used only in the proverb, "to pass through a needle's eye" ( Matthew 19:24 ; Mark 10:25 ; Luke 18:25 ). Some interpret the expression as referring to the side gate, close to the principal gate, usually called the "eye of a needle" in the East; but it is rather to be taken literally. The Hebrew females were skilled in the use of the needle ( Exodus 28:39 ; 26:36 ; Judges 5:30 ).

These dictionary topics are from
M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition,
published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, copy freely.