Eye of a needle

Aphorisms

Judaism

The Babylonian Talmud applies the aphorism to unthinkable thoughts. To explain that dreams reveal the thoughts of a man's heart and are the product of reason rather than the absence of it, some rabbis say:

A midrash on the Song of Songs uses the phrase to speak of God's willingness and ability beyond comparison to accomplish the salvation of a sinner:

Rav Sheishet of Nehardea applied the same aphorism to the reasoning for which the sages of Pumbedita were evidently famous: "Are you from Pumbedita, where they push an elephant through the eye of a needle?" (Baba Metzia, 38b).

Christianity

Main article: Jesus and the rich young man

"The eye of a needle" is a portion of a quotation attributed to Jesus in the synoptic gospels:

Parallel versions appear in , and }}

The saying was a response to a young rich man who had asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied that he should keep the commandments, which the man replied that he had done so. Jesus responded, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." The young man became sad and was unwilling to do that. Jesus then spoke that response, leaving his disciples astonished.

Cyril of Alexandria (fragment 219) claimed that "camel" was a Greek scribal typo where was written in place of . More recently, George Lamsa, in his 1933 translation of the Bible into English from the Syriac, claimed the same.

Arthur Schopenhauer, in The World as Will and Representation, Volume 1, § 68, quoted Matthew 19:24: "It is easier for an anchor cable to go through an eye of a needle than for a rich person to come to God's kingdom."

In modern times, the scripture has been used as a counterargument to the prosperity gospel, the belief that accruing wealth is a virtue favored by God.

Gate

The "Eye of the Needle" has been claimed to be a gate in Jerusalem, which opened after the main gate was closed at night. A camel could not pass through the smaller gate unless it was stooped and had its baggage removed. The story has been put forth since at least the 11th century and possibly as far back as the 9th century. However, there is no widely accepted evidence for the existence of such a gate.

Phoenician letter theory

A recent study notes that "camel" and "eye of the needle" are two letters in the Phoenician alphabet, and proposes that the Gospel saying may originally have been understood as a wordplay on such Phoenician letter names rather than of an animal or a rope. This interpretation by etymologist Max Freedom Pollard is supported by the fact that Jesus visited Lebanon multiple times in the New Testament, would likely have been familiar with the Phoenician alphabet, and the letter "camel" is able to be turned into an "eye of a needle" with a single stroke.

Islam

According to the English interpretation of the Quran:

The camel, in Arabic ar, can also be translated as "twisted rope".

A poem by Rumi says:"The double end of thread is not for the eye of the needle: inasmuch as thou art single, come into the needle."

'Tis the thread that is connected with the needle: the eye of the needle is not suitable for the camel.

Not connected to religion

The concept of a camel passing through the eye of a needle is also documented among the Multani people of Pakistan, “A string of camels is passing through the needle’s eye!” The source does not indicate if this saying was used in religious contexts.

Notes

References

References

1. "Quran 7".
2. B.T. ''[[Berakhot (Talmud). Berakhot]]'' 55b
3. "'The camel and the eye of the needle', Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, Luke 18:25". Hebrew New Testament Studies.
4. Reuss, Joseph. (1957). "Matthäus-Kommentare aus der griechischen Kirche". Akademie-Verlag.
5. Simonetti, Manlio. (2002). "Matthew 14-28". InterVarsity Press.
6. Collins, Raymond F.. (2017). "Wealth, wages, and the wealthy: New testament insight for preachers and teachers". Liturgical Press.
7. Bowler, Kate. (2013). "Blessed: A history of the American prosperity gospel". Oxford University Press.
8. Егор Розенков, ''Верблюд и игольное ушко'' // Духовный вестник высшей школы, No. 8 (24), 01.09.2007
9. Morris, Leon. (1992). "The Gospel according to Matthew". [[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.]] Inter-Varsity Press.
10. Ziemińska, Agnieszka. (2022-06-09). "The Origin of the 'Needle's Eye Gate' Myth: Theophylact or Anselm?". New Testament Studies.
11. Max Freedom Pollard (2024). "Revisiting the 'Camel and the Needle': A Philological Recontextualization of Phoenician Letter Nomenclature". ''Journal of Historical Linguistics''. doi:10.5281/zenodo.14848051.
12. [http://quran.com/7/40 Al-Araf (The Heights) 7:40], [http://irebd.com/quran/english/surah-7/verse-40/ Quran Surah Al-A'raaf ( Verse 40 )]
13. Asad, Muhammad. (1980). "The Message of The Qur'án". Dar al-Andalus Limited.
14. Perry, Whitall. (1991). "A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom". Quinta Essentia.
15. p. 119. O’Brien, Edward. 1881. ''Glossary of the Multani Language Compared with Punjábi and Sindhi.'' Punjab, India: Punjabi Government Civil Secretariat Press. http://archive.org/details/glossarymultani00obrgoog.