Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 23:24
[Ye] blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
24. strain out a gnat ] A correction for the reading of E. V. “strain at a gnat;” the reading in the text appears in the earlier editions of the English Bible from Tyndale to Bishops’ Bible. See Cambridge Paragraph Bible, Introd., Appendix A. The reading of the E. V. is not a misprint, as some have thought; “to strain at” meant, to strain the wine on the occurrence of a gnat.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Which strain at a gnat … – This is a proverb. There is, however, a mistranslation or misprint here, which makes the verse unmeaning. To strain at a gnat conveys no sense. It should have been to strain out a gnat; and so it is printed in some of the earlier versions, and so it was undoubtedly rendered by the translators. The common reading is a misprint, and should be corrected. The Greek means to strain out by a cloth or sieve.
A gnat – The gnat has its origin in the water; not in great rivers, but in pools and marshes In the stagnant waters they appear in the form of small grubs or larvae. These larvae retain their form about three weeks, after which they turn to chrysalids, and after three or four days they pass to the form of gnats. They are then distinguished by their well-known sharp sting. It is probable that the Saviour here refers to the insect as it exists in its grub or larva form, before it appears in the form of a gnat. Water is then its element, and those who were nice in their drink would take pains to strain it out. Hence, the proverb. See Calmets Dict., art. Gnat. It is used here to denote a very small matter, as a camel is to denote a large object. You Jews take great pains to avoid offence in very small matters, superstitiously observing the smallest points of the law, like a man carefully straining out the animalculae from what he drinks, while you are at no pains to avoid great sins – hypocrisy, deceit, oppression, and lust – like a man who should swallow a camel. The Arabians have a similar proverb: He eats an elephant, and is suffocated with a gnat. He is troubled with little things, but pays no attention to great matters.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 24. Blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.] This clause should be thus translated: Ye strain out the gnat, but ye swallow down the camel. In the common translation, Ye strain AT a gnat, conveys no sense. Indeed, it is likely to have been at first an error of the press, AT for OUT, which, on examination, I find escaped in the edition of 1611, and has been regularly continued since. There is now before me, “The Newe Testament, (both in Englyshe and in Laten,) of Mayster Erasmus translacion, imprynted by Wyllyam Powell, dwellynge in Flete strete: the yere of our Lorde M.CCCCC.XLVII. the fyrste yere of the kynges (Edwd. VI.) moste gracious reygne.” in which the verse stands thus: “Ye blinde gides, which strayne out a gnat, and swalowe a cammel.” It is the same also in Edmund Becke’s Bible, printed in London 1549, and in several others. – Clensynge a gnatte. – MS. Eng. Bib. So Wickliff. Similar to this is the following Arabic proverb [Arabic]. He eats an elephant and is choked by a gnat.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
It is a proverbial expression used amongst them, against such as would pretend a great niceness and scrupulosity about, and zeal for, little things, but in matters of much higher concern and moment were not nice and scrupulous at all: and this indeed is both a certain note and an ordinary practice of hypocrites. There is no man that is sincere in his obedience to God, but hath respect to all Gods commandments, Psa 119:6. Though some duties be greater, of more moment for the honour and glory of God, than others, which a good man will lay the greatest stress upon, yet he will neglect nothing which the law of God enjoins him. But concerning hypocrites, these two things are always true:
1. They are partial in their pretended obedience.
2. They always lay the greatest stress upon the least things of the law, bodily labour and exercise, and those things which require least of the heart, and least self-denial.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. Ye blind guides, which strain ata gnatThe proper renderingas in the older Englishtranslations, and perhaps our own as it came from the translators’handsevidently is, “strain out.” It was the custom, saysTRENCH, of the stricterJews to strain their wine, vinegar, and other potables through linenor gauze, lest unawares they should drink down some little uncleaninsect therein and thus transgress (Lev 11:20;Lev 11:23; Lev 11:41;Lev 11:42) just as theBuddhists do now in Ceylon and Hindustanand to this custom oftheirs our Lord here refers.
and swallow a camelthelargest animal the Jews knew, as the “gnat” was thesmallest; both were by the law unclean.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Ye blind guides,…. As in Mt 23:16
who strain at a gnat and swallow a camel: the Syriac and Persic versions read the words in the plural number, gnats and camels. The Jews had a law, which forbid them the eating of any creeping thing,
Le 11:41 and of this they were strictly observant, and would not be guilty of the breach of it for ever so much.
“One that eats a flea, or a gnat; they say p is , “an apostate”;”
one that has changed his religion, and is no more to be reckoned as one of them. Hence they very carefully strained their liquors, lest they should transgress the above command, and incur the character of an apostate; and at least, the penalty of being beaten with forty stripes, save one; for,
“whoever eats a whole fly, or a whole gnat, whether alive or dead, was to be beaten on account of a creeping flying thing q.”
