GNAT (כִנִּ֖ם, כֵּנ6, H4031, κώνωχ, lice KJV, ASV, gnats RSV, Exod 8:16ff; gnat, Matt 23:24, all Eng. VSS). Found in proverbial form in NT: “straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel.” This corrects a confusing tr. in KJV “strain at a gnat.” It refers to the orthodox habit of straining wine or drinking it through a piece of cloth to avoid ritual contamination by taking forbidden meat. Probably a general word for a small fly. The Gr. word is found today in Conopidae, a family of two-winged flies.

See Lice for full discussion of cause of third plague in Egypt.