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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

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HEAD COVERING

Something used to cover one’s head either for protection or for religious reasons.

Men wore a cap, turban, or head scarf for protection against the sun. The cap was similar to a skullcap (a cap without a brim) and was sometimes worn by the poor. The turban (Is 3:23) was made of thick linen wound around the head with the ends tucked inside the folds. The priest’s turban had a plate strapped to it bearing the inscription “Holy to the Lord” (Ex 28:36). The head scarf was made from a square yard (.8 square meter) of cloth, folded in half to form a triangle. The sides fell over the shoulders and the V-point down the back, and it was held in place by a headband made of cord. About the second century BC, male Jews began to wear phylacteries on their foreheads, small leather boxes containing special Scripture passages, at morning prayers and at festivals, but not on the Sabbath.

Women were often veiled in public, although this custom changed over the centuries. In NT times, women usually wore veils (1 Cor 11:5-6). Women also wore a cloth similar to the head scarf, but the fabric was different in quality and color from that worn by men. It was often pinned over a stiff hat and set with ornaments. If a woman was married, these and other important coins covered the front of the hat and constituted her dowry (cf. Lk 15:8-10). Women also adorned their heads with an elaborate plaiting of their hair, prompting Peter to warn Christian women about too much concern with external beauty (1 Pt 3:3-4).