Veil
VEIL
An indispensable part of the outdoor dress of Eastern Ladies, who live secluded from the sight of all men except their own husbands and their nearest relatives. If an Egyptian lady is surprised uncovered, she quickly draws her veil over her face, with some exclamation like, “O my misfortune.” To lift or remove one’s veil was to insult and degrade her, Gen 24:65 Son 5:7 1Co 11:5,10 . The custom of wearing veils, however, has not been prevalent at all times. Sarah the wife of Abraham, and Rebekah and her companions at the well do not appear to have worn them, Gen 12:14,15 24:16. Compare also Gen 38:14,15 Pro 7:13 . See ABIMELECH.Veil were of different kinds. Those now worn in Syria and Egypt may be divided into two classes, the one large and sometimes thick, the other small and of lighter materials. The usual indoor veil is of thin muslin, attached to the headdress, and falling over the back, sometimes to the feet. A similar veil is added to the front of the headdress on going abroad, partially covering the face and hanging low. The other veil, to be worn in the street, is a large mantle or sheet, of black silk, linen, or some coarse material, so ample as to envelope the whole person and dress, leaving but one of the eyes exposed, Son 4:9 . Such was the veil worn by Rth 3:15, translated “mantle” in Isa 3:22 . Many women wear no other veil than this. The Greek word translated “power” in 1Co 11:10, probably means a veil, as a token of her husband’s rightful authority and her own subordination. This was to be worn in their Christian assemblies “because of the angels;” that is, because of the presence either of true angels, or of the officers of the church, who being unaccustomed to see the unveiled faces of women, might be distracted by them in the discharge of their public duties.For the “veil of the temple,” see TABERNACLE and TEMPLE.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Veil
()
The tabernacle was divided into two parts by means of a veil or curtain, which the writer of Hebrews calls the second veil ( , Heb 9:3), to distinguish it from the screen which hung before the entrance to the Holy Place. It was of fine tapestry, and was suspended upon four pillars overlaid with gold (Exo 26:31-32). Josephus (Ant. VIII. iii. 3) calls it , and Philo (de Gig. 12) , but it was pre-eminently the veil (, while the curtain at the door of the Holy Place was known as , translation a screen in Revised Version ), and it is the only one referred to in the NT. In Heb 6:19 the place within the veil ( ), which only the high priest might enter once a year, is figuratively used of heaven, the inmost shrine into which Jesus, a High Priest of another order, has entered as a Forerunner. In Heb 10:20 the veil is allegorized as the corporeal and earthly nature of the Christ, who is said to have dedicated a way into heaven through the veil, that is, his flesh. As the veil of the tabernacle, and that of the Temple, hung between the high priest and the shrine which was hallowed by the Shekinah, so Christs frail humanity lay between Him and the glory of the heavenly sanctuary. His flesh had to be rent-as the Temple veil was rent (Mar 15:38)-that He might enter, and by so entering He became a Pioneer and Path-finder for all seekers after immortality.
James Strahan.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
Veil
(or Vail [q.v.]) is an essential article of female apparel in the East.SEE DRESS.
I. Original Terms. These may be divided, for the sake of convenient and clear treatment, into several classes.
(I
.) General. The following words (which, however, are the only ones rendered vail or veil in the A. V. as an article of dress) may be explained to be rather shawls, or mantles, which might at pleasure be drawn over the face, but not designed for the special purpose of veils, or for concealment of the features alone.
1. Mitpchath (, from , to expand) denotes the wide outer and upper garment of a female (see Schroder, De Vestit. Mulier. Heb. c. 16), and is rendered vail in Ruth 3, 15; wimple in Isaiah 3, 22. It evidently was one of the wrappers of different kinds in which the Eastern women envelop themselves when they quit their houses, These are of great amplitude, and, among the common people, of strong and coarse texture, like that in which Ruth carried home her corn (Rth 3:15). The illustration will show how sufficient the out-door veils of the Eastern women are for such a use. SEE WIMPLE.
2. Radid (, from , to stamp out), rendered veil in Son 5:7; vail in Isa 3:23, apparently was another large and loose upper covering, probably of finer materials, from the manner in which it is mentioned in these texts. The former passage shows that it was an outdoor veil, which the lady had cast around her when she went forth to seek her beloved. SEE APPAREL.
