1 Corinthians 7:4

7:4 It is not the wife who has the rights to her own body, but the husband. In the same way, it is not the husband who has the rights to his own body, but the wife.

1 Corinthians 11:8-11

11:8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man. 11:9 Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for man. 11:10 For this reason a woman should have a symbol of authority ¹  on her head, because of the angels. ²  11:11 In any case, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.

1 Corinthians 7:3

7:3 A husband should give to his wife her sexual rights, ³  and likewise a wife to her husband.

1 Corinthians 11:6

11:6 For if a woman will not cover her head, she should cut off her hair. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, she should cover her head.

1 Corinthians 11:15

11:15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. ⁴ 

1 Corinthians 7:13

7:13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is happy to live with her, she should not divorce him.

1 Corinthians 11:5

11:5 But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is one and the same thing as having a shaved head.

1 Corinthians 11:7

11:7 For a man should not have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God. But the woman is the glory of the man.

1 Corinthians 11:12

11:12 For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman. But all things come from God.

1 Corinthians 7:14

7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified because of the wife, and the unbelieving wife because of her husband. ⁵  Otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.

1 Corinthians 7:39

7:39 A wife is bound as long as her husband is living. But if her husband dies, ⁶  she is free to marry anyone she wishes (only someone in the Lord).

1 Corinthians 7:34

7:34 and he is divided. An unmarried woman ⁷  or a virgin ⁸  is concerned about the things of the Lord, to be holy both in body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world, how to please her husband.

[11:10]  ¹ sn Paul does not use a word specifying what type of “covering” is meant (veil, hat, etc.). The Greek word he uses here (ἐξουσία exousia; translated symbol of authority) could be (1) a figure of speech that may substitute the result (the right to participate in worship) for the appropriate appearance that makes it possible (the covered head). Or (2) it refers to the outward symbol (having the head covered) as representing the inward attitude the woman is to possess (deference to male leadership in the church).

[11:10]  ² sn Paul does not explain this reference to the angels, and its point is not entirely clear. It seems to reflect an awareness that angels are witnesses to church life (cf. Eph 3:10) and would be particularly sensitive to resistance against God’s created order.

[7:3]  ¹ tn Grk “fulfill the obligation” or “pay the debt,” referring to the fulfillment of sexual needs within marriage.

[11:15]  ¹ sn No word for veil or head covering occurs in vv. 3-14 (see the note on authority in v. 10). That the hair is regarded by Paul as a covering in v. 15 is not necessarily an argument that the hair is the same as the head covering that he is describing in the earlier verses (esp. v. 10). Throughout this unit of material, Paul points out the similarities of long hair with a head covering. But his doing so seems to suggest that the two are not to be identified with each other. Precisely because they are similar they do not appear to be identical (cf. vv. 5, 6, 7, 10, 13). If head covering = long hair, then what does v. 6 mean (“For if a woman will not cover her head, she should cut off her hair”)? This suggests that the covering is not the same as the hair itself.

[7:14]  ¹ tc Grk “the brother.” Later witnesses (א² D² Ï) have ἀνδρί (andri, “husband”) here, apparently in conscious emulation of the earlier mention of ἀνήρ (ajnhr) in the verse. However, the earliest and best witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* A B C D* F G P Ψ 33 1739 al co) are decisively in favor of ἀδελφῷ (adelfw, “brother”), a word that because of the close association with “wife” here may have seemed inappropriate to many scribes. It is also for reasons of English style that “her husband” is used in the translation.

[7:39]  ¹ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.

[7:34]  ¹ sn In context the unmarried woman would probably refer specifically to a widow, who was no longer married, as opposed to the virgin, who had never been married.

[7:34]  ² tc There are three viable variant readings at this point in the text. (1) The reading ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἄγαμος καὶ ἡ παρθένος (Jh gunh Jh agamo" kai Jh parqeno", “the unmarried woman and the virgin”) is represented by ancient and important mss, as well as some significant versions (̹⁵ B 104 365 1505 pc vg co). (2) The reading ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἄγαμος καὶ ἡ παρθένος ἡ ἄγαμος (“the unmarried woman and the unmarried virgin”) is also found in ancient and important mss (Ì⁴⁶ א A 33 1739 1881 pc). (3) The reading ἡ γυνὴ καὶ ἡ παρθένος ἡ ἄγαμος (“the woman and the unmarried virgin”) is found in Western mss (D F G) and the majority of Byzantine cursives. Based upon external evidence, the first and second readings are the strongest; the readings both reach deep into the second century with strong testimony from mss of the Alexandrian texttype. Internal evidence seems equally balanced: Scribes may have wanted to add ἡ ἄγαμος to παρθένος for stylistic reasons, but they might also have wanted to remove it because it sounded redundant. Because Paul’s meaning is not quite clear, a decision on the proper textual reading is difficult. On the whole scribes tended to add to the text, not take from it. Thus the first reading should be favored as original, but this decision should be regarded as less than certain.