Gnat

κωνωψ, Mat 23:24, a small-winged insect, comprehending a genus of the order of diptera. In those hot countries, as Servius remarks, speaking of the east, gnats and flies are very apt to fail into wine, if it be not carefully covered; and passing the liquor through a strainer, that no gnat or part of one might remain, became a proverb for exactness about little matters. This may help us to understand that passage, Mat 23:24, where the proverbial expression of carefully straining out a little fly from the liquor to be drunk, and yet swallowing a camel, intimates, that the scribes and Pharisees affected to scruple little things, and yet disregarded those of the greatest moment.

Our Savior’s allusion to the gnat is a kind of proverb, either in use in His time, or invented by Himself, ’Blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow down [bolt, as we say] a camel,’ Mat 23:24. He adopts the antithesis of the smallest insect to the largest animal, and applies it to those who are superstitiously anxious in avoiding small faults, yet do not scruple to commit their greatest sins. The typographical error, ’strain at a gnat,’ first found its way into King James’s translation, 1611. It is ’strain out’ in the previous translations. The custom of filtering wine, among the Jews, for this purpose, was founded on the prohibition of ’all flying, creeping things’ being used for food, excepting the saltatorii (Lev 11:23). According to the Talmud, eating a gnat incurred scourging or excommunication.

A small winged stinging insect, a mosquito, spoken of in the proverbial expression, Mat 23:24, "Ye strain at a gnat, and swallow in a camel," which should read, as it did in the first English translations, "Ye strain out a gnat," etc. The expression alludes to the Jewish custom of filtering wine, for fear of swallowing any insect forbidden by the law as unclean, Lev 11:23 ; and is applied to those who are superstitiously anxious in avoiding small faults, yet do not scruple to commit great sins.\par

Gnat. A species of mosquito mentioned only in the proverbial expression used by our Saviour in Mat 23:21.

Mat 23:24 translated, "ye strain out a gnat," namely, in filtering liquors. Figuratively for "ye are punctilious about trifles" while reckless of enormities.

(κώνωψ, Vulgate culex, occurs only in Mat 23:24), a small two- winged stinging fly, belonging to the genus culex (Linn. diptera, Latronne culicidae), which includes the mosquitoes. The common gnat scarcely yields to any insect in regard to the interesting facts which it presents to the naturalist. The following outline will recall the chief of them to the reader: The boat-shaped raft of eggs, which the parent gnat forms, and leaves upon the water, so admirably constructed that, though hollow, it neither becomes, filled with water, nor sinks even under the torrents of a thunder- shower; the aquatic larva, breathing, head, downwards, through its tufted spiracle; its hook with which it seizes the animalcules on which it feeds; the variations and even reverses of structure it undergoes in the pupa state, now swimming, head upwards, by means of its finlike tail, and breathing through spiracles placed behind the head; the amazing transformation it undergoes when raising its shoulders out of the water, and upon the bursting of the skin which had enveloped them, the perfect insect emerges, its former covering now serving as a life-boat during those few critical moments while it disengages and trims its wings for flight, and commences its existence a winged creature in a new element, and instantly begins to suck the juices of animals or vegetables, while "its shrill horn its fearful larum rings;" the complicated mechanism of its tube, which serves the purposes both of lancet and cuppins-glass, and of inserting a fluid for liquefying the blood, and making it flow more freely. The various organs, comprehended in so small a structure, excited the wonder of Pliny (Hist. Nat. 11:2), and attracted the notice of Socrates, as we learn from his poetical adversary Aristophanes (Nubes, 158); but the further discoveries of the microscope raise our wonder into a still higher prirmciple. "I dare boldly affirm," says Swammerdam, "that the incomprehensible greatness of Deity manifests itself in these mysterious operations in a particular manner, and affords an opportunity of examining, as it were with our senses, the "divine nature" (page 2, 51). The word κώνωψ seems to be the generic term for the gnat among the ancient Greek writers, under which they included several species, as we use the word "fly," and "the fly;" though they give distinct names to some species, as the word σέρφος, etc. Rosenmuller observes that the κώνωπες of the Greeks seem to be the epaemerce of Linnseus (apud Bochart, 3:444, 4to, Lips. 1793-6). Aristotle gives the name to a species whose larvae are bred in the lees of wine, which is thence called the culex vinasnus (Hist. An. 5:19). Pliny also refers to various species of gnats (Hist. Nat. 11:35; 17:27). We ourselves recognize several kinds under thee common name, as gall gnats, horse, wheat, winter (see Kirby and Spence, Introd. to Entomology). SEE FLY.

Our Savior’s allusion to the gnat is a kind of proverb, either in use in his tinme, or invented by himself; "Blind guides who strain out a gnat, and swallow down [bolt, as we say] a camel." He adopts the antithesis of the smallest insect to the largest animal, and applies it to those who are superstitiously anxious in avoiding small faults, yet do not scruple to commit the greatest sins. The typographical error, "strain at a gnat,’" first found it way into king James’s translation, 1611 (Trench, Auth. Vers. page 131). It is "strain out" in the previous translations. The custom of fil.tering wine, among the Jews, for this purpose, was founded on the prohibition of "all flying, creeping things" being sused for food, excepting the saltatori (Lev 11:23). The custom seems alluded to by the Sept., which in Amo 6:6 reads διυλισμένος οϊvνος, "filtered wine" — a passage having a similar scope. According to the Talmud, eating a gnat incurred scourging or excommunication (Vorstius, De Adaglis, N.T., page 771, ed. Fischer; Grief, Oraculum Christi contra percolantes culicem, etc., Lips. 1749).

