David King: Widening the Eye of the Needle: The Peculiar Edition of Mark 10:17-31 in Clement of Alexandria's Quis Dives Salevtur

In his Quis Dives Salvetur, Who Is the Rich Man Who Shall Be Saved? Clement of Alexandria interprets the gospel story of the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17-31, Matt 19:16-30, Luke 18:18-30). The pericope has one of the more radical economic messages in the gospels, suggesting that “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to be saved.” Clement seeks to domesticate this message and make the church safe for well-to-do Christians. He does this through clever exegesis, but also through a very peculiar edition of the biblical text. Clement presents a unique version of the pericope, one that seems to be cobbled together with the goal of stripping the story of its radical edge. This paper examines Clement’s literary techniques and shows that before he has even turned to exegesis, Clement has already drastically changed the meaning of the text through edition.