3. Ts’yiph (, from , thought by Gesenius to be = , to cover up), invariably rendered vail, is mentioned in Gen 24:65; Gen 38:14; Gen 38:19, under circumstances which show that it was one of those ample wrappers which women wore out of doors. The etymology, referred by some to the Arabic, subduplicavit, suggests that it was doubled over the shoulders, or folded about the body, in some peculiar manner which distinguished it from other veils. It is clear that it concealed the face, as Judah could not recognize Tamar when she had wrapped herself in a ts’yiph. SEE ROBE.
4. Masveh (, from , to hide), invariably rendered vail, is only used of the veil which Moses assumed when he came down from the mount (Exodus 24:33-35). In 2Co 3:13-16 Paul designates it by the corresponding Greek word , a covering. A cognate word, suth (, A, V. clothes), occurs in Gen 49:11 as a general term for a man’s raiment, leading to the inference that the masveh also was an ample outer robe which might be drawn over the face when required. The context, however, in Exodus 34 is conclusive as to the object for which the robe was assumed, and, whatever may have been its size or form, it must have been used as a veil. SEE MOSES.
5. Massekh (, from , to screen) is a general term for a covering of any kind (vail, Isa 25:7; covering, 28:20).
6. The words , kesuth eyndyim, literally rendered a covering of the eyes (Gen 20:16), are rendered by some interpreters a veil for the eyes, i.e. a complete veil, to conceal Sarah’s beauty, and that she might in future be known to all as a married woman. But the phrase a covering of, or for, the eyes is used in the sense of a present offered as an expiation for some fault, in order that one may shut his eyes upon it, connive at it, or take no more notice of it: Behold, this (the thousand pieces of silver) is to thee a penalty for all which has happened with thee and before all men a compensation for the wrong Abimelech did to Sarah by forcibly depriving her of her liberty, and a public declaration of his honor and her innocence. There can be no doubt that the veil for concealing the face is of very remote antiquity; but we have no evidence that it was a general article of female attire in the time of Sarah, either in Egypt or Palestine. From the monuments of Egypt, it seems not to have been worn by the females of that nation, as the women in the reign of the Pharaohs exposed their faces and were permitted as much liberty as the ladies of modern Europe. This custom was not changed till the conquest of Egypt by the Persians. SEE COVERING OF THE EYES.
7. The Greek word , literally translated power in 1Co 11:10, seems to denote metaphorically a kind of head-gear, a veil, or the ancient couvrechef (kerchief); hence the emblem of subjection to the power of a husband. But the apostle, in pointing out certain irregularities in the Christian assemblies, observes that every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head, i.e. her husband. Hence, as the woman is to be in subjection to her husband, the apostle enjoins, For this cause ought the woman to bring honor upon her head (i.e. upon her husband) for, the sake of the angels, i.e. the ministers, that they may not be put to the trouble of adverting to any such irregularities in the assemblies of the faithful (1Co 11:3-16). SEE WOMAN.
(II.) Special. Another class of coverings which alone offer any resemblance to the veils used among us are those which the Eastern women wear indoors, and which are usually of muslin or other light texture, attached to the head-dress and falling down over the back. They are of different kinds and names, some descending only to the waist, while others reach nearly to the ground. The Heb. terms that follow appear to designate some of these, but they are never rendered vail or veil in the A. V.
1. Mispechdh (, from , to pour out) is used of the veils which the false prophets placed upon their heads (Eze 13:18; Eze 13:21; A. V. kerchiefs). The word is understood by Gesenius (Thesaur. p. 965) of cushions or mattresses, but the etymology of it is equally, if not more, favorable to the sense of a flowing veil, and this accords better with the notice that they were, to: be placed upon the head of every stature, implying that the length of the veil-was proportioned to the height of the wearer (Frst, Lex. s.v.; Hitzig.in Ezekiel loc. cit.). SEE KERCHIEF.
2. Ral (plur. realoth, , from , to flutter) is used of the light veils worn by females (Isa 3:19; A.V. mufflers), which were so called from their rustling motion. The same term is applied in the Mishna (Sab. 6:6) to the veils worn by Arabian women, meaning a slender piece of dress fastened above the eves in such a manner that one part was thrown over the head and fell down Upon the back, while the other shaded the face and dropped on the breast; which perhaps approached as near as any other article of antiquity to the modern veil. SEE MUFFLER.
