1 Corinthians 11:8-10 - Man did not come from woman

11:8,9

“For man did not come from woman, but woman from man.” Paul is basing this on Gen 2:21-23. This, together with 11:9, “Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man”.=, will raise the hackles of some. It does not imply any superiority of man over woman. It is significant that the first mention of men and women (Gen 1:26,27) stresses that both were created in the image of God, and are together to subdue the earth and have dominion. If we look at the life of Christ a key part of His glory was that He came to serve, we rejoice in this aspect of His life and character. I think there are two reasons we react against it. One is that sinful man all too often uses his position to dominate and exploit women. The other is that our sinful rebellious nature reacts against it. 

11:10

NIV has “It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head”, ESV has “That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head”. Again, we should note that Jesus lived and rejoiced in the fact that He lived under His Father’s authority. “Because of the angels”. There are various interpretations of this, none of them particularly convincing, at least not to me. One is that the head covering protects the woman from fallen or lustful angels. Another is that the angels are involved in worship and wish to see things carried out properly.