Hi Folks
And it was not just Matthew Poole and Matthew Henry in that first century that had no difficulties with 'strain at a gnat'. (Noting that we see that Matthew Henry perceptively uses 'strain at'.) The same is true for all the other commentaries in that period.
David Dickson (1640) explains the proverb as meaning:
"The preciseness of hypocrites is no less ridiculous than if a man should make nice to swallow a midge or a smaller matter, and not stand to swallow down a greater matter, as it were an horse or a camel. ..."
Henry Hammond (1653)
John Trapp (c.1660)
Daniel Whitby (1703)
Edward Wells (c. 1720)
All simply accept and comment on the Bible phrase. Some of these may be available through the efforts of folks on the Sharper Iron forum.
Now of course the misprint canard should never have come to play with 150 years of solid KJB editions. And the evidences of usages before 1610 (now varied and wide-ranging) busted this canard long ago.
This is yet another additional confirmation. Seven major commentators over the next century accepted 'strain at a gnat' without scruple or concern. Matthew Henry actively used the phrase as part of his exposition. Not one single objection known in that period.
(Dates above are generally approximate. Morison in the 1800s reviewed the literature.)
Shalom,
Steven
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