3. Tsammh (, from , to cover) is understood by the A. V. of locks of hair (Son 4:1; Son 4:3; Son 6:7; Isa 47:2); but the contents of the passages in which it is used favor the sense of veil, the wearers of the article being in each case highly born and handsomely dressed. As these passages refer to the effect of the veil as connected with the head-dress, it may perhaps have been one of those veils which have been already described as a part of in-door dress, although it must be admitted that the expressions are almost equally applicable to some kind of street-veil. SEE HEADDRESS.
II. Use. In ancient times the veil was adopted only in exceptional cases, either as an article of ornamental dress (Son 4:1; Son 4:3; Son 6:7), or by betrothed maidens in the presence of their future husbands, especially at the time of the wedding (Gen 24:65; Gen 29:25), SEE MARRIAGE, or, lastly, by women of loose character for purposes of concealment (Gen 38:14). But, generally speaking, women both married and unmarried appeared in public with their faces exposed among the Jews (Gen 12:14; Gen 24:16; Gen 29:10; 1Sa 1:12). At present females are rarely seen without a veil in Oriental countries, so much so that in Egypt it is deemed more requisite to conceal the-face, including the top and back of the head, than other parts of the person (Lane, Mod. Egypt. 1, 72). Women are even delicate about exposing their heads to a physician for medical treatment (Russell, Aleppo, 1, 246). In remote districts and among the lower classes the practice is not so rigidly enforced (Lane, 1, 72). Much of the scrupulousness in respect to the use of the veil dates from the promulgation of the Koran, which forbade women appearing unveiled except in the presence of their nearest relatives, (Koran 23, 55; 59). Mohammedanism has introduced a very marked change in this respect wherever its influence has extended. The change, as Mr. Lane has remarked (loc. cit.), is peculiarly observable in Egypt. The burao, or face- veil, a long strip of muslin, concealing the whole of the face except the eyes, and reaching nearly to the feet, which is now a regular part of an Egyptian lady’s walking attire, is never represented in the ancient paintings and sculptures of Egypt, and may certainly be inferred not to have been worn. And if not in Egypt, still less likely in Canaan. It is probable that in both countries alike the chief head-covering of the women, besides the loose mantle or kerchief occasionally thrown over it and drawn to some extent upon the face, was the long plaited hair, which appears from the Egyptian remains to have often consisted of a number of strings of hair reaching to the bottom of the shoulder-blades, the ends being left loose, or with two or three plaits fastened together at the extremity by woollen strings of corresponding color (Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. 3, 369). Long hair, perhaps similarly done up, certainly, often plaited, was used by the Greek females; thus very commonly they appeared in public.
Hence, also, Paul contends, in Church meetings they should have a head-covering, formed either of a mantle or shawl (peplumt) drawn somewhat over the countenance, or a veil in the stricter sense (, 1Co 11:5-6). Such a partial covering seemed to become females in public assemblies; and for Christian women to have departed in such a matter from the general practice of the countries where they resided would inevitably have brought reproach upon the Christian name. The attempt of some, therefore, at Corinth to do so, was wisely discountenanced by the apostle as implying an assumption of equality with the other sex; and he enforces the covering of the head, as a sign of subordination to the authority of the men (1Co 11:5-15). The same passage leads to the conclusion that the use of the talith, SEE FRINGE, with which the Jewish males cover their heads in prayer, is a comparatively modern practice, inasmuch as the apostle, putting, a hypothetical case, states that every man having anything on his head dishonors his head, i.e. Christ; inasmuch as the use of the veil would imply subjection to his fellow-men rather than to the Lord (1Co 11:4). In modern times, as already observed, Oriental females are veiled with great strictness. Their ideas of decency forbid a virtuous woman to lay aside, or even to lift up, the veil in the presence of men. The female who ventures to disregard this prohibition inevitably ruins her character, and is regarded as a woman of easy virtue. To lift up the veil is reckoned a gross insult; and when females are out of doors propriety requires a man to let them pass without seeming at all to observe them. Some of the face-veils worn by modern Syrian, Arab, and Egyptian ladies are made of white muslin richly embroidered with colored silks and gold, and hanging down behind nearly to the ground. Sometimes they are made of black crape, and often ornamented with spangles, gold coins, false pearls, etc. The mere size and shape of the veils differ in different parts of the East. The outer garment, when out of doors, is a large piece of black silk for a married lady, of white silk for the unmarried; for the poorer females white calico, which completely, conceals every part of the dress excepting a small portion of a very loose gown and the face-veil. The ladies of Syria often have the veil gracefully thrown over the tantur, or horn (q.v.). See Hartmann, Hebriaerin, 2, 316 sq., 334 sq., 428 sq.; Jahn, Archal. I, 2, 130 sq.; Thomson, Land Hand Book, 1, 33 sq.; Van Lennep, Bible Lands, p. 537. SEE ATTIRE.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Veil
(See DRESS.) The mitpachath (Rth 3:15), tsaiph (Gen 24:65; Gen 38:14; Gen 38:19), and radial (Son 5:7; Isa 3:23). Moses’ veil was the masveh (Exo 34:33-35), related to suth (Gen 49:11). An ample outer robe, drawn over the face when required. Mispachot, the false prophets’ magical veils or “kerchiefs” (Eze 13:18; Eze 13:21) which they put over the heads of those consulting them as if to fit them for receiving a response, that they might be rapt in spiritual trance above the world; placed “upon the head of every stature,” i.e. upon persons of every age and height, young and old.
