Gourt Home::Gourt :: Eye of a needle
The eye of a needle is an aphorism used in the religious texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Judaism
The Babylonian Talmud applies the aphorism to unthinkable thoughts. To explain that dreams reveal the thoughts of a man's heart, the product of reason rather than the absence of it, the rabbis say:
- They do not show a man a palm tree of gold, nor an elephant going through the eye of a needle.
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:
- The Holy One said, open for me a door as big as a needle's eye and I will open for you a door through which may enter tents and *
Christianity
"The eye of a needle" is part of a phrase attributed to Jesus by the synoptic gospels:
- ...I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. .
The occasion of the saying, according to the gospel writers, was after a rich young man had asked Jesus what he needed to do in order to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied that he should first, keep the commandments (he listed only those concerning duty to men), sell all his possessions, and give the money to the poor, and then to come, follow Jesus. Because of his great wealth, the young man was unwilling to do this. Jesus then turned to his disciples, and spoke this phrase to their astonishment, leading them to doubt that salvation was possible for anyone.
Some commentators have found it incredible to speak of a rich man's chance of being saved as being harder than threading a camel through a literal sewing implement. Consequently the phrase has inspired various interpretations.
Interpretations
A popular explanation of the figure, dating back at least to the 9th century, was that Jesus was referring to a well-known gate in Jerusalem called Needle's Eye, that was built so low that a camel could only pass if it entered kneeling and unencumbered with baggage. The lesson would then be that an eternal inheritance awaits those who unburden themselves of sin, and in particular, the things of this world. Although there is no historical evidence that such a gate ever existed, through frequent repetition the idea has attained the status of virtual dogma in some circles.Some scholars have suggested that the word camel is in fact a mistranslation of the Greek original, and should instead read rope. On the weight of this, some English versions read "cable" instead of "camel". An obvious advantage of this is that it puts "the eye of a needle" in less ridiculous proportion compared to the threading material, and it still makes the point of how difficult it is to achieve salvation, although in much less colorful terms.
An explanation put forward by Barabra Thiering is that Camel and "Eye of a Needle" both represent letters of the Hebrew alphabet namely Gimel (Hebrew for camel) and Kof (which at the time looked literarly like the eye of a needle). The letters represent grades in the religious order that Jesus belonged to.
The most common Christian interpretation is the explanation that Jesus himself gave to his disciples, according to the gospels. He told them that for any man looking to himself, salvation is not possible; but for God, all things are possible. The way is open, but it cannot be accessed by any human means, unless God should bring them in by an "impossible" way - impossible that is, for man - meaning, through Christ's death and resurrection. Christians also typically use the account of the rich young ruler, including this phrase, to teach about the deceitfulness of wealth and worldly prestige, and the duty of alms.
Islam
Interestingly, Islam turns the Christian idea on its head, teaching by the same phrase that paradise is closed to those who reject Islam, but following Islam makes salvation achievable by man. The Qur'an says:
- To those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, no opening will there be of the gates of heaven, nor will they enter the garden, until the camel can pass through the eye of the needle: Such is Our reward for those in sin. (Al-A'raf (The Heights) 7:40)
Footnotes
- Berekoth 55
- Hebrew New Testament Studies
- Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs, 5.3; cf. Pesiqta R., 15, as cited in the online essay 'The camel and the eye of the needle', Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, Luke 18:25
- This Saturday Night Live sketch presents several possibilities for getting around the verse. *
"Eye of a needle"