Biblical Context: Camel

“Children, how hard it is to enter God’s kingdom! It’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the wealthy to enter God’s kingdom.” 

– The Story of Jesus 24.5

[Adapted from Mt 19:24; Mk 10:25; Lk 18:25]

“Woe, you scribes and Pharisees! You’re hypocrites!... You blind guides, who filter out a fly but swallow a camel!” 

– The Story of Jesus 27.2

[Adapted from Mt 27:24]

The largest animal in ancient Palestine was the camel, which could stand over 2 meters (7 feet) tall at the hump. They were domesticated primarily for their use as pack animals, but they also provided a source of milk, meat, and clothing. 

Camels have a number of adaptations that help them withstand long periods without water, so they’re ideally suited for the arid landscape of the Middle East and Northern Africa. Most notably, their humps are large deposits of fatty tissue that can be metabolized to produce water and energy when needed. Additionally, their red blood cells are oval shaped, ideal for functioning despite dehydration or overhydration. Camels can tolerate extreme body temperatures that would normally kill other animals – their fur insulates them from heat during the day and cold at night. Their loping gait and wide feet allow them to walk easily on sand. Finally, their organs are so efficient at conserving water that their urine can come out thick like syrup and their feces so dry it can be burned as fuel for fires. Even exhaled water vapor is trapped and recycled in their nostrils. But however useful they were in ancient times, camels are notoriously stubborn and difficult to control. There is virtually no way to move a camel if it doesn’t want to go.

In contrast to the largest animal, the oval (eye-shaped) opening at the end of a needle was one of the smallest openings in the ancient world – impossible for a stubborn camel to fit through. 

Similarly, the fruit fly was among the smallest known animals in first century Judea. Strict Pharisees would routinely filter their drinks through a cloth to prevent the possibility of consuming an unclean insect. The fly referred to in this passage was probably from the genus Drosophila. Fruit flies feed on over-ripe and rotting fruit, and they subsequently would have been a common contaminant in ancient wines. The tiny fruit fly is a striking contrast to the large size of the camel. According to Moses' Law, both were considered unclean and therefore unfit for human consumption.

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