Staff publication

The Camel and the Eye of the Needle. This paper examines Jesus’ challenging statement in the Gospels about the rich entering the Kingdom of God, likened to a camel through a needle’s eye. We explore variations in this saying across the Gospels and consider interpretations aided by literary parallels from Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic sources. These examples highlight the “eye of a needle” as a metaphor for impossibility, contrasted with a large object like a camel or elephant. While the presented examples are post-biblical, the motif’s roots may be older.

Joseph, the father of Jesus, and Joseph, the son of Jacob. Observations on the Joseph figure in the Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel of Matthew (Mt) connects his texts with the Old Testament in various ways. Beyond the so-called reflexive quotations, Mt alludes to several Old Testament books and episodes with keywords, motifs, and compositional arrangement. This article investigates whether Mt uses a Joseph typology from Genesis in shaping his portrayal of Joseph, the father of Jesus.