a Gen. 2. 18, 21, 23. Gen. 24. 65. That is, a covering, in sign that she is under the power of her husband. 4 Eccles. 5. 6. the woman to the man." And vindicates this sense of εκ, by its use in chap. xii. 15. If the foot shall say, ουκ ειμι εκ του σωματος, I am not of the body; i.e. I do not be long to the body. He observes that, as the verb εςιν is in the present tense, and will not allow that we should understand this verse of something that is past, γαρ for, in the following verse, which is unnoticed by our translators, will have its full propriety and meaning, because it introduces a reason why the woman belongs to the man, and not the man to the woman. His meaning is, that the man does not belong to the woman, as if she was the principal; but the woman belongs to the man in that view. Verse 9. Neither was the man created, &c.] Και γαρ ουκ εκτίσθη: for the man was not created upon the woman's account. The reason is plain from what is mentioned above; and from the original creation of woman, she was made for the man, to be his proper or suitable helper. Verse 10. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.] There are few portions in the sacred writings that have given rise to such a variety of conjectures and explanations, and is less understood than this verse; and ver. 29. of chap. xv. Our translators were puzzled with it; and have inserted here one of the largest marginal readings found any where in their work; but this is only on the words power on her head, which they interpret thus; that is, a covering, in sign that she is under the power of her husband. But, admitting this marginal reading to be a satisfactory solution so far as it goes, it by no means removes all the difficulty. Mr. Locke ingenuously acknowledged that he did not understand the meaning of the words; and almost every critic and learned man has a different explanation. Some have endeavoured to force out a meaning by altering the text. The emendation of Mr. Toup of Cornwall is the most remarkable: he reads εξιουσα going out, instead of εξουσια power; wherefore the woman, when she goes out, should have a veil on her head. Whatever ingenuity there may appear in this emendation, the consideration that it is not acknowledged by any MS. or Version, or primitive writer, is sufficient proof against it. Dr. Lightfoot, Schoettgen, and Bishop Pearce, have written best on the subject; in which they allow that there are many difficulties: the latter contends 1. that the original should be read Where fore the woman ought to have a power upon her head: that is, the power of the husband over the wife. The word power standing for the sign or token of that power which was a covering or veil. Theophylact explains the word, το του εξουσιαζεσθαι συμβολον, τουτεσι, το καλυμμα, "the symbol of being under power; that is, a veil or covering." And Photius explains it thus, της υποταγης συμβολον το επι της κεφαλής καλυμμα φερειν ; to wear a veil on the head is the symbol of subjection. It is no unusual thing, in the Old and New Testament, for the signs and tokens of things to be called by the names of the things themselves; for thus, circumcision is called the covenant, in Gen. xvii. 10, 13. though it were only the sign of it. 2. The word angels presents another difficulty: some suppose that, by these, the apostle means the fallen angels, or devils; others the governors of the church; and others those who were deputed among the Jews to espouse a virgin in the name of a lover. All these senses the learned Bishop rejects; and believes that the apostle uses the word angels in its most obvious sense, for the heavenly angels; and that he speaks according to the notion which then prevailed among Jews, that the holy angels interested themselves in the affairs of men, and particularly were present in their religious assemblies, as the Cherubim, their representation, were present in the temple. Thus we read in Ecclus. v. 6. Neither say thou before the ANGEL, it was an error; and in 1 Tim. . 21. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect ANGELS, &c. Parallel to these is what Agrippa says in his oration to the Jews, Josephus, War, B. ii. chap. 16. I protest before God, your holy temple, and all the ANGELS of heaven, &c. All which passages suppose, or were spoken to those who supposed that the angels know what passes here upon earth. The notion, whether just or not, prevailed among the Jews; and, if so, St. Paul might speak according to the common opinion. 