βελόνη (belonē)
belonē
needle
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The Greek noun belonē refers simply to a needle, specifically one with a sharp point used for piercing fabric. In the New Testament, it appears only once, in Luke 18:25, where Jesus uses it as part of a vivid metaphor about wealth and salvation.
This single occurrence carries significant rhetorical weight. Jesus states that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. The image relies on the extreme contrast between a massive animal and a tiny, precise instrument, emphasizing the human impossibility of such a task without divine intervention.
While some later traditions speculated about a small gate in Jerusalem known as the "Needle's Eye," the text itself presents the needle as a standard sewing tool. The point is not historical geography but hyperbolic illustration: what is impossible for people is possible for God. The word anchors this teaching in a concrete, everyday object familiar to its original audience.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When Jesus mentions a needle, He is not speaking of a mystical gate or a hidden historical landmark. He is using a simple, everyday tool that anyone in His time would recognize. The image is stark and immediate: trying to push a large animal through the tiny eye of a sewing needle. This hyperbole highlights the sheer impossibility of saving oneself through wealth or personal effort.
This teaching invites us to look at our own attachments with honesty. We often trust in our resources, status, or security to keep us safe. Jesus shows that these things can become barriers to trusting God completely. The point is not that money is evil, but that it competes for the place of ultimate trust in our hearts.
The good news lies in the second half of this thought. What is impossible for humans is possible for God. Salvation does not depend on our ability to strip ourselves clean or achieve perfection. It rests on God’s power to save those who come to Him with empty hands and open hearts, relying entirely on His grace.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- of a needle1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- βελόνης1×
Key Verses
-
Luke 18:25
For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
This verse uses the needle as a concrete object of hyperbole to illustrate the human impossibility of entering God's kingdom through wealth alone.