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1. 1000un+(OP)[view] [source] 2018-09-28 20:54:08
I've always liked this line, even after becoming quite wealthy:

And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. --Matthew 19:24

replies(1): >>dylan6+21
2. dylan6+21[view] [source] 2018-09-28 21:04:31
>>1000un+(OP)
When I first heard this as a kid, I immediately thought about a real life camel attempting to fit through the hole for thread in a sewing needle. That seemed like a very odd comparison as to who would try to do such an odd thing?

As an adult, I heard someone talk about one of the gates in the wall to Jerusalem was named the "eye of the needle" because of its shape. If a camel was loaded up that exceeded a certain height, the camel could not fit through the gate. It was this situation that the biblical passage was supposedly referring. So as with most things, context really helped. </random_tangent>

replies(2): >>throwa+P4 >>swozey+25
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3. throwa+P4[view] [source] [discussion] 2018-09-28 21:40:09
>>dylan6+21
There is no historical evidence for this, its pretty clearly apocryphal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_a_needle

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4. swozey+25[view] [source] [discussion] 2018-09-28 21:43:00
>>dylan6+21
My understanding is that it's more hyperbolic than that. There are gates around Jerusalem called "Eye of the Needle" (St Alexander Nevskys Church for instance, its supposedly the location of a 1st century city wall) and a man can barely fit through these himself.

I could be totally wrong, of course. Maybe they started naming holes in dilapidated walls that to bring tourists/pilgrims.

Did a quick google for pic examples; https://patmcinerney.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/the-church-of-...

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