Re’ aloth, light veils worn by females, called “mufflers” (Isa 3:19), from rahal “to tremble,” i.e. tremulous, referring to their rustling motion. Tzammah, translated “locks” (Son 4:1; Son 4:3), the bride’s veil, a mark of modesty and subjection to her lord. Isa 47:2, “take off thy veil,” or “thy locks,” nature’s covering for a woman (1Co 11:15), a badge of female degradation. Anciently the veil was only exceptionally used for ornament or by women betrothed in meeting their future husbands, and at weddings (Gen 24:65).
Ordinarily women among the Jews, Egyptians, and Assyrians, appeared in public with faces exposed (Gen 12:14; Gen 24:16; Gen 24:65; Gen 20:16; Gen 29:10; 1Sa 1:12). Assyrian and Egyptian sculptures similarly represent women without a veil. It was Mahometanism that introduced the present veiling closely and seclusion of women; the veil on them in worship was the sign of subjection to their husbands (1Co 11:4-15).
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Veil
VEIL.The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom when Jesus died (Mat 27:51, Mar 15:38, Luk 23:45). The Temple is, of course, the Temple of Herod, and the veil is, the second veil (Heb 9:3) which divided the or Holy Place from the or Holy of Holies. This is the only reference to the veil of the Temple in the NT, that in Hebrews being to the veil of the Tabernacle. The Greek words are . In the LXX Septuagint = in Psa 28:2 and . = (1) , the curtain before the door of the Holy Place and before the gate of the fore-court in the Tabernacle; and (2) , the curtain between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies (similarly Philo, Vita Moysis, iii. 5). The Gospel according to the Hebrews, as quoted by Jerome, had in the above passage lintel instead of veil (superliminare templi infinitae magnitudinae fractum esse atque divisum). It is asserted that in the Temple of Solomon there was no veil, since it is mentioned only in 2Ch 3:14; but Thenius emendation of 1Ki 6:21 drew the veil across with golden chains is good. In the Mishna the veil of the sanctuary is presupposed, e.g. in Yoma v. 1, where the mention of the ark shows that the writer is thinking of the Temple of Solomon. Josephus (BJ v. v. 4) mentions a gorgeously embroidered veil before the , and a second veil, which he does not describe, in front of the of the Temple as he knew it.
A difficulty is occasioned by the fact that there appear to have been in Herods Temple not one but two veils between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, each representing a surface of the wall one cubit thick, which in Solomons Temple separated the two places. In Yoma v. 1 the high priest on the Day of Atonement leaves the Holy Place by the south end of the outer veil, walks northwards down the cubit space between the two veils, and enters the sanctuary by the north end of the inner veil. This cubit space is in Middoth iv. 7 called , that is, , because in the first Temple it was filled with the wall, and the builders of the second did not know whether to reckon the space as belonging to the Holy Place or to the Holy of Holies. According to another account, there was only a single veil. In any case the veil would mean the outer one, which alone was visible to any except the priests. The Kaabah in Mecca has also a veil over its door.
The rending of the veil of the Temple would indicate the end of its sanctity, just as the tearing of a womans veil means dishonouring her (Hamasa, Freytag, i. 141).
