Bible dictionaries

Veil

What Bible dictionaries say about “Veil”, one article after the other.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary & Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

Veil - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

VEIL, n. [L. velum.

1. A cover; a curtain; something to intercept the view and lude an object.

2. A cover; a disguise. [See Vail. The latter orthography gives the Latin pronunciation as well as the English, and is to be preferred.

VEIL, v.t.

1. To cover with a veil; to conceal.

2. To invest; to cover.

3. To hide. [See Vail.]

Matthew George Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary; Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language (1828)

The article in Easton + Webster 1828

Smith’s Bible Dictionary

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, (Solomon 4:1,3; 6:7) or by betrothed maidens in the presence of their future husbands, especially at the time of the wedding, (Genesis 24:65) or lastly, by women of loose character for purposes of concealment. (Genesis 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.

William Smith; revised by F. N. Peloubet and M. A. Peloubet; CrossWire SWORD module Smith 1.3

The article in Smith

Translation Words

Definition

The term “veil” usually refers to a thin piece of cloth that is used as a head covering, to fully or partially cover the head or face.

Moses covered his face with a veil after he had been in the presence of Yahweh, so that the brightness of his face would be hidden from the people.
In the Bible, women wore a veil to cover their head, and often their face as well, when they were in public or in the presence of men.
The veils that women in the Bible wore over their face may have been made of thin material which could be partly seen through and may have only covered part of the face so that the women’s eyes were not covered.
The verb to “veil” means to cover something with a veil.
In some English versions, the word “veil” is used to refer to the thick curtain that covered the entrance into the most holy place. But “curtain” is a better term in that context, since it refers to a heavy, thick piece of cloth.

Translation Suggestions

The term “veil” could also be translated as “thin cloth covering” or “cloth covering” or “head covering” or “head covering.”
In some cultures, there may already be a term for a veil for women. It may be necessary to find a different word when it is used for Moses.

(See also: Moses)

Bible References

Word Data

Strong’s: H4304, H4533, H4555, H6777, H6809, H7196, H7479, G03430, G25710, G25720

The original work by unfoldingWord is available from https://www.unfoldingword.org/utw. Bible Strong converted the Markdown and resource links to its dictionary schema and normalized Bible references.

The article in Translation Words