Mark 10:25

10:25 Jesus was emphatically warning that riches are an obstacle to entering the Kingdom of God. The camel was the largest animal in Palestine, the eye of a needle the smallest hole. Some rich people are evidently able to overcome the problem created by riches and follow Jesus, but Jesus’ followers came from among the poor more than from the rich. • Explanations about a gate in the Jerusalem wall called the “Eye of the Needle” are ill-conceived. There never was such a gate, and this explanation loses sight of Jesus’ frequent use of hyperbole in his teaching (see also Matt 7:3-5; 23:24).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar 10:25 . In this proverbial saying the evangelists vary in expression in reference to the needle and the needle-eye, though one might have looked for stereotyped phraseology in a proverb. The fact points to different Greek renderings of a saying originally given in a Semitic tongue. τρυμαλιᾶς , from τρύω , to rub through, so as to make a hole. According to Furrer, proverbs about the camel and the needle-eye, to express the impossible, are still current among the Arabs. e.g. , “hypocrites go into paradise as easily as a camel through a needle-eye”; “He asks of people that they conduct a camel through a needle-eye” ( Wanderungen , p. 339).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. It is easier for a camel] This figure has been variously interpreted. (a) Some have rendered it an “anchor-rope,” as though the word was “kamilon” and not “kamelon;” (b) others think it refers to the side gate for foot passengers, close by the principal gate, called in the East the “eye of a needle;” but (c) it is best to understand the words literally. Similar proverbs are common in the Talmud.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jesus, looking upon them,.... And by their countenances saw the surprise and anxiety of mind they were in, as well as by his omniscience, knew their private reasonings among themselves:

saith, with men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible; even to reduce a camel to so small a size, as to go through the eye of a needle; and to work upon a rich man's heart, so as to take him off of his trust and confidence in his worldly riches, and bring him to a compliance with his will, and into his kingdom; and also to protect, and save his poor and mean followers, notwithstanding all the difficulties, dangers, and oppositions they meet with; See Gill on Mat 19:26.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Ver. 25. {See Trapp on "Mat 19:24"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It is easier for a camel to go through a needle"s eye, etc. This is a strong hyperbolic proverbial expression to represent anything that is very difficult to do. Dr. John Lightfoot, in his Hebrew exercitations upon St. Matthew"s Gospel (vol. 2 p. 219). He quotes instances from the biblical writings of a very similar phrase intended to represent something that is possible. For example, he quotes one rabbi disputing with another, who says, "Perhaps thou art one of those who can make an elephant pass through the eye of a needle; that is, "who speak things that are impossible." St. Jerome says," It is not the absolute impossibility of the thing which is set forth, but the infrequency of it."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

eye of

It has been thought the reference here was to a postern door set in a gate of Jerusalem.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. διελθεῖν ([2240][2241][2242][2243]) rather than εἰσελθεῖν ([2244][2245][2246][2247][2248][2249][2250]), which is an assimilation to what follows.

[2240] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[2241] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[2242] Codex Cyprius. 9th cent. One of the seven uncials which have the Gospels complete, the others being אBMSUΩ. At Paris.

[2243] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mar 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

[2244] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[2245] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.

[2246] Codex Purpureus. 6th cent. Full text in Texts and Studies v. No. 4, 1899. Contains Mar 5:20 to Mar 7:4; Mar 7:20 to Mar 8:32; Mar 9:1 to Mar 10:43; Mar 11:7 to Mar 12:19; Mar 14:25 to Mar 15:23; Mar 15:33-42. See below on Ψ.

[2247] Codex Monacensis. 10th cent. Contains Mar 6:47 to Mar 16:20. Many verses in 14, 15, 16 are defective.

[2248] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mar 3:35 to Mar 6:20.

[2249] Codex Sangallensis. 9th or 10th cent. Contains the Gospels nearly complete, with an interlinear Latin translation. The text of Mark is specially good, agreeing often with CL. At St Gall.

