[B-Greek] Veil: KALUMMA
Paul Toseland
toseland at blueyonder.co.uk
Sun Jun 27 19:59:13 EDT 2004
Dave,
Bruce W. Winter has recently made two important contributions
to our understanding of veiling and unveiling in 1 Cor 11:2-16.
'After Paul Left Corinth: the Influence of Secular Politics and
Social Change', Eerdmans 2001, 121-38;
'Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New
Women and the Pauline Communities', Eerdmans 2003, 77-96.
Both contain photographic evidence.
In first century Roman Corinth (and throughout the Empire)
married women were required by law to wear the veil in public,
and women taking part in religious activities were subject to a
strict dress code. the Christian EKKLHSIA would hafve
been classed as a public meeting.
Winter demonstrates that, by removing her veil while taking a
prominent role in the meeting, a Christian wife would be making
'a statement in support of the mores of some of her secular
sisters, the new wives, who sought to ridicule the much-prized
virtue of modesty which epitomised the married woman.'
('Froman Wives, Roman Widows' 96)
In 2 Cor 3:16 the veil metaphor draws upon, but also transfroms,
the image of Moses' veil; see Scott Hafemann,
Paul, Moses and the History of Israel: The Letter/Spirit Contrast
and the Argument from Scripture in 2 Corinthians 3', Hendrikson
1995, particularly 387-96.
Hope this helps
Paul Toseland
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