Gnat: Only in
(Matthew 23:24) a small two-winged stinging fly of the genus Culex,
which includes mosquitoes. Our Lord alludes here to the gnat in a
proverbial expression probably in common use, "who strain out the
gnat;" the words in the Authorized Version, "strain at a gnat," being
a mere typographical error, which has been corrected in the Revised
Version. The custom of filtering wine for this purpose was common
among the Jews. It was founded on
(Leviticus 11:23) It is supposed that the
"lice,"
(Exodus 8:16) (marg. R.V., "sand-flies"), were a species of gnat.