Among the accusations Haman is said to bring against them to Ahasuerus, and the instances he gives of their laws being different from the king’s, this one r; that
“if a fly falls into the cup of one of them, , “he strains it, and drinks it”; but if my lord the king should touch the cup of one of them, he would throw it to the ground, and would not drink of it.”
Maimonides says s,
“He that strains wine, or vinegar, or strong liquor, and eats “Jabchushin” (a sort of small flies found in wine cellars t, on account of which they strained their wine), or gnats, or worms, which he hath strained off, is to be beaten on account of the creeping things of the water, or on account of the creeping flying things, and the creeping things of the water.”
Moreover, it is said u,
“a man might not pour his strong liquors through a strainer, by the light (of a candle or lamp), lest he should separate and leave in the top of the strainer (some creeping thing), and it should fail again into the cup, and he should transgress the law, in Le 11:41.”
To this practice Christ alluded here; and so very strict and careful were they in this matter, that to strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel, became at length a proverb, to signify much solicitude about little things, and none about greater. These men would not, on any consideration, be guilty of such a crime, as not to pay the tithe of mint, anise, and cummin, and such like herbs and seeds; and yet made no conscience of doing justice, and showing mercy to men, or of exercising faith in God, or love to him. Just as many hypocrites, like them, make a great stir, and would appear very conscientious and scrupulous, about some little trifling things, and yet stick not, at other times, to commit the grossest enormities, and most scandalous sins in life.
p T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 26. 2. & Horaiot, fol. 11. 1. q Mainon. Hilch. Maacolot Asurot, c. 2. sect. 22. r T. Bab. Megilla, fol, 13. 2. Vid. T. Hietos. Sota, fol. 17. 1. s Ubi supra, (Mainon. Hilch. Maacolot Asurot, c. 2.) sect. 20. t Gloss. in T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 67. 1. u Ib.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Strain out the gnat ( ). By filtering through (), not the “straining at” in swallowing so crudely suggested by the misprint in the A.V.
Swallow the camel ( ). Gulping or drinking down the camel. An oriental hyperbole like that in 19:24. See also Matt 5:29; Matt 5:30; Matt 17:20; Matt 21:21. Both insects and camels were ceremonially unclean (Lev 11:4; Lev 11:20; Lev 11:23; Lev 11:42). “He that kills a flea on the Sabbath is as guilty as if he killed a camel” (Jer. Shabb. 107).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Strain at [] . dia, thoroughly or through, and uJlizw, to filter or strain. Strain at is an old misprint perpetuated. Hence the Rev. correctly, as Tynd., strain out. Insects were ceremonially unclean (Lev 11:20, 23, 41, 42), so that the Jews strained their wine in order not to swallow any unclean animal. Moreover, there were certain insects which bred in wine. Aristotle uses the word gnat [] of a worm or larva found in the sediment of sour wine. “In a ride from Tangier to Tetuan I observed that a Moorish soldier who accompanied me, when he drank, always unfolded the end of his turban and placed it over the mouth of this bota, drinking through the mulin to strain out the gnats, whose larvae swarm in the water of that country” (cited by Trench, ” On the Authorized Version “).
Swallow [] . The rendering is feeble. It is drink down [] ; gulp. Note that the camel was also unclean (Lev 11:4).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
24. Blind guides. This is s proverbial saying, by which he beautifully describes the affected scrupulousness of hypocrites about trifling matters; for they utterly shrink from very small faults, as if a single transgression appeared to them more revolting than a hundred deaths, and yet they freely permit themselves and others to commit the most heinous crimes. They act as absurdly as if a man were to strain out a small crumb of bread, and to swallow a whole loaf.
Straining out (101) a gnat, and swallowing a camel. We know that a gnat is a very small animal, and that a camel is a huge beast. Nothing therefore could be more ridiculous than to strain out the wine or the water, so as not to hurt the jaws by swallowing a gnat, and yet carelessly to gulp down a camel. (102) But it is evident that hypocrites amuse themselves with such distinctions; for while they pass by judgment, mercy, and faith, and even tear in pieces the whole Law, they are excessively rigid and severe in matters that are of no great importance; and while in this way they pretend to kiss the feet of God, they proudly spit in his face.
(101) In rendering the words, οἱ διυλιζοντες τὸυ κύνωπα, Campbell resorts to a circumlocution, who strain your liquor, to avoid swallowing a gnat; and he adds the following note:— E.T. Who strain at a gnat. I do not understand the import of this expression. Some have thought that it has sprung originally from a mere typographical error of some printer, who has made it strain at, instead of strain out.” — The conjecture mentioned by Campbell is strongly confirmed by the earlier English versions. “Blinde leders; clensenge a gnat, but swolowynge a camel.” — (Wyclif, 1380.) “Ye blinde gydes, which strayne out a gnat, and swalowe a cammyll.” — (Tyndale, 1534.) “Ye blynde gydes, which strayne out a gnat, and swalowe a camell.” — (Cranmer, 1539.) “Ye blynde gydes, which strayne out a gnate, and swalow a cammel.” — (Geneva, 1557.) “Blinde guides, that strain a gnat, and swallow a camel.” — (Rheims, 1582.) The coincidence of those versions in supporting the true reading is very remarkable, and the substitution of at for out is more likely to have been the effect of accident than of design. — Ed.
