plenty of camels but no rope!

[dph987]

I checked Matthew 19:24 in Paul's Interlinear yesterday and noted that a "rope" passed through the eye of a needle and not the obligatory "camel".

As an exercise I went and looked up the aramaic word "fmgl" (root fmg) in the lexicon on this site and it displayed several meanings: camel, dromedary, and beam - but not rope!

Why is rope not in the lexicon? Or why is the word rope used and not camel in the interlinear translation?

[Paul Younan]

I checked Matthew 19:24 in Paul's Interlinear yesterday and noted that a "rope" passed through the eye of a needle and not the obligatory "camel".

As an exercise I went and looked up the aramaic word "fmgl" (root fmg) in the lexicon on this site and it displayed several meanings: camel, dromedary, and beam - but not rope!

Why is rope not in the lexicon? Or why is the word rope used and not camel in the interlinear translation?

Hello dph987,

Please note that the Lexicon on this website uses a very limited database created by The Way International, a research group based in Tennessee. It is not by any means a comprehensive work, it contains many errors, and it should not be used in the same manner as you would use a dictionary. It is mainly meant to be used as a quick search and reference tool.

Below is the relevant entry for "Gamla" (root fmg) in the Lexicon Syriacum (Bar-Bahlul, Bishop of the Church of the East, 963 AD)





Translation:

"Gamla is a thick rope (Aramaic "Khawla", Hebrew "Khevel") which is used to bind ships.", and he is quoting from previous lexicographers (such as Moshe bar-Kepha) who also explain how this very same thick rope was also used to tie heavy beams together. bar-Bahlul in the same entry goes on to explain that the rope that ties the beams and sides of wooden bridges is also called "Gamla."

Bar-Bahlul's Lexicon is the standard Lexicon for Aramaic/Syriac.

+Shamasha Paul