A Nazarene Jewish Perspective on Head Coverings and Reverence
By James Scott Trimm
One of the more misunderstood topics in the modern Messianic and Nazarene movements is whether a man should wear a head covering—specifically a kippah—during worship, study, or throughout the day. Some appeal to Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 11:7 as a prohibition:
“For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of Elohim…”
(1 Corinthians 11:7)
But is Paul actually condemning the wearing of a kippah here?
The answer is no, and a closer study of the cultural, linguistic, and scriptural context makes this abundantly clear. What Paul is referring to in this passage is not the Jewish kippah (or yarmulke), but something entirely different—a woman’s veil.
What Does the Text Really Say?
In the Aramaic, the word used in this verse is K’SA, meaning “to veil” or “to hide.” This is not a reference to a small symbolic head covering like a kippah, but rather to a veil that conceals the head, which was a common practice among women in Greek and Roman culture, and even among some pagan male priests. What Paul was opposing was the practice of effeminate men wearing veils as part of a broader concern about immorality and gender confusion in Corinth. This is made clear when we examine 1 Corinthians 6:9, where Paul warns against effeminacy and sexual perversion.
“Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of Elohim? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals…”
(1 Corinthians 6:9 HRV)
So Paul’s warning about head coverings must be understood in that cultural and moral context—it was not a general ruling against the Jewish custom of men wearing symbolic head coverings out of reverence for God.
The Torah and Head Coverings
Far from forbidding male head coverings, the Torah actually commands them for the sons of Aharon—the kohanim:
“And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a tunic of checker work, a mitre, and a girdle…”
(Exodus 28:4)
“And for Aharon’s sons, you shall make tunics, and you shall make for them girdles, and headtires shall you make for them, for splendour and for beauty.”
(Exodus 28:40)
The priestly head covering was part of proper worship attire. Paul, who claimed to be a strict observer of Torah (Acts 22:3; 25:8; 28:17), would not have spoken against something the Torah itself prescribed.
Nazarene Historical Sources
The ancient Nazarene writer Hegesippus (c. 180 CE) gave us an important clue when describing the rise of apostasy in the post-apostolic era. He noted that the apostate teachers rose up with bare heads, in contrast to the earlier faithful tradition:
“But… the confederacy of godless error took its rise through the treachery of false teachers… who, seeing that none of the emissaries any longer survived, at length attempted with bare and uplifted head to oppose the preaching of the truth by preaching ‘knowledge falsely so called.’”
—Ecclesiastical History 3:32
This suggests that the normative practice among the early Nazarenes was for men to cover their heads, and it was the apostate faction that abandoned this custom.
In fact, in the Shem Tob Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, Satan tempts Yeshua not to bow, but to bare his head as a sign of submission:
“All these things I will give you, if you bare your head to me.”
—Matthew 4:9, Shem Tob Hebrew Text
This shows that uncovering the head was a symbolic act of spiritual submission—in this case, to HaSatan.
The Kippah as a Sign of Reverence
While the Torah does not require a man to wear a kippah, it also does not forbid it. In fact, Jewish tradition has long held that wearing a kippah is a symbol of humility and reverence before God.
The Talmud records:
“Rabbi Huna son of Rabbi Joshua would not walk four cubits bareheaded, saying: ‘The Shechinah is above my head.’”
—b.Kiddushin 31a
“Rabbi Nahman ben Isaac’s mother said to him, ‘Cover your head so that the fear of heaven may be upon you.’”
—b.Shabbat 156b
The idea was simple but profound: covering one’s head reminds a man that he is always under the presence of the Divine. It is a sign not of legalistic ritualism, but of spiritual mindfulness.
Let Each Man Be Fully Persuaded
In light of all this, it becomes clear that Paul was not condemning the wearing of a kippah. He was speaking against a specific Greco-Roman practice involving veils, immorality, and gender confusion.
Those who wear a kippah today out of reverence and humility are acting well within both Torah and early Nazarene tradition. As Glenn Weaver rightly wrote:
“A head covering which is worn out of reverence for God, not out of bondage to the Law or custom, should be accepted, and those who feel led by Him to wear one should be encouraged, not condemned.”
In the end, let each man be led by his own heart. For those of us who seek to walk in the ancient paths of the Nazarenes and the Torah of our forefathers, the kippah remains a beautiful sign of reverence, not a burden of law.
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James Scott Trimm
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