3. Another difficulty lies in the phrase δια τουτο, wherefore; which shews that this verse is a conclusion from what the apostle was arguing before; which we may understand thus, that his conclusion from the foregoing argument, ought to have the more weight, upon account of the presence, real or supposed, of the holy angels, at their religious meetings. See Bp. Pearce, in loc. The learned Bishop is not very willing to allow that the doctrine of the presence of angelic beings in religious assemblies, is legitimate; but what difficulty can there be in this, if we take the words of the apostle in another place, Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation? Heb. i. 14. And perhaps there is no time in which they can render more essential ser. vices to the followers of God, than when they are engaged in divine ordinances. On the whole, the Bishop's sense of the passage, and paraphrase, stand thus: "And because of this superiority in the man, I conclude, that the woman should have on her head a veil, the mark of her husband's power over her; especially in the religious assemblies, where the angels are supposed to be invisibly present." The ancient Versions make little alteration in the common reading; and the MSS. leave the verse nearly as it stands in the common printed editions. The Armenian has a word that answers to umbram, a shade or covering. The Æthiopic, her head should be veiled. The common editions of the Vulgate have potestatem power; but in an ancient edition of the Vulgate, perhaps one of the first, if not the first ever printed, 2 vols. fol. sine ulla nota anni, &c. the verse stands thus: Ideo debet mulier velamen habere super caput suum : et propter angelos. My old MS. translation seems to have been taken from a MS. which had the same reading: Mherfore the woman schal haue a veel on her heuyd; and for aungels, Some copies of the Itala have also velamen, a veil. In his view of this text, Kypke differs from all others; and nothing, that so judicious a critic advances, should be lightly regarded. 1. He contends that εξουσιαν, occurs no where in the sense of veil, and yet he supposes that the word καλυμμα veil, is understood, and must, in the translation of the passage, be supplied. 2. He directs that a comma be placed after εξουσιαν, and that it be construed with οφείλει, ought: after which he translates the verse thus: Propterea mulier potestati obnoxia est, ita ut velamen in capite habeat, propter angelos; On this account the woman is subject to power, so that she should have a veil on her head, because of the angels. 3. He contends that both Latins and Greeks use debere and οφειλειν, elegantly to express that to which one is obnoxious or liable. So Horace : tu, nisi ventis Debes ludibrium cave. Carm. lib. i. Od. xiv. ver. 15. Take heed lest thou owe a laughing-stock to the winds; i. e. lest thou become the sport of the winds; for to these thou art now exposing thyself. So Dionys. Hal. Ant. lib. iii. pag. 205. και πολλην οφειλοντες αισχύνην απηλθον εκ της αγορας, they departed from the market, exposed to great dishonour. So Euripides, οφειλω σοι βλαβην, I am exposed to thy injury. 4. He contends that the words taken in this sense agree perfectly with the context, and with δια τουτο wherefore, in this verse, "Because the man was not created for the woman, but the woman for the man, therefore she is subject to his authority; and should have a veil on her head as the token of that subjection: and particularly before the holy angels, who are present in the congregations of the saints." For Dr. Lightfoot's opinion, that by angels, we are to understand the paranymphs, or messengers who came on the part of others, to look out for proper spouses for their friends, I must refer to his works, Vol. ii. fol. p. 772. The reader has now before him every thing that is likely to cast light on this difficult subject; and he must either adopt what he judges to be best, or else think for himself. Verse 11. Neither is the man without the woman] The apostle seems to say, I do not intimate any disparagement of the female sex, by insisting on the necessity of her being under the power or authority of the man; for they are both equally dependant on each other; In the Lord, εν Κυριῳ: but instead of this reading, Theodoret has εν κοσμῳ, in the world. Probably the apostle means that the human race is continued by an especial providence of God. Others think, that he means men and women equally make a Christian society; and in it have equal rights and privileges. Verse 12. For as the woman is of the man] For as the woman was first formed out of the side of man; man has ever since been formed out of the womb of the woman: but they, as all other created things, are of God. Verse 13. Judge in yourselves] Consider the subject in your own common sense; and then say whether it be decent for a woman to pray in public without a veil on her head? The heathen priestesses prayed or delivered their oracles bare-headed, or with dishevelled hair, non comptæ mansere come, as in the case of the Cumæan Sibyl, Æn. vi. ver. 48. and otherwise in great disorder: to be conformed to them would be very disgraceful to Christian women: and, in reference to such things as these, the apostle appeals to their sense of honour and decency. Verse 14. Doth not-nature-teach you, that, if a man have long hair] Nature certainly teaches us, by bestowing it, that it is proper for women to have long hair; and it is not so with men. a Or, veil. 1 Tim. 6. 