NEEDLE. The art of sewing and the use of needles seem to have been among man’s earliest accomplishments. Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness (Gen 3:7). The basic design of needles has not changed at all in the millennia they have been used. Needles made from sharp pierced bones have been found dating as far back as the sixth millennium b.c. In the days of Israel’s history needles were commonly made of bronze, either pierced or with a loop to form the “eye.” They have been found by archeologists in the dust of ancient cities, made from ivory, bone, bronze, and iron, from one and a half to five and a half inches in length. Highly skilled embroiderers are mentioned in Exodus 36:37; 39:29, who produced the curtains of the Tabernacle and beautiful garments of the high priest. It is interesting to note the most skilled of these artisans of the needle were men (Exod 35:34, 35). In the NT the Apostle Paul was trained as a tent-maker and worked at his trade in Corinth, sewing the strips of material together (Acts 18:3). The only place in the Bible a needle is actually mentioned is in Jesus’ proverb of a camel passing through the eye of a needle (Matt 19:24).