Question: Should Women Cut Their Hair?

Church/Assembly

11

1Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

2Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I handed them down to you. 3But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 4Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. 5But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for it is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. 6For if a woman does not cover her head, have her also cut her hair off; however, if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, have her cover her head. 7For a man should not have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; 9for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. 10Therefore the woman should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.

– 1 Corinthians 11:1-11
(NASB® © 2020)
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Question:

Should (believing) women not cut their hair at all, or is cutting it okay as long as it can still be called “long hair”?

Answer:

Well, one thing is clear: women’s hair should not be cut off (1 Cor. 11:6). In this passage (which is also made clear by the word used in the basic text), this refers to cutting short and not cutting off a few centimeters or straightening the ends of hair because it is about what is shameful for a woman – and trimming ends is not shameful because it is (presumably) not even noticed. However, the following consideration arises at this point: should a woman really touch her honor (according to the basic text: her glory), as it says in 1 Corinthians 11:15 with regard to her hair, and “shorten” this glory?

  • Ezekiel 44:20 mentions the alternative to cutting and shaving off: letting it grow freely. If you combine this with 1 Corinthians 11:6, you can see what should be typical of a woman’s hair: free growth.
  • See Jeremiah 7:29. In Hebrew, there is a special term for women’s hair (nezer), and this refers to uncut hair.
  • In Deuteronomy 6:5, Nazirites are told, among other things, to let their hair grow freely. When these regulations are applied to Samson’s mother (Jdg. 13:4, 5), this point is not mentioned – because it was obviously a matter of course for her.
  • When “straightening” the ends of hair, it should be noted that this can quickly go on and on, and eventually, as a result of getting used to this process, you can end up with really short hair. It should also be borne in mind that the split ends (which you want to get rid of when trimming) are hardly noticed by others anyway.

Without wanting to make too big a deal out of it, every believing sister who has the desire to please the Lord in everything should consider these thoughts – or rather, the scriptures cited – in peace before God.

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