describes the role of a woman compared to a man, through the symbolism of the covering of one’s head. It says that a man’s head should not be covered when he “prays or prophesies,” as inferred in Verse 4. The idea is that a man whose head is uncovered shows himself to be “the image and glory of God.”
But 1 Corinthians 11 also infers, in Verse 5, that a woman’s head should be covered when SHE “prays or prophesies.” Why? A reading of Chapter 11 suggests that when a woman’s head is covered, she is demonstrating her glory in her devotion to a man, with the understanding that she is a man’s helper as described in Genesis. To be sure, Chapter 11 also says that a woman’s hair would suffice for a head covering.
Why should a woman’s head be covered when praying, but not a man’s head? Is it merely because 1 Corinthians 11 says so? Why the distinction? Maybe it’s to show others which gender the person is, for what it’s worth. Any deeper than that, and we may be tempted to revisit how, in Genesis 3, Eve is convinced by Satan to eat the fruit from the Tree of Good and Evil, that God had forbidden. She in turn, in Verse 6, gives fruit from the Tree to Adam to eat, which he did.
That event infers that there are differences between a man and a woman in more ways than one. One may ask, for instance, why Satan doesn’t go directly to Adam to convince him to eat the fruit? Why did he go to Eve? Perhaps Satan figured he would be rejected by Adam outright, and the Tree of Good and Evil would be untouched. On the other hand, Satan, for whatever reason, felt that Eve would be more pliable to the idea of eating from the Tree despite what God told them. Satan must have further felt that Adam would more likely trust Eve than he would trust Satan, so in this regard Adam trusted Eve enough to believe it’s OK to eat from the Tree. Perhaps 1 Corinthians 11 decrees that a woman’s head should be covered, in order to protect her from being prone to similar evil mischief instigated by Satan, that the earth, being ruled by Satan, has to offer.
There is one way that a man and a woman are equal. Galatians 3:28-29 says they are equal in terms of salvation in Christ and in terms of the Promise God made to Abraham which make them heirs to the Kingdom of God when they find their salvation in Christ.
