Bible: What is meant when something is said to be shameful?
Merrill F. Unger is the author of what is called Unger’s Bible Dictionary. It is a well-known book in my library that I often use. There you’ll find the definition of “shame” and “shamefacedness” as it is used in the King James Version of the Bible. Here’s what he says—
The Greek term AISCHUNE (shame) is subjective, making reference to oneself and one’s actions, having a tendency to restrain a bad act; while AIDOS (shamefacedness)[1 Timothy 2:9] is that modesty which is rooted in the character. This is sometimes called sheepishness.
Therefore, the expression of shame is the way one may act when caught in some act of wrongdoing. It is also used to refer to the act of wrongdoing itself. The first place in the Bible where the subject of shame comes up is in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve had been without sin.
Genesis 2:25
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. [Emphasis added]
Then when they first sinned God clothed them.
Genesis 3:21
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. [Emphasis added]
The next time this subject of shame comes up is when the Israelites were waiting for Moses to come down from Mt. Sinai with the law God gave him. We often speak of this information as the Mosaic Law. It was when this was given to them that they went from being the children of Israel to being a nation with the Mosaic Law serving as their constitution.
Exodus 32:1-4 & 25-28
1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Then we read that the people were using this golden image as an object of worship.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their SHAME among their enemies:)
26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. [Emphasis added]
Therefore, the term “shame” is used here in connection with the sinfulness of the people of Israel. But how does our apostle, the apostle Paul, use this word? What you’ll find is that the term is never applied to anything good. He always uses the word in connection with sinful acts. Here with our subject matter, we have an example of that. In the apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he uses the term in association with all the things he wrote to correct them in their conduct. In this passage we’ll note first it was to do with the length of their hair.
1 Corinthians 11:5-7
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven [XURAO = shaven].
That last phrase tells us this passage isn’t about using a cloth veil of some sort but of their hair serving as a covering, a veil.
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head [with long hair], forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. [Emphasis added]
Has this now somehow changed? Isn’t this still the case today? As we’re about to see, the subject of this passage is primarily authority. Paul is about to show the difference in roles that a husband and wife have, one being the leader and the other being the helper. The defining roles of both men and women all began at the time of creation.
Genesis 2:21-25
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Please note the first part of verse twenty-four. There we see that even before there were in-laws, the newlyweds were warned about the problems in-laws can create for a marriage.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. [Emphasis added]
The “shame” comes when a man and woman are naked together but not married to one another. This, of course, can change in time when there’s the hardness of one’s heart. For more information on that subject, please see my article about it—
Heart: What does it mean to have a hardened one?
Then as we continue down through the 1 Corinthians 11 passage, please notice what it says about long hair on males.
1 Corinthians 11:8-16
8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
To get the background for the phrase “because of the angels,” please see my article that addresses that—
Genesis 6:1-4: Who are these sons of God?
1 Corinthians 11 continued—
11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
The order of creation here indicates the order of authority. The man is to always be in authority over the woman. Both Peter and Paul clearly address this matter in other passages [Peter – I Peter 3:5-7 Paul – Ephesians 5:22-25 & Colossians 3:18-19]. For more information about this, please see my articles about it on this website—
Marriage: What makes for a great one?
Authority: Is it okay for men to be placed under the authority of women?
1 Corinthians 11 continued—
13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely [EUSCHEMON = honorable] that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
16 But if any man seem to be contentious [PHILONEIKOS = stubborn], we have no such custom [DUNETHEIA = custom, practice, or habit], neither the churches of God. [Emphasis added]
In other words, if they wish to ignore or rebel against this principle of doctrine, they’ll have to do it by themselves because Paul and the other churches he was working with did not permit this. Long hair on males was forbidden of God then as it is now.
As you can see here, particularly from verse fifteen, the “covering” he speaks of is hair. Women are to have “long” hair and men are to have “short” hair. Hair is one thing that makes them distinguishable one from the other. There are those who would then want to get into a discussion as to what is to be considered “long” hair and what is to be considered “short” hair. Clearly it at least means that the woman’s hair is to be noticeably longer than the man’s. But note again what he says about this.
1 Corinthians 11:14
14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? [Emphasis added]
It is the man that God has placed in the leadership role of the relationship. This means the man is to have “the last word” in household decision-making. Is that what we commonly see today? It is not! Instead, we see violations of it nearly everywhere we turn. Is it any wonder that in America today roughly every other marriage ends in divorce? Certainly, this isn’t the only reason for it, but it surely is a common one and certainly contributes to it. As I sometimes jokingly say—”If all else fails, follow instructions.” It is the Bible we’re to look to for those instructions.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God [THEOPNEUSTOS = God-breathed], and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect [TELEIOS = brought to maturity], thoroughly furnished unto all good works. [Emphasis added]
I’ve found that, among many other things, the headship of the husband in marriage is usually not taught in local churches. A primary reason being that it would cut down on church attendance. There are women who would not attend where there’s this teaching. It is that matter that is often given priority over what the Bible teaches. So, again, how would long hair on a man be a “shame”?
1-It weakens the distinction between a man and a woman.
2-Long hair on a man is an effeminate characteristic.
3-It is discussed in Scripture like other sins—shameful.
We are in no way to do the sinful things unbelievers do. Long hair on men and men doing other effeminate things is compared in Scripture right along with other sins we’re to avoid.
1 Corinthians 6:9
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous [speaking of unbelievers, ones who don’t have the righteousness of God credited to them from their justification] shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, [Emphasis added]
Isn’t long hair on a male effeminate? Right here in black and white we have something that tells us long hair on males is categorized right along with other sins practiced by unbelievers that, of course, shouldn’t be practiced by believers.
Scripture tells us we’re to avoid even the appearance of evil. Wouldn’t long hair on a male fit into that category?
1 Thessalonians 5:22
22 Abstain from all appearance [EIDOS = signifies the external appearance, that which is exposed] of evil. [Emphasis added]
Yes, it is shameful, even sinful, for males to exhibit female features. Men are to look and act like men even as women are to look and act like women. Such a simple but important principle!
There are other things in Scripture that are also said to be shameful. You’ll find the subject of shame and shamefulness coming up in numerous passages in your Bible. In every one of them you’ll find a situation where the things discussed are associated with sinfulness.
A second case of things said to be shameful is also found in this same letter to the Corinthians. In this case we find believers dragging other believers into court cases when they should have privately settled the matter themselves.
1 Corinthians 6:1-9
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
Then notice what other shameful things he associates this with.
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, [Emphasis added]
All these are “shameful” things believers are to avoid. People are to do everything they can to avoid bringing reproach upon members of the Body of Christ.
A third case of things said to be shameful is also found in this letter. Here Paul rebukes these believers for the way they were shamefully treating one another.
1 Corinthians 15:34
34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. [Emphasis added]
Then we have more on this subject of things said to be “shameful” in some of Paul’s other epistles—Ephesians 5:12, Philippians 3:19, and 1 Thessalonians 2:2. In all these cases the things said to be shameful are all categorized as sinful activities. Therefore, why should we think long hair on males, taking people to court over matters we should settle with them ourselves, working to get along with other people, and other matters mentioned in these passages are any different? In literally every area of life we need to be concerned about our conduct. God’s standards for our life need to become OUR standards in every area. As ambassadors for Christ, we need to work hard to represent Him well in all matters.
2 Corinthians 5:20a
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ,… [Emphasis added]
As our Lord’s personal representatives, nothing we think, say, or do should ever be shameful.
