Can a Woman Use a Scarf, Bonnet or Hat as a Covering?
1) Direct answer
No. A scarf, bonnet, or hat is not the Scriptural covering. God gave the woman her long, uncut hair as her covering.
2) Scriptural explanation
- “If a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering” (1 Corinthians 11:15).
- “Every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head… for if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn… but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered” (1 Corinthians 11:5–6).
- “For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels” (1 Corinthians 11:10).
Now notice, Paul ties “uncovered” and “shorn” together. That shows he is speaking about the hair. If she’s “not covered,” he says, “let her also be shorn.” If it’s a shame to be shorn, then “let her be covered”—let it grow. And the Bible says plainly, “her hair is given her for a covering.” Not a man‑made cloth, but the God‑given sign on her head.
3) Simple clarifying logic
- If a veil or hat were the covering, a shorn woman could fix the dishonor by putting on a hat. But Paul points to the shame of being shorn and directs her to be “covered” by letting her hair be her covering.
- Nature itself makes the distinction: short hair for the man; long hair for the woman (1 Corinthians 11:14–15). That’s the sign of authority “because of the angels.”
- “Long” in Scripture means uncut—let it grow. Not a length you measure, but a submission you keep.
4) Reinforcing statement
A woman may wear a scarf or hat for modesty, weather, or culture, but it does not replace the biblical covering. Her obedience is shown by keeping her hair uncut—the covering God gave her.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 1:E-45
When the woman at the well heard Him discern the thoughts of her heart she acclaimed Him a prophet, declaring that Messiah would be known for that great ability. John 4:7-26, "There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give Me to drink. (For His disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat). Then saith the woman of Samaria unto Him, How is it that Thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and...
The god of this evil age
65-0801M §79
He said, "Cutting hair, what's that got to do?" Brother, let's stop here just a minute. I just feel somebody resented that. Might've been out on the wire somewhere. Listen. Hair to a woman is a Nazarite vow. Hair to Samson was a Nazarite vow. And when a woman cuts off her hair, she absolutely denies her Nazarite vow that she is a bride to Christ, because there, that one thing, she spoils the whole picture. Correctly. A Nazarite is "one that is consecrated for a purpose." Is that right? Samson was consecrated to a a...
Hebrews, Chapter 7, part 1
57-0915E §52
Now, the Son of God had to come through a woman to be created here---by the womb of a woman---because through that same thing come death. And He could not come through creation like God did at the beginning. When God made man at the beginning, woman had nothing to do with it. God just said, "Let there be," and a man came from the dust. He called him, without any woman to have anything to do with it. But the woman then was in the man. And God took the woman out of Adam's side. Is that right? And then woman went and...
The Queen of Sheba
60-0110 §10
Now, there's handkerchiefs laying here I want to pray over. Now, many of you, you know the scriptures on that. Many times ministers anoint those handkerchiefs with oil and send them to the people. That's perfectly all right. I believe that anything the Lord Jesus will bless, I'm just for it. But scripturally, in the Bible, Paul didn't anoint the handkerchiefs. They taken from his body handkerchiefs and aprons. I believe Paul was a fundamentalist. You know where I believe he got that in the Scripture? Where Elijah ....
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 3:E-98
Notice what God said to them in the garden. Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed, It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel." If we give credit to the Word that the woman did have a Seed, then the serpent must have surely had a seed also. If the Seed of the woman was a man-child apart from the man, then the seed of the serpent will have to be in the same pattern, and that is another male must be born apart from human male instrumentality....