To those who know Greek- question/answer please-

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Valerie
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To those who know Greek- question/answer please-

Post by Valerie »

I saw this posted and wondered if it is true (I think it came up because clergy in the Orthodox faith, some will have longer hair, I normally see in a pony tail)

"St. Paul did not say that it's shameful for a man to have long hair. The Greek word he used does not mean long, it means coiffed, primped, styled.
from Corinthians in the original Greek:
14 ἢ οὐδὲ αὐτὴ ἡ φύσις διδάσκει ὑμᾶς ὅτι ἀνὴρ μὲν ἐὰν κομᾷ, ἀτιμία αὐτῷ ἐστι,
The word koma is a cognate of a word which, even in modern Greek, means to cut and style hair. The words kommotis and kommotria are the masculine and feminine forms of hairdresser, i.e. one who styles and beautifies hair.
It ts therefore clear that long hair is perfectly acceptable for men, according to St Paul, as, indeed it was for Christ."


Is this a correct translation/explanation?

Wondering how it fits in with 1 Corinthians 11 understanding in context then.

Thanks in advance-
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Bootstrap
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Re: To those who know Greek- question/answer please-

Post by Bootstrap »

I don't think this is correct.
The word koma is a cognate of a word which, even in modern Greek, means to cut and style hair. The words kommotis and kommotria are the masculine and feminine forms of hairdresser, i.e. one who styles and beautifies hair.
These words are all related to the word κόμη (komē), which means hair. That's what they have in common. The first five lexicons I looked at are pretty clear that κομάω means to wear long hair.
Mounce wrote:κομάω

Gloss:
to have long hair

Definition:
to have long hair, wear the hair long, 1 Cor. 11:14, 15

1 Corinthians 11:14

Does not nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair (koma | κομᾷ | pres act subj 3 sg), it is a disgrace for him,
1 Corinthians 11:15

but if a woman has long hair (koma | κομᾷ | pres act subj 3 sg), it is her glory? For her long hair is given to her for a covering.
κομάω (Logeion)
κομάω, to let the hair grow long, wear long hair
let the hair grow long, Ἄβαντες ὄπιθεν κομόωντες Il.2.542; κάρη κομόωντες Ἀχαιοί 3.43, al.; κ. τὴν κεφαλήν Hdt.4.168; τὰ ὀπίσω κ. τῆς κεφαλῆς ib.180; τὰ ἐπὶ δεξιὰ τῶν κεφαλέων κ. ib.191; τὸ γένειον τῇ κεφαλῇ ὁμοίως κ. X.Smp.4.28; ξανθοτάτοις βοτρύχοισι κ. Pherecr.189; ἄρσεσιν οὐκ ἐπέοικε κ. Ps.-Phoc.212; Λακεδαιμόνιοι . . οὐ γὰρ κομῶντες πρὸ τούτου ἀπὸ τούτου κομᾶν Hdt.1.82, cf. Arist.Rh.1367a29, Philostr.VA3.15; ἐλακωνομάνουν ἅπαντες . ., ἐκόμων Ar.Av.1282; μὴ φθονεῖθʼ ἡμῖν (sc. τοῖς ἱππεῦσι) κομῶσι Id.Eq. 580; κομῶν καὶ αὐχμηρός Arist.Rh.1413a9, cf. D.H.6.26; ἔνορκον ἂν ποιησαίμην μὴ πρότερον κομήσειν (in token of a vow) πρίν . . Pl.Phd. 89c; ἀνὴρ μὲν ἐὰν κομᾷ, ἀτιμία αὐτῷ ἐστι· γυνὴ δὲ ἐὰν κομᾷ, δόξα αὐτῇ ἐστιν 1 Ep.Cor.11.14-15.
Abbott-Smith
κομάω, -ῶ (< κόμη),
to wear long hair: I Co 11:14-15.†
I also looked at Thayer's and BDAG.
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ohio jones
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Re: To those who know Greek- question/answer please-

Post by ohio jones »

Valerie wrote:"St. Paul did not say that it's shameful for a man to have long hair. The Greek word he used does not mean long, it means coiffed, primped, styled."
Logically, if v. 14 says that a man's hair (regardless of length) should not be coiffed, primped, or styled, then v. 15 needs to be interpreted to say that a woman's hair should be coiffed, primped, or styled. This would introduce a conflict with 1 Tim 2:9 and 1 Pet 3:3. It is therefore clear that the explanation is unorthodox.
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Sudsy
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Re: To those who know Greek- question/answer please-

Post by Sudsy »

Sorry my old brain still doesn't get what Paul meant about 'nature'. If nature means unnatural then men's hair would quit growing at a shorter length than a woman's would grow but that isn't the case, right ? What is meant by 'nature' in this text ?
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Neto
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Re: To those who know Greek- question/answer please-

Post by Neto »

Valerie wrote:I saw this posted and wondered if it is true (I think it came up because clergy in the Orthodox faith, some will have longer hair, I normally see in a pony tail)

"St. Paul did not say that it's shameful for a man to have long hair. The Greek word he used does not mean long, it means coiffed, primped, styled.
from Corinthians in the original Greek:
14 ἢ οὐδὲ αὐτὴ ἡ φύσις διδάσκει ὑμᾶς ὅτι ἀνὴρ μὲν ἐὰν κομᾷ, ἀτιμία αὐτῷ ἐστι,
The word koma is a cognate of a word which, even in modern Greek, means to cut and style hair. The words kommotis and kommotria are the masculine and feminine forms of hairdresser, i.e. one who styles and beautifies hair.
It ts therefore clear that long hair is perfectly acceptable for men, according to St Paul, as, indeed it was for Christ."


Is this a correct translation/explanation?

Wondering how it fits in with 1 Corinthians 11 understanding in context then.

Thanks in advance-
I could really wish that was correct. Then there would be a basis for calling for some "balance" in the tendencies I see among the youth in our congregation for spot dyeing their hair, and all the gels & what not.
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Valerie
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Re: To those who know Greek- question/answer please-

Post by Valerie »

Thanks everyone for the answers/insights/comments-
It at first gave me the explanation why some priests or monks have the longer hair-
And it seems all drawings of Jesus show Him with the longer hair (I THINK we discussed this one time on MD)

I just wondered if their Greek explanation was correct- doesn't appear to be the case, thanks!
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