by Daniel Mcclellan

Created on: April 23, 2008

Of the numerous enigmatic passages from the New Testament, one of the most misunderstood is Jesus' warning that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:2326). His disciples seem to interpret his hyperbole literally, as they wonder who could possibly be saved. Jesus responds that it is impossible with men, but not so with God. Elaborate explications of this pericope have been offered by clergy and scholar alike, and many contain profound truths of applied Christianity, but the answer to this puzzle is actually quite simple. This article will examine one of the most common explanations for this metaphor.

For many students of the Bible, the "eye of the needle" represents a gate somewhere in Jerusalem that is designed to force entering camels to be unloaded and to crawl through on their knees. This explanation is popular for a number of reasons. First, it demands a penitent approach. The person who enters the kingdom of Heaven (Jerusalem) must come on their knees. Pride cannot accompany them. In addition, the suppliant must be stripped of their earthly possessions. They can bring nothing with them. The reader thus understands that salvation requires one leave their temporal concerns behind (see Matthew 13:4446) and to strip themselves of pride.

Obviously this story represents for many a rich very powerful metaphor for properly living the gospel. This interpretation, however, is not without criticism. The most glaring problem is that no gate designed for camels, or small enough to force them to their knees, has ever been uncovered in Jerusalem, nor has the practice ever been attested. In addition, the apostles display utter shock at the idea, which precludes the possibility of a contemporary proverbial understanding of the phrase. In other words, the apostles were unaware of any camel's gate in Jerusalem. The idea is currently understood to have originated with two writers from the 9th century CE, Paschasius Radbertus and Walafrid Strabo. Erasmus included the interpretation in The first tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus upon the Newe Testament. He wrote, "It is more easy for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. For the gate is low and strait, and it receiveth no camels laden with burdens of riches." Shakespeare later incorporated the theory into King Richard II (5.5.1617): "It is as hard to come as for a camel/ To

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