The species referred to in the N.T. is thought by Bochart (Hieroz. 3:444) to be the Culeax vinarius, the יִבְחוּשּׁ, yabehcush, of the Talmud (Buxtorf, Lex. Talin. page 927, a). The Heb, כַּנַּיםkinaim (sing. כֵּן, Isa 2:6), which constituted one of the plagues upon Egypt (Exo 8:16 sq.; comp. Psa 105:31), are thought to have been a species of culesx or gnat (comp. Herod. 2:95), as these insects are very numerous in Egypt (Hasselquist, Trav. page 69; Maillet, Descr. de l’Egypte, 2:134, ed. Mascrier). SEE LICE.

The weapon with which the gnat or mosquito makes its attack is a long and slender proboscis, projecting from the miouth like a very fine laristle, and appearing to the naked eye quite simple. Under the magnifying power of the microscope, however, it is seen to be a flexible sheath (i) enclosing six distinct pieces, two of which are cutting. blades or hancets (g), two notched like a saw with reverted teeth (f), a tubular canal (e), and the central one an exceedingly acute point, which is also tubular (d). When the attack is made, the gnat brings the tip of the organ within its sheath to press upon the skin, into which it presently enters, the sheath remaining without and bending into an angle as the lancets descend. When the weapon has penetrated to its base — a distance of one sixth of an inch or more-the lancets move laterally, and thus cut the flesh on either side, promoting the flow of blood from the superficial vessels; at the same moment a highly irritative fluid is poured into the wound, which has the effect of diluting the blood, and thus of rendering it more capable of flowing up the slender central tube into the throat of the insect. It then sucks, if undisturbed, till its stomach is filled to repletion, leaving a painful tumor accompanied with an intolerable itching. It is the female gnat alone which is noxious; the male, whose proboscis is feathered, has no power of sucking blood.

The word κώνωψ is supposed to refer to any species of gnat or mosquito. Mat 23:24 should read ’strain out’ in contrast to ’swallowing.’

GNAT.—See Animals, p. 67^a.

See Fly; Insects.

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GNAT (Mat 23:24).—Various members of the Culicidœ, mosquitoes and true gnats, are found in Palestine; of the former, four species are known which are fever-bearing. These and such small insects are very apt to fall into food or liquid, and require to be ‘strained out’ (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ), especially in connexion with Lev 11:22; Lev 11:24. An Arab proverb well illustrates the ideas of Mat 23:24: ‘He eats an elephant and is suffocated by a gnat.’ In the RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] of Isa 51:6 ‘like gnats’ is suggested for ‘in like manner.’

E. W. G. Masterman.

nat (in English Versions of the Bible, only in Mat 23:24, κώνωψ, kō̇nōpš. In Exo 8:16, for English Versions of the Bible “lice,” one of the plagues of Egypt, כּנּם, kinnim, כּנּים ,minni, kinnı̄m, or כּנּם, kinnām, we find in the Revised Version, margin “sand flies” or “fleas” (Gesenius “gnat”; Mandelkern “culex”). For k^emō kēn (Isa 51:6), English Versions of the Bible “in like manner,” Septuagint ὡσπερ ταῦτα, hō̇sper taúta, Vulgate (Jerome’s Latin Bible, 390-405 ad) sicut haec, the Revised Version, margin has “like gnats” since כּן, kēn, elsewhere “thus,” may here be taken to be a singular of the form כּנּים, kinnı̄m, which occurs in Ex 8): In the New Testament passage, the difference between the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) should be noted. “Strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel” is changed to “strain out the gnat and swallow the camel,” the reference being to the inconsistency of the Jewish religious leaders in taking extraordinary pains in some things, as in the preparation of food, while leaving weightier matters unattended to.

In Isa 51:6, the suggestion of the Revised Version, margin, “They that dwell therein shall die like gnats,” seems a decided improvement on the “shall die in like manner” of English Versions of the Bible, especially as kēn, “thus” (see supra), is a repetition of k^emō, whose meaning is practically the same, “in like manner” being the rendering in English Versions of the Bible of k^emō kēň.

As to the creatures, kinnı̄m, of the Egyptian plague, there is little choice between “lice” of English Versions of the Bible and the others suggested, except as we may be influenced by the Septuagint rendering, sknı́phes, which may mean “gnats” or “mosquitoes.” See FLEA; LICE.

Mat 23:24 (a) The Lord JESUS used this insect as a type of the estimation we place upon sins or unpleasant things in our own lives; or little things in the lives of others to which we do not object. This is in comparison with the big animal, the camel, which represents the same kind of things in the lives of others, which we do not condone.

See Fly

A very small flying insect. The word, used in Matthew 23:24, is a general word for a small fly.

The third plague in Egypt before the exodus consisted of gnats (Exodus 8:16–18; Psalm 105:31). The King James Version translates the Hebrew word as "lice." But, Exodus 8 describes the breeding pattern as insects rising from the dust. This more likely describes gnats rather than lice.

Since “gnat” is a general term, the small flies of that plague may have included several small species such as mosquitos, harvester gnats, midges, or sand flies.

The sand fly has a far more painful bite than the mosquito. Further, it does not make a buzzing noise in flight and is so small that it can pass through most mosquito netting.

Gnats were attracted to wine while it was fermenting. The Pharisees, in particular, would strain their wine to avoid consuming ritually unclean insects (Matthew 23:24).

Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.