1 Corinthians 11:4

Having his head covered (kata kepalh ecwn). Literally, having a veil (kalumma understood) down from the head (kepalh ablative after kata as with kata in Mark 5:13 ; Acts 27:14 ). It is not certain whether the Jews at this time used the tallith, "a four-corned shawl having fringes consisting of eight threads, each knotted five times" (Vincent) as they did later. Virgil (Aeneid iii., 545) says: "And our heads are shrouded before the altar with a Phrygian vestment." The Greeks (both men and women) remained bareheaded in public prayer and this usage Paul commends for the men.