It is a curious fact that Jewish tradition also records the occurrence of certain prodigies about this time. Josephus (BJ vi. v. 3) enumerates several portents which presaged the destruction of the Temple: a sword appeared suspended over the city, a heifer about to be sacrificed brought forth a lamb, and the brazen gate opened of its own accord. Lightfoot (Prospect of the Temple, xx. 1 [Pitmans ed. ix. 329]) says: There are three remarkable things, which the Jews do date from forty years before the destruction of the Templenamely this of the Temple-doors opening of themselves, and the Sanhedrins flitting from the room Gazith, and the scarlet list on the scapegoats head not turning white. Compare Plutarchs account of the prodigies which foreshadowed the murder of Caesar.
In Heb 10:20 the veil of the Tabernacle is interpreted as symbolizing the corporeal nature of Christ, and in later mysticism phenomenal existence is termed the veil. In 2Co 3:12 ff. the veil () which Moses put on (Exo 34:33 , LXX Septuagint ) becomes the spiritual blindness of the Jewish nation, probably without any reference to Is 25:7, where the words are different. The veil on Israels heart is done away in Christ ( ).
Literature.Grimm-Thayer, Lex. s.v. ; Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible , art. Veil; Edersheim, LT [Note: T Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Edersheim].] ii. 610 ff.
T. H. Weir.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Veil
VEIL.See Vail.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Veil
VAIL or VEIL
I think it right to stop at this word, because we meet with it very often in the Scripture, though it is to be lamented that our little acquaintance with the customs of the people of the East, makes us lose numberless beauties in the sacred volume, when we meet with expressions of a local nature, for want of being acquainted with their manners and customs.
The vails worn by the women, were chiefly, no doubt, intended for the concealment of their persons. Female children were no vails, we are told by the historians of those countries, until they had arrived at seven or eight years of age; after that, if a woman was seen uncovered, it became the mark of a woman of ill-fame. Hence Rebekah put on the vail on her approach to Isaac. (Gen 24:65) And Tamar disguised herself with her vail. (Gen 38:14) Indeed, so much the use of vails was observed in the eastern world, that the married women, it is said, were never seen, even in their families, without the Radid, as they called the married vail.
These things, will, in some measure, serve to explain those passages in the apostle Paul’s writings to the Corinthians of the women praying or prophecying uncovered, that is, unvailed, because it implied the want of chastity. And this one circumstance alone leads us into a proper apprehension of the apostle’s whole discourse. (See 1Co 11:3-15)
There is a great beauty in that passage of the Songs respecting the church, which, if explained to us in allusion to the custom of vails, becomes very sweet and interesting. “The watchmen (said she) that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me: the keepers of the walls took away my vail from me.” (Son 5:7) If the reader enters into the full apprehension of the custom of the vail, he will consider the spouse of Christ as here clothed with her Radid, her marriage vail, shewing who she was, and that she was in subjection to her own husband, (Eph 5:23-24) seeking him in the ordinances, which are here called the streets of the city, were she ought to seek him; and the watchmen, the ministers of the gospel, found her in this enquiry, but instead comforting her with some new and sweet view of her Lord, speaking to her in her then dispirit case and circumstances, in shewing her the safety of a soul justified in Christ’s blood and righteousness, however dark and uncomfortable in herself; instead of this, time keepers took away her vail, her covering in Christ, treated her as if a strumpet, as though she was not married to Jesus, and had no right to the Radid, or marriage vail.
I pause over this view of the subject to ask my own heart, while I desire the reader to consult his own also, whether this treatment may not in the present hour be too often shewn to the church, the spouse of Christ, in numberless instances of the individual members of his mystical body, when ministers, watchmen, and keepers of the walls of Zion, instead of strengthening seeking souls in the Lord Jesus’s blood and righteousness, are taking away their confidence in him, to direct them in seeking somewhat in themselves. Oh, how little do the best-taught ministers of Christ know of their people’s sorrows, and of Jesus’s all-suitableness and all-sufficiency! But to take away the believer’s Radid, her marriage vail, her wedding garment, her nuptial band, in Christ, oh! what a wounding, what smiting, of a poor sin-sick soul must this be! And it is possible yea, more than possible, that Christ own ministers may but too often fall into this error, when, instead of making Christ what God the Father had made him, the Alpha and Omega of his church, they are directing their people to somewhat besides Jesus for comfort and consolation. The general direction to what is called experience, by way of confidence, is a sad instance of this kind.
While speaking of vails, I must not forget to notice the vail of the temple, which was appointed by the Lord to separate the outer place where the daily service was performed from the holy of holies, into which the high priest entered once in a year, on the great day of atonement. We have the account of it, Exo 26:1-37 etc. Lev 16:1-34-and these Scriptures are again blessedly explained to the church by the Holy Ghost, Heb 9:1-12.
