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DOES “HEAD” MEAN

“SOURCE”?

Some evangelical feminists claim that the Greek word

kephal∑(“head”) often meant “source”

but did not mean “authority”

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:23, “For the husband is the head of the wife

even as Christ is the head of the church,” and in 1 Corinthians 11:3 he
writes, “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is
Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.”
What does the word “head” mean in these verses?
According to many egalitarians, the word translated “head” (Greek
kephal∑) in Ephesians 5:23 and 1 Corinthians 11:3 does not mean “per-
son in authority over” but has some other meaning, especially the mean-
ing “source.” Thus, the husband is the source of the wife (an allusion to
the creation of Eve from Adam’s side in Genesis 2), as Christ is the source
of the church.^1 This is based on the egalitarian claim that the word

(^1) Egalitarian writings holding that kephal∑means “source” are numerous. Some of the most
influential are: Berkeley Mickelsen and Alvera Mickelsen, “What Does Kephale Mean in the
New Testament?” in Women, Authority, and the Bible, ed. Alvera Mickelsen (Downers Grove,
Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 97-110; Philip B. Payne, “Response,” in Women, Authority, and
the Bible, 118-132; Bilezikian, “A Critical Examination of Wayne Grudem’s Treatment of
kepahle in Ancient Greek Texts,” appendix to Beyond Sex Roles: What the Bible Says About
a Woman’s Place in Church and Family, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1985), 215-
252; Catherine Clark Kroeger, “The Classical Concept of Head as ‘Source,’” appendix 3 in
Gretchen Gaebelein Hull, Equal to Serve (Old Tappan, N.J.: Revell, 1987), 267-283; Gordon
D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, New International Commentary on the New
Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1987), 501-505; Catherine Kroeger, “Head,” in