Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Corinthians 11:9

"for neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man:" — 1 Corinthians 11:9 (ASV)

In stating that a man should not have his head covered in church, Paul argues that this follows from the principle that man was prior to woman and is the “image” (GK 1635) and “glory “(GK 1518) of God—meaning that he is to be subject to and represent God in authority. The woman, however, is the glory of the man—i.e., she is to be subject to man and to represent him in authority. Although God created Adam and Eve and gave both dominion over the creation (Genesis 1:26), Paul argues for man’s exercise of authority over woman on the basis of man’s prior creation to woman. The argument goes like this: Woman was made from man’s body and she was made for man’s sake and not the reverse (Genesis 2:7).

Although it was not proper for a first-century Jewish man to cover his head for prayer (a custom originally meant to indicate sorrow), yet the act seems to have been innovatively tried in the Jewish synagogues of Paul’s time.