(102) “ Et cependant ne faire point de difficulté d’engloutir un chameau tout entier;” — “and yet make no difficulty about swallowing a whole camel.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(24) Strain at a gnat.Better, as in Tyndales and other earlier versions, strain out. It is sometimes said that the present rendering of the Authorised version is but the perpetuation of a printers blunder; but of this there is scarcely sufficient evidence, nor is it probable in itself. In the Greek both nouns have the emphasis of the article, the gnatthe camel. The scrupulous care described in the first clause of the proverbial saying was literally practised by devout Jews (as it is now by the Buddhists of Ceylon), in accordance with Lev. 11:23; Lev. 11:42. In the second clause, the camel appears, not only, as in Mat. 19:24, as the type of vastness, but as being among the unclean beasts of which the Israelites might not eat (Lev. 11:4).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
24. Strain at a gnat Rather strain out a gnat. Our Lord here uses a proverbial figure, by which a person in drinking is represented as filtrating a gnat from the liquid, while he will at another time swallow down a camel. It is a physical impossibility, indeed, but its meaning is none the less possible in matters of religion and morality.
Alford remarks: “The straining of a gnat is not a mere proverbial saying. The Jews (as do now the Budhists in Ceylon and Hindostan) strained their wine, etc., carefully, that they might not violate Lev 11:20; Lev 11:23; Lev 11:41-42, (and it might be added Lev 17:10-14.) The camel is not only opposed as of immense size, but is also unclean.” Indeed, in warm countries, where insect life is exceedingly exuberant, straining liquors for drinking is often necessary.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“You blind guides, who strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel!”
He summarises their position by a huge contrast. The gnat (qamla) was one of the smallest of creatures, the camel (gamla) the largest in Palestine. Note the play on words in the Aramaic. They are so one-sided in vision spiritually that when they see that a gnat (qamla) has fallen into their drink they carefully strain it out in order not to partake of an ‘unclean’ creeping thing, but when a camel (gamla) falls into the drink (equally ‘unclean’) they swallow it down without even noticing it. The point is that they are such blind guides that they concentrate on dealing with the small things with great care, and practically ignore the big things altogether, without bothering to consider them. They spend hours splitting their dill and cummin into tenths and nine tenths, and ensuring that they have missed none, and even include mint which was not necessarily titheable, and yet they pass over justice, mercy and faithfulness as though they did not matter. They are too busy with the intricate details to spend much time on large matters.
Note that in the fourth blessing (Mat 5:6) the blessed are to be filled with righteousness, which they hunger and thirst after. But these, while avoiding an unclean gnat, will be filled with an unclean camel which they did not even notice!
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 23:24 . The Jews were in the habit of straining their wine ( ., Plut. Mor . p. 692 D), in order that there might be no possibility of their swallowing with it any unclean animal, however minute (Lev 11:42 ). Buxtorf, Lex. Talm . p. 516. Comp. the liquare vinum of the Greeks and Romans; Mitscherlich, ad Hor. Od . i. 11. 7; Hermann, Privatalterth . xxvi. 17. Figurative representation of the painful scrupulosity with which the law was observed.
] a kind of attraction for percolando removentes muscam ( that found in the wine , .), just as in classical writers the phrase is often used to express the removing of anything by cleansing (Hom. Il . xiv. 171, xvi. 667; Dio Cass. xxxvii. 52). is not a worm found in sour wine (Bochart, Bleek), but, as always, a gnat . In its attempt to suck the wine, it falls in amongst it.
. .] proverbial expression, Euthymius Zigabenus. Observe at the same time that the camel is an unclean animal, Lev 11:4 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Ver. 24. Which strain at a gnat, &c. ] A proverbial speech, warranting the lawful use of such expressions for illustration of a truth. The Greeks have a like proverb, , to gargle down an image, statue, or coloss; that is, to make no bones of a foul fault when matters of less moment are much scrupled. Saul kept a great stir about eating the flesh with the blood, when he made nothing of shedding innocent blood, 1Sa 14:33 . Doeg was detained before the Lord by some voluntary vow belike, 1Sa 21:7 . But better he had been further off, for any good he did there. The priests made conscience of putting the price of blood into the treasury, Mat 27:6 , who yet made no conscience of imbruing their hands in the innocent blood of the Lamb of God. The Begardi and Beginnae, a certain kind of heretics, A.D. 1322, held this mad opinion, that a man might here attain to perfection, and that having attained to it, he might do whatsoever his nature led him to; that fornicari peccatum non esse reputabant: at mulieri osculum figere mortale facinus arbitrabantur, fornication was no sin, but to kiss a woman was a mortal wickedness, &c. a Archbishop Bancroft fell foul upon Master Paul Bayn, for a little black-work-edging about his cuffs, threatening to lay him by the heels for it, when far greater faults in others were winked at.
