1 Corinthians 11:14 Meaning and Explanation
“Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Paul appeals to the common sense of nature about what is fitting for a man.
What Does 1 Corinthians 11:14 Mean?
Paul appeals to what he calls nature, the shared instinct of his culture about what is becoming. In the world he addressed, long flowing hair on a man was generally taken as unbecoming, and he uses this common feeling as one more illustration.
The argument rests on a sense of fittingness that his hearers already carried. Paul is not laying down a timeless law of hair length but pointing to how a settled sense of honor can guide conduct. Beneath the particular example lies a gentle teaching: God has woven into human life a feel for what is seemly, and reverent people do well to attend to it rather than to flout it without cause.
1 Corinthians 11:14 in the Original Language
physis (φύσις), 'nature' -- the natural order or instinctive sense of how things ought to be.
Frequently Asked Questions About 1 Corinthians 11:14
What does 1 Corinthians 11:14 mean?
Paul appeals to the common sense of nature about what is fitting for a man.