4. The hair of the male rarely grows like that of the female, unless art is used; and even then it bears but a scanty proportion to the former. Hence it is truly womanish to have long hair; and it is a shame to the man who affects it. In ancient times, the people of Achaia, the province in which Corinth stood, and the Greeks in general, were noted for their long hair, and hence called by Homer, in a great variety of places, καρηκομοωντες Αχαιοι, the long haired Greeks, or Achwans. Soldiers, in different countries, have been distinguished for their long hair; but whether this can be said to their praise or blame, or whether Homer uses it always as a term of respect, when he applies it to the Greeks, I shall not wait here to enquire. Long hair was certainly not in repute among the Jews. The Nazarites let their hair grow, but it was as a token of humiliation: and it is possible that St. Paul had this in view. There were, consequently, two reasons why the apostle should condemn this practice-1. Because it was a sign of humiliation-2. Because it was womanish. After all, it is possible that St. Paul may refer to dressed, frizzled, and curled hair, which shallow and effeminate men might have affected in that time, as they do in this. Perhaps there is not a sight more ridiculous in the eye of common sense than a high dressed, curled, cued and powdered head, with which the operator must have taken considerable pains, and the silly patient lost much time and comfort in submitting to what all but senseless custom must call an indignity and degradation. Hear Nature, common sense and reason; and they will inform you, that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him. Verse 15. But, if a woman have long hair] The Author of their being has given a larger proportion of hair to the head of women than to that of men; and to them it is an especial ornament; and may, in various cases, serve as a veil. It is a certain fact, that a man's long hair renders him contemptible; and a woman's long hair renders her more amiable. Nature and the apostle speak the same language; we may account for it as we please. Verse 16. But if any man seem to be contentious] Ει δε τις δοκει φιλονεικος είναι. If any person sets himself up as a wrangler; puts himself forward as a defender of such points, that a woman may pray or teach with her head uncovered, and that a man may, without reproach, have long hair; let || to have long hair. we have no such custom, neither the Α. Μ. 4060. A. D. 56. A. U. C. 809. Anno Imp. Neronis Cæs. 3. 17 Now, in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18 For, first of all, when ye come together in • Ch. 7. 17. & 14.33. him know that we have no such custom as either; nor are they sanctioned by any of the churches of God, whether among the Jews or the Gentiles. We have already seen that the verb δοκειν, which we translate to seem, generally strengthens and increases the sense. From the attention that the apostle has paid to the subject of veils and hair, it is evident that it must have occasioned considerable disturbance in the church of Corinth. They have produced evil effects in much later times. Verse 17. Now, in this-I praise you not] In the beginning of this Epistle, the apostle did praise them, for their attention in general to the rules he had laid down; see ver.2. but here he is obliged to condemn certain irregularities which had crept in among them, particularly relative to the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Through some false teaching which they had received in the absence of the apostle, they appear to have celebrated it precisely in the same way the Jews did their Pass-over. That, we know, was a regular meal, only accompanied with certain peculiar circumstances and ceremonies: two of these ceremonies were eating bread solemnly broken, and drinking a cup of wine, called the Cup of Blessing. Now, it is certain that our Lord has taken these two things, and made them expressive of the crucifixion of his body, and the shedding of his blood, as an atonement for the sins of mankind. The teachers which had crept into the Corinthian church, appear to have perverted the whole of this divine institution; for the celebration of the Lord's Supper