a Funcc. Chron. ex Massei, xviii.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 23:24 . ( and , Passow), a little used word, for which Hesychius gives as a synonym, , to strain through. , , the gnat, the camel: article as usual in proverbial sayings. The proper object of the former part is : straining the wine so as to remove the unclean midge. Swallowing the camel is a monstrous supposition, but relevant, the camel being unclean, chewing the cud but not parting the hoof (Lev 11:4 ). The proverb clinches the lesson of the previous verse.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
which, &c. Figure of speech Paroemia. App-6.
strain = habitually filter out. Greek. diulizo. Occ- only here.
at. A mistake perpetuated in all editions of the Authorized Version. All “the former translations” had “out”.
a = the: which makes it read like a proverb.
gnat. Greek. konops. Occurs only here.
swallow = gulp down: Eng. drink up.
camel. An unclean animal. See Lev 11:4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 23:24. , the gnat) They who object to swallowing a camel should not be found fault with for merely straining a gnat,[1006] such being far from our Lords intention: for no one can safely swallow a gnat, which may choke him. A beam is the worse of the two, and yet a chip[1007] is not disregarded, even in the hand, much more in the eye. See ch. Mat 7:5. The noun is a word of common gender, and signifies a gnat, properly one belonging to wine, which easily falls into a strainer.[1008]
[1006] The clause rendered by E. V., who strain at a gnat, is interpreted more correctly by Bengel, who strain a gnat, on which Alford observes in loc., The straining the gnat is not a mere proverbial saying. The Jews (as do now the Buddists in Ceylon and Hindostan) strained their wine, etc., carefully, that they might not violate Lev 11:20; Lev 11:23; Lev 11:41-42 (and it might be added, Lev 17:10-14). The camel is not only opposed as of immense size, but is also unclean.-(I. B.)
[1007] In the original, Festuca, corresponding to the English word, Mote; the meaning of which, in Mat 7:3 (which is here referred to), is not a mote such as we see in sunbeams, but a small particle of straw. I know of no English word that now corresponds to this idea: it is something between a chip and a speck.-(I. B.)
[1008] The wine-gnat, according to Rosenmller, is found in wine when turning acid. The Jews used to strain out their wines through a napkin or strainer, to prevent this wine-gnat being swallowed unawares. See Buxtorf on the root . Beng. wishes to guard us against the abuse of this passage, whereby it is often said to those who are careful in the greater duties, when particular also on minor points, Oh! you are straining at a gnat. They forget that Jesus does not object to tenderness of conscience as to moral gnats, but to those who, whilst scrupulous as to gnats, are unscrupulous as to moral camels, Ecc 10:1.-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mat 7:4, Mat 15:2-6, Mat 19:24, Mat 27:6-8, Luk 6:7-10, Joh 18:28, Joh 18:40
Reciprocal: Job 20:18 – swallow Psa 119:99 – than all Ecc 7:16 – Be not Isa 60:2 – the darkness Mat 12:45 – Even Mat 22:36 – General Mat 23:16 – ye blind Mar 2:24 – why Mar 10:25 – General Luk 6:2 – Why Luk 18:12 – I give Luk 18:25 – a camel
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3:24
The point in this verse is the same as in the preceding one but expressed with different terms. Both the gnat and camel were among the creatures classed as unclean by the law of Moses. When the Jews made wine they strained i t through a fine cloth to get out all the objectionable objects. Strain at should be translated strain out, and means they were so particular about having the wine pure they would strain out a gnat, but would swallow a camel (figuratively speaking). The meaning is, they would make a big ado about minor matters but overlook the duties of great importance.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 23:24. Strain out the gnat, i.e., to filter wine, so as to avoid swallowing a gnat. The common version may have been intended to express this, but more probably contains a misprint. The saying is proverbial; this straining actually took place to avoid defilement (Lev 11:20; Lev 11:23; Lev 11:41-42). The same custom obtains among the Buddhists.
And swallow the camel, i.e., indulge in the greatest impurities. The camel was one of the largest of the impure animals forbidden for food. (Lev 11:4 : it did not divide the hoof.) Besides to swallow it, would be to eat blood and what was strangled. What was impossible literally, is only too possible figuratively. The reality of Pharisaic sin exceeds the figure.