That this vail was figurative and typical, need not be insisted upon. The most superficial attention to Scripture very fully shews this. The human nature of the Lord Jesus was no doubt represented by the temple itself; hence Jesus spake of the temple of his body. (Joh 2:9-22) And the vail of the temple, forming a separation, and none but the high priest passing within it, and that only once in a year, and even not without blood, those were too striking particularities not to he understood as pointing to him who hath entered with his own blood into “heaven itself, there to appear in the presence of God for us.”
But the fullest and most delightful explanation of the vail of the temple, was given in the moment of our Lord’s death on the cross; for when the Lord Jesus bowed his sacred head, and gave up the ghost, instantly, we are told, the vail of the temple was rent in twain, by some invisible hand, from the top to the bottom; thus signifying that now, from the highest heaven to the lowest earth, Jesus had opened a new and living way by his blood, and was now not only entered himself within the vail, but as our forerunner, and that we should assuredly follow him, that “where he is there we might be also.”
And as Jesus had now opened a new and living way of his people, so he had broken down all the vails of separation between himself and his redeemed The Jew and the Gentile were now brought into one fold, the vail of mysteries, of ordinances, of darkness, of ignorance, of blindness, in short the vail of all obstructions was now no more. Jesus had now, agreeably to his prophecy, destroyed in his holy mountain the church “the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that was spread over all nations.” (Isa 25:7)
And it is a sweet addition to all those precious views of the Lord Jesus removing every vail in his church, when he hath in the heart of his redeemed also taken away the vail of unbelief, and opened, to the soul’s comfort, sweet and soul-ravishing views of his own person and glory. Reader, think what a glorious object will that day, that wonderful day, open to the soul, when Jesus, removing the last vail of death, shall appear in all his beauty to take home his redeemed to himself, and when they, awakening up after his likeness, shall be fully and eternally satisfied with his presence for ever.
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Veil (1)
val: The following words are so translated in English Versions of the Bible (sometimes the King James Version vail): (1) , mitpahath, Rth 3:15 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) mantle. As the material was strong enough to serve as a bag for a large quantity of grain the Revised Version (British and American) is certainly right; compare Isa 3:22. (2) , masweh, Exo 34:33-35. Paul in his quotation of the passage in 2Co 3:13-16 uses kalumma, following Septuagint. The covering worn by Moses to conceal the miraculous brightness of his face, although, according to Massoretic Text, he seems to have worn it only in private. (3) , masskehah, Isa 25:7; in Isa 28:20 translated covering. The use in Isa 25:7 is figurative and the form of the veil a matter of indifference. (4) , cammah, the Revised Version (British and American) Son 4:1, Son 4:3 (margin locks (of hair)); Son 6:7; Isa 47:2, the King James Version locks. The meaning of the word is uncertain and the King James Version may very well be right. If, however, the Revised Version’s translation is correct, a light ornamental veil is meant. (5) , caph, Gen 24:65; Gen 38:14, Gen 38:19. A large wrap is meant, which at times was used to cover the face also. In Gen 24:65 Rebekah conformed to the etiquette which required the veiling of brides (see MARRIAGE). In Genesis 38 one motive for Tamar’s use of the veil was certainly to avoid recognition, but it seems clear from the passage that veils were used by courtesans. Why is unknown, perhaps partly to conceal their identity, perhaps partly in parody of the marriage custom. (6) , redhdh, Son 5:7 (the Revised Version (British and American) mantle, margin veil); Isa 3:23. A light mantle is certainly meant. In Son 5:7 it is torn from the maiden in the watchmen’s endeavor to detain her. (7) , parakalumma, The Wisdom of Solomon 17:3 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) curtain. (8) Verb , katakalupto, 1Co 11:6 f, with , akatakalupto, unveil in 1Co 11:5; the King James Version has cover and uncover; , kalupto, 2Co 4:3 (twice), , anakalupto, 2Co 3:18; the King James Version hid and open.
It will be seen that there is a certain reference to what in modern times would be termed a veil only in (2) above. For a possible additional reference see MUFFLER.
