NEEDLE

Since early times this slender tool with a sharp point at one end and a hole or “eye” at the other has been used for sewing with thread (or sometimes with leather strips) and for embroidering. (Ex. 28:6; 35:34, 35; Eccl. 3:7; Luke 5:36) While bone needles have been discovered at ancient sites, including some later ones made of ivory, bronze needles were generally used. They are very similar to present-day needles. Bronze needles varying in length from approximately one and a half to five and a half inches (c. 3.8 to 14 centimeters) have been found in Palestine. Some Egyptian bronze needles were from three to three and a half inches (c. 7.6 to 8.9 centimeters) long.