appears to have been made among them a part of an ordinary meal. The people came together, and, it appears, brought their provisions with them; some had much, others had less; some ate to excess, others had scarcely enough to suffice nature. One was hungry, and the other was drunken ; μεθύει, was filled to the full; this is the sense of the word in many places of Scripture. At the conclusion of this irregular meal, they appear to have done something in reference to our Lord's institution; but more resembling the Jewish. Pass-over. These irregularities, connected with so many indecencies, the apostle reproves; for, instead of being benefited by the divine ordinance, they were injured; they came together not for the better, but for the worse. Verse 18. There be divisions among you) They had σχισματα, schisms among them: the old parties were kept 1 of the Lord's supper. A. M. 4060. the church, I hear that there be 'di- || 23 For 'I have received of the A. D. 56. A.U.C.809. visions among you; and I partly be Anno Imp. Neronis Cæs. 3. e lieve it. 19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. 20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. 21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. up, even in the place where they assembled to eat the Lord's Supper. The Paulinians, the Kephites, and the Apollonians, continued to be distinct parties, and ate their meals separately, even in the same house. Verse 19. There must be also heresies] Αίρεσεις : not a common consent of the members of the church, either in the doctrines of the gospel, or in the ceremonies of the Christian religion. Their difference in religious opinion led to a difference in their religious practice; and thus the church of God, that should have been one body, was split into sects and parties. The divisions and the heresies, sprung out of each other. I have spoken largely on the word heresy in Acts v. 17. to which place I beg leave to refer the Reader. Verse 20. This is not to eat the Lord's supper.] They did not come together to eat the Lord's Supper exclusively, which they should have done; and not have made it a part of an ordinary meal. Verse 21. Every one taketh before his own supper] They had a grand feast, though the different. sects kept in parties by themselves; but all took as ample a supper as they could provide, (each bringing his own provisions with him,) before they took what was called the Lord's Supper. See on ver. 17. Verse 22. Have ye not houses to eat and to drink in?] They should have taken their ordinary meal at home; and have come together in the church to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Lord that which also I deliver- m That the Lord Α. Μ. 4060. A. U. C. 809. Anno Imp. Neronis Cæs. 3. Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread : 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death Ptill he come. 0 cred assembly and the place contemptible by your conduct; and ye shew yourselves destitute of that respect which ye owe to the place set apart for divine worship. And shame them that have not?] Τους μη εχοντας, them that are poor, not them who had not victuals at that time; but those who were so poor as to be incapable of furnishing them. selves as others had done. See the Note on Matt. xiii. 12. Verse 23. I have received of the Lord] It is possible that several of the people at Corinth did receive the bread and wine of the Eucharist, as they did the Paschal bread and wine; as a mere commemoration of an event. And, as our Lord had, by his institution, consecrated that bread and wine, not to be the means of commemorating the deliverance from Egypt, and their joy, on the account; but their deliverance from sin, and death, by his passion and cross: therefore, the apostle states that he had received from the Lord what he delivered; viz. that the Eucharistic bread and wine were to be understood of the accomplishment of that, of which the Paschal Lamb was the type: the body broken for them; the blood shed for them.. The Lord Jesus-took bread] See the whole of this account collated with the parallel passages in the four Gospels, amply explained in my Discourse on the Eucharist; and in the Nates on Matt. xxvi. Verse 26. Ye do shew the Lord's death] As in the Passover they shewed forth the bondage they had been in, and the redemption they had received from it: so, in the Eucha-rist they shewed forth the sacrificial death of Christ, and the Despise ye the church of God) Ye render the sa-redemption from sin derived from it... : Abuses relative to Α. Μ. 4060. A. D. 56. I. CORINTHIANS. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat A.U.C. 800 this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Anno Imp. Neronis Cæs. 3. the Lord's supper. Α. Μ. 4060. A. D. 56. A. U. C. 809. Anno Imp. Neronis Cæs. 3. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, are chastened of the Lord, that we should not 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let be condemned with the world. him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. we 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 34 And if any man 'hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto con 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly demnation. And the rest will I set in order among you, and many sleep. a Numb. 9. 10, 13. John 6. 51, 63, 64. & 13. 27. ch. 10. 21. 2 Сог. 13. 5. Gal. 6. 4. Or, judgment. Rom. 13. 2. d Ps. 32. 5. 1 John 1.9. Verse 27. Whosoever shall eat and drink-unworthily To put a final end to controversies and perplexities relative to these words and the context, let the Reader observe, that to eat and drink the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper unworthily, is to eat and drink as the Corinthians did; who eat it not in reference to Jesus Christ's sacrificial death; but rather in such a way as the Israelites did the Pass-over, which they celebrated in remembrance of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. Likewise these mongrel Christians at Corinth, used it as a kind of historical commemoration of the death of Christ; and did not, in the whole institution, discern the Lord's body and blood as a sacrificial offering for sin: and, besides, in their celebration of it, they acted in a way utterly unbecoming the gravity of a sacred ordinance. Those who acknowledge it as a sacrificial offering, and receive it in remembrance of God's love to them in sending his Son into the world, can neither bring damnation upon themselves by so doing; nor eat nor drink unworthily. See our translation of this verse vindicated, at the end of the chapter. Shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.] If he use it irreverently, if he deny that Christ suffered unjustly, (for of some such persons the apostle must be understood to speak,) then he in effect joins issue with the Jews in their condemnation and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus; and renders himself guilty of the death of our blessed Lord. Some, however, understand the passage thus; is guilty, i. e. eats and drinks unworthily, and brings on himself that punishment mentioned ver. 30. Verse 28. Let a man examine himself] Let him try whether he has proper faith in the Lord Jesus; and whether he discerns the Lord's body; and whether he duly considers that the bread and wine point out the crucified body and spilt blood of Christ? Verse 29. Eateth and drinketh damnation] Κριμα, judgment, punishment; and yet this is not unto damnation, for the judgment or punishment inflicted upon the disorderly and when I come. the profane, was intended for their emendation; for in ver. 32. it is said, when we are judged κρινομενοι, we are chastened, παιδευομεθα corrected as a father does his child. ren, that we should not be condemned with the world. Verse 30. For this cause] That they partook of this sacred ordinance without discerning the Lord's body: many are weak and sickly; it is hard to say whether these words refer to the consequences of their own intemperance, or to some extraordinary disorders inflicted immediately by God himself. That there were disorders of the most reprehensible kind among these people at this sacred supper, the preceding verses sufficiently point out: and, after such excesses, many might be weak and sickly among them; and many might sleep, i. e. die; for continual experience shews us, that many fall victims to their own intemperance. However, acting as they did, in this solemn and awful sacrament, they might have "provoked God to plague them with divers diseases, and sundry kinds of death."-Communion service. Verse 31. If we would judge ourselves] If, having acted improperly, we condemn our conduct, and humble ourselves, we shall not be judged, i. e. punished for the sin we have committed. Verse 32. But when we are judged] See on ver. 29. Verse 33. When ye come together to eat] The Lord's Supper, tarry one for another; do not eat and drink in parties, as ye have done heretofore; and do not connect it with any other meal. Verse 34. And if any man hunger] Let him not come to the house of God to eat an ordinary meal, let him eat at home; take that in his own house which is necessary for the support of his body, before he comes to that sacred re past; where he should have the feeding of his soul alone in view. That ye come not together unto condemnation] That ye may avoid the curse that must fall on such worthless com• municants as those above-mentioned; and that ye may get |