[2250] Codex Athous Laurae. 8th cent. Like N and Σ, it is written in silver letters on purple vellum. Contains Mar 9:5 to Mar 16:20, and, as in L, the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9. As in Δ, the text of Mark is specially good.

25. εὐκοπώτερον. In all three: lit. “more capable of being done with easy labour” (εὖ, κόπος); in N.T. always in the comparative (Mar 2:9; Luk 5:23; Luk 16:17), but εὔκοπος occurs in LXX. and in Polybius. Some commentators would follow [2435] and some Old Latin texts in transposing Mar 10:24-25. The transposition looks like a correction, or it may be accidental owing to homoeoteleuton.

[2435] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

κάμηλον διὰ τρυμαλιᾶς ῥαφίδος. There is no need to conjecture that κάμηλος means a cable (Cyril, Theoph.); Euthym. mentions this view without adopting it. Nor need we read κάμιλον, which is said to mean a cable, although the existence of such a word is doubtful. Still less need we make the needle’s eye mean a small side-gate for foot-passengers (Shakespeare, Richard II, v. Mar 10:17), an explanation which no ancient commentator adopts. Christ’s Sayings, like those of other Oriental teachers, are often hyperbolical; “strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel” (Mat 23:24), “whoso shall say to this mountain etc.” (Mar 11:23), “a grain of mustard seed, less than all seeds, becometh a tree” (Mat 13:32), etc. In the Talmud an elephant going through a needle’s eye is used to express an impossibility. The saying in the Koran about “not entering into paradise until a camel pass through the eye of a needle” (7:38) may come from the Gospels. While τρῆμα (Mt. and Lk.) is classical and fairly common, τρυμαλιά is late and rare; both τρυμαλιά and ῥαφίς (“stitcher”) were probably colloquial.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. πῶς δύσκολόν ἐστιν εἰς τ. β … εἰσελθεῖν—how difficult it is to enter into the kingdom of God. The internal evidence is quite in favor of the shorter reading, because it is short, and because it is one of those cases in which a brief and somewhat puzzling saying is a constant temptation to copyists and commentators to introduce something explanatory and alleviating. The longer reading would be intended to modify the preceding statement by showing that it was not the possession of wealth, but the trust in it, confidence in its power to procure all the necessary satisfactions and goods of life, that prevented entrance into the kingdom. The shorter reading generalizes still more the preceding statement, making the difficulty of entering the kingdom to be inherent in its nature, and so universal, instead of locating it in the class, rich men. It involves the choice of the highest good, which in various ways, and not merely on the side of wealth, interferes with what men consider the more immediate and practical good.

Omit τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ τοῖς χρήμασιν, those who trust in riches, Tisch. Treg. marg. WH. RV.marg. א B Δ one ms. Lat. Vet. Memph. ed.

εὐκοπώτερόν ἐστι κάμηλον διὰ τρυμαλίας ῥαφιδος διελθεῖν2—It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye. The proverb is an exaggerated rhetorical statement of the difficulty. In the parallel accounts in Mt. and Lk., some mss. have the reading κάμιλον, meaning a cable, which is much more apposite. Using the shorter reading in v.24, as on the whole more probable, the whole would mean, it is hard for any man to get into the kingdom of God, and for a rich man next to impossible. He is in the position of having the lower good which other men want, and this is more of an obstacle to the perception and choice of the higher good.

Omit τῆς before τρυμαλίας Treg. WH. RV. א ACDFKMNU ΓΔΠ. Before ῥαφίδος Treg. WH. RV. א ACDGKMNU ΔΠ Memph. διελθεῖν, instead of εἰσελθεῖν, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. BC(D)K Π, 1, 13, 124, 346, mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Syrr.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Needle [ραφιδος] . A word stigmatized by the grammarians as unclassical. One of them (Phrynichus) says, "As for rJafiv, nobody would know what it is." Matthew also uses it. See on Mt 19:24. Luke uses, belonhv, the surgical needle. See on Luk 18:25.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.