The use of the face veil as a regular article of dress was unknown to the Hebrew women, and if veil is to be understood in Son 4:1, etc., it was worn as an ornament only. The modern oriental custom of veiling is due to Mohammedan influence and has not been universally adopted by Jewesses in the Orient. In New Testament times, however, among both Greeks and Romans, reputable women wore a veil in public (Plutarch Quaest. Rom. xiv) and to appear without it was an act of bravado (or worse); Tarsus, Paul’s home city, was especially noted for strictness in this regard (Dio of Prusa, Tarsica prior, section symbol 48). Hence, Paul’s indignant directions in 1Co 11:2-16, which have their basis in the social proprieties of the time. The bearing of these directions, however, on the compulsory use of the hat by modern women in public worship would appear to be very remote.
For the Veil of the Tabernacle and the Temple see next article.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Veil (2)
(1) (, parokheth; , katapetasma; the King James Version vail): In Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, the veil that hung between the two holy chambers of the tabernacle is mentioned 23 times (Exo 26:31, etc.). In several places it is termed the veil of the screen and it is distinguished from the screen for the door of the tabernacle (Exo 35:12, Exo 35:15; Exo 39:34, Exo 39:38). By the latter is meant the curtain that hung outside the holy place, i.e. at the tabernacle entrance. Exo 26:31 informs us that the veil was made of fine-twined linen, and that its colors were blue and purple and scarlet. It was embroidered with cherubim. At each removal of the tabernacle the veil was used to enwrap the ark of the testimony (Num 4:5). From its proximity to this central object of the Hebrew ceremonial system, the veil is termed the veil of the testimony (Lev 24:3), the veil which is before the testimony (Exo 27:21), etc. In Solomon’s Temple the veil is mentioned but once (2Ch 3:14). It was protected by doors of olive wood (1Ki 6:31). In the later temple it is alluded to in 1 Macc 1:22. Its presence in Herod’s temple is attested by the statement in each of the Synoptists that at the time of Christ’s death the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom, or in the midst (Mat 27:51; Mar 15:38; Luk 23:45; compare in Mishna, Mid. ii. 1; iv. 7). This fact is the basis of the profound truth expressed by the writer to the Hebrews that Jesus, by His sacrificial death, opened for all believers a way into the holiest through the veil, that is to say, his flesh (Heb 10:20). See TABERNACLE; TEMPLE. (2) See the preceding article and DRESS, V.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Veil
Fig. 337Dress Veils, etc. indoor
In ancient as in modern times there were different kinds of this essential article of an Eastern female’s attire. These are essentially of two descriptions. The first, and which alone offer any resemblance to the veils used among us, are those which the Eastern women wear indoors, and which are usually of muslin or other light texture, attached to the head-dress and falling down over the back. They are of different kinds and names, some descending only to the waist, while others reach nearly to the ground. These are not used to conceal the face.
Fig. 338Outdoor Veils
The veils mentioned in Scripture were, no doubt, mostly analogous to the wrappers of different kinds in which the Eastern women envelop themselves when they leave their houses. These are of great amplitude, and, among the common people, of strong and coarse texture, like that in which Ruth carried home her corn (Rth 3:15).
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Veil
See VAIL.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Veil
1. Hangings used in the tabernacle to divide the holy of holies from the holy place:
– Called the second veil
Heb 6:19; Heb 9:3
– Ordinances prescribing
Exo 26:31-33
– Made by Bezaleel and Aholiab
Exo 36:35-36
2. A covering for the ark
Exo 35:12; Exo 39:34; Exo 40:21; Num 4:5
3. Veil of the temple:
– General references
2Ch 3:14
– Rent at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus
Mat 27:51; Mar 15:38; Luk 23:45
4. Figurative
Heb 10:20
5. A facial covering:
Gen 24:65
– Worn by Tamar
Gen 38:14; Gen 38:19
– Worn by Moses, to screen his face when he descended from Mount Sinai
Exo 34:33; Exo 34:35; 2Co 3:13-16 Dress; Wimple
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Veil
Veil. With regard to the use of the veil, it is important to observe that it was by no means so general in ancient as in modern times. Much of the scrupulousness in respect of the use of the veil dates from the promulgation of the Koran, which forbade women appearing unveiled except in the presence of their nearest relatives.
