In case you do not know what I am speaking of, I am referring to a message that Yehoshua uttered to his audience that
translators have been translating wrong for hundreds of years.
In Matthew 19 this is what Yehoshua says according to the NIV,
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for
a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 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."
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and
asked, "Who then can be saved?"
26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but
with God all things are possible."
In this statement, we see that the translators, even for hundreds of years, have been using the word, "camel." This is a wrong rendering of that particular word. Even though the Greek says, "Kamelou", it is not a Greek word originally, but rather an Aramaic word that sounds like it, namely "KHaB,LeA. This word means, "rope". Click here to see other ways to say this word, and type in 'rope.'
Thus, the correct rendering by Yehoshua should be, "...it is easier for a rope to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."
Thus, it makes more sense now, because we are talking about things regarding sewing, and a rope is a thicker "strand of string" than a thread. The end results are not, nor is the meaning not the same when using this new understanding, instead of using the word "camel"; even though we see that Yehoshua's disciples are still obviously dismayed. What I mean is that when someone thinks of a rope passing through an eye of a needle, trying to do so might seem problematic, but possibly possible. Yet, when someone thinks of a camel trying to get in an eye of needle, that is just an impossiblity. The real question to ask, however, is: what kind of needle is Yehoshua talking about? If you think about it, how do you think the messiah wants you to render his words? Did he not say elsewhere "...that narrow is the path that leads to life and few find it?" Thus, to be consistent with everything else Yehoshua said, he wants his message to come across that if one wants to enter his kingdom that shall come, it will not be, nor is it a simple task. This is also why he mentioned, "count the cost." On a further note: we know that many rich people will enter Yehoshua's kingdom, namely Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Job, David, Hezekiah, Josiah and many others; thus, it is not one's wealth that is the problem. Rather, it is one's trust and who or what they serve, manna or the Lord, luxury or being pampered through wealth, or servanthood through holiness.
Now, about this needle, a person can always heat up a needle to make it stretch in order for a bigger thread to pass through its eye. For, this is how the blacksmith gets the "eye" of the needle in the first place, by heat. For, when the needle is hot, he shoves a little shaft through the soft metal to form the eye of the needle.
Let us, however, move on to deeper insight: in the context of the setting where these words where uttered, it is possible that there were particular needles close by, and a particular rope, or then again, maybe not because one does not need a rope to understand the ongoing point. I say this because there are different types of needles, some for cloth which are small, vs. those for leather, which are thicker and stronger. However, to tell you the truth, the needle he most likely was referring to was the type of needle used in a loom, which can be quite big, as well as their eyes can be, as opposed to
the formerly described needles. Furthermore, it is more likely to see a person, or people using a loom in public, where Jesus and his disciples most likely were, like a person doing textiles, or in a bazaar where looms are used for making
sails, garments, or rugs; instead of seeing a person fixing a gown, toga or shawl (with a small needle). Look at the bottom of the page for some pictures of looms and their needles.
Thus, as far as this article is concerned, the real word that should be used is rope, yet pagans who think they are followers of the Messiah, and so-called scholars have not figured this out yet. I have though!!! And so it goes...., because of these ignorant pagans, they make up some silly notions and ideas that a camel had to crawl on his knees in order to get past a small doorway in a wall called "the eye of a needle." NONSENSE!
Another note I want to quickly mention is: when you read the disciples words in how they responded to Yehoshua's statements:
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and
asked, "Who then can be saved?"
that is: you have to realize that his disciples were constantly having troubles in understanding Yehoshua's words, not that his words were all that complicated. For Yehoshua simply said, "it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven", not that it was impossible. Thus, a person simply needs a change of heart, and a heart of dedication. In other words, change the loom and the needle so that you can use rope instead.
Thomas
