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.
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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.
Forsaking all
62-0123 §105
And some of you dear Catholic people make her a god, or goddess, queen of heaven. It's not right. No, it isn't. She was a good woman. Yes, sir. Exactly. But she was no more than any other woman that God chooses to use. He can use a woman for something else. He can use her any way. She was just an incubator, because that's what she was---to keep the seed warm, and so forth like that. And the life come into the baby. But the blood, the hemoglobin, we always know comes from the male sex. And He was the male---the crea...
Questions and Answers, Part 4
64-0830E §72
If a woman has got real thin hair, and she wants to wear one of those "rats" or ever what you call it, I think that's... My wife wears it. It's a... She says her hair's thin, and she's got some kind of a thing about that big around, looks like a great big, oversized biscuit. And she wraps her hair around that and pins the pins in it. And now, as far as I'm concerned, that don't bother anything as long as your hair is long. A minister said his wife was condemned, because she had a tint in her hair. And I found out f...
The Serpent's Seed
58-0928E §53
And when you see a woman with a cigarette in the side of her mouth, with a pair of overalls on, and saying, "I tell you, 'feller', what it is." Brother, you watch that old gal. There's something wrong with her. A woman's supposed to be a woman, and she's supposed to dress like a woman. When God made a man, He made him one thing; and He made a woman something else. And when God dresses a man, He dresses him one way, and a woman something else. And the Bible said it's a abomination for a woman to put on a garment tha...
Questions and Answers on Genesis
53-0729 §31
Now, I think that would get that man, and woman. Now, a woman is... Let me get this in right good now, so you can see it, see. Woman is subject to her husband. And the Bible said that a man should rule over his wife. But how they've changed that! The woman rules over the man. "Now, you stay home, John! You're not going!" That settles it. "Yes, my dear," see. But let me tell you something, mister. You are going to have to answer for your wife, but your wife is never going to have to answer for you. You are the head...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 8:E-32
Israel used to take the red heifer and sacrifice her upon the altar for the remission of sins. For a year the sins of the guilty one was covered. But that covering could not take away the desire for sin. It was not a perfect offering. It was a shadow until the real came along. So each year the man would sacrifice and each year come back because he still had the same desire to sin. The life of the animal atoned for his sin, but being animal blood that was shed and animal life that was given it could not come back up...