In ancient times, the veil was adopted only in exceptional cases, either as an article of ornamental dress, Son 4:1; Son_ 4:3; Son_ 6:7, or by betrothed maidens in the presence of their future husbands, especially at the time of the wedding, Gen 24:65, or lastly, by women of loose character for purposes of concealment. Gen 38:14. Among the Jews of the New Testament age, it appears to have been customary for the women to cover their heads (not necessarily their faces) when engaged in public worship.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Veil
lit., “that which is spread out” (petannumi) “before” (kata), hence, “a veil,” is used (a) of the inner “veil” of the tabernacle, Heb 6:19; Heb 9:3; (b) of the corresponding “veil” in the Temple, Mat 27:51; Mar 15:38; Luk 23:45; (c) metaphorically of the “flesh” of Christ, Heb 10:20, i.e., His body which He gave up to be crucified, thus by His expiatory death providing a means of the spiritual access of believers, the “new and living way,” into the presence of God.
“a covering,” is used (a) of the “veil” which Moses put over his face when descending Mount Sinai, thus preventing Israel from beholding the glory, 2Co 3:13; (b) metaphorically of the spiritually darkened vision suffered retributively by Israel, until the conversion on the nation to their Messiah takes place, 2Co 3:14-16. See under UNLIFTED.
rendered “a veil” in the AV marg. of 1Co 11:15, see COVER, B, No. 1, VESTURE.
Fuente: Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words
Veil
Women were wont to cover their faces with veils in token of modesty, of reverence, and subjection to their husbands, Gen 24:65; 1Co 11:3, &c. In modern times, the women of Syria never appear in the streets without their veils. These are of two kinds, the furragi and the common Aleppo veil; the former being worn by some of the Turkish women only, the latter indiscriminately by all. The first is in the form of a large cloak, with long straight sleeves, and a square hood hanging flat on the back; it is sometimes made of linen, sometimes of a shawl or cloth. This veil, reaching to the heels, conceals the whole of the dress, from the neck downward; while the head and face are covered by a large white handkerchief over the head dress and forehead, and a smaller one tied transversely over the lower part of the face, hanging down on the neck. Many of the Turkish women, instead of the smaller handkerchief, use a long piece of black crape stiffened, which, sloping a little from the forehead, leaves room to breathe more freely. In this last way, the ladies are completely disguised; in the former, the eyes and nose remaining visible, they are easily known by their acquaintances. The radid is a species of veil, which Calmet supposes is worn by married women, as a token of their submission and dependence, and descends low down on the person. To lift up the veil of a virgin is reckoned a gross insult; but to take away the veil of a married woman is one of the greatest indignities that she can receive, because it deprives her of the badge which distinguishes and dignifies her in that character, and betokens her alliance to her husband, and her interest in his affections. This is the reason why the spouse so feelingly complains; They took away my veil, , from me, Son 5:7. When it is forcibly taken away by the husband, it is equivalent to divorce, and justly reckoned a most severe calamity; therefore, God threatened to take away the ornamental dresses of the daughters of Zion, including the radidim, the low descending veils: In that day the Lord will take away the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils, Isa 3:18, &c.
The ordinary Aleppo veil is a linen sheet, large enough to cover the whole habit from head to foot, and is brought over the face in a manner to conceal all but one eye. This is perhaps alluded to by the bridegroom in these words: Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes,
Son 4:9. In Barbary, when the ladies appear in public, they always fold themselves up so closely in their hykes, that, even without their veils, one can discover very little of their faces. But, in the summer months, when they retire to their country seats, they walk abroad with less caution; though, even then, on the approach of a stranger, they always drop their veils, as Rebekah did on the approach of Isaac. But, although they are so closely wrapped up, that those who look at them cannot see even their hands, still less their face, yet it is reckoned indecent in a man to fix his eyes upon them; he must let them pass without seeming at all to observe them. When a lady of distinction, says Hanway, travels on horseback, she is not only veiled, but has generally a servant, who runs or rides before her to clear the way; and on such occasions the men, even in the market places, always turn their backs till the women are past, it being thought the highest ill manners to look at them. A lady in the east considers herself degraded when she is exposed to the gaze of the other sex, which accounts for the conduct of Vashti in refusing to obey the command of the king. Their ideas of decency, on the other hand, forbid a virtuous woman to lay aside or even to lift up her veil in the presence of the other sex. She who ventures to disregard this prohibition inevitably ruins her character. From that moment she is noted as a woman of easy virtue, and her act is regarded as a signal for intrigue. Pitts informs us that in Barbary the courtezan appears in public without her veil; and, in Pro 7:13-14, the harlot exposes herself in the same indecent manner: So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face, a face uncovered and shameless, said unto him, I have peace-offerings with me, this day have I paid my vows. But it must nevertheless be remarked, that, at different times, and in different parts of the east, the use, or partial use of the veil has greatly varied.