[Steven Avery]

Hi Folks,

More ? Yes.

We find out that the knowledge of the usage was quite well-known. It turns out that the individual quotes, while helpful and supportive, are not absolutely necessary. Here are three sources that all speak of the fact that the King James Bible "strain at a gnat" was an accepted usage and not a misprint or printers error.

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http://www.dountoothers.org/curious42507-4.html
Heavens to Betsy - Charles Earle Funk (1955)

to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel

TO MAKE A FUSS OVER TRIFLES BUT ACCEPT GREAT FAULTS WITHOUT COMPLAINT.... strain at a gnat .... the translators of the King James Bible of 1611 were already familiar with this figure of speech. It had appeared in Lectures upon Jonas by Bishop John King, first printed in 1594, reprinted in 1599, in which the bishop himself said, “They have verified the olde proverbe in strayning at gnats and swallowing downe camells.”

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http://books.google.com/books?id=lriWCwsBDNwC
Dictionary of Christianity - Jean C. Cooper - 1996

"The Authorized Version's rendering is strain at a gnat which was not a mistake but established usage at the time." Greene in his Maxmilla (1583) speaks of "straining at a gnat and letting pass an elephant". p. 260

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http://tinyurl.com/6bvf65
The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable - by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer (2000)

To strain at a gnat and swallow a camel

To make much fuss about little peccadilloes, but commit offenses of real magnitude .. the Authorized Version rendering (to strain at) was in use well before the date of its issue (1611), so the at is not -- as has been sometimes stated -- a misprint or mistake for out. Greene in his Maxmilla (1583) speaks of "straining at a gnat and letting pass an elephant". It means, to strain the wine at finding a gnat in it, but was early taken to stand for to swallow with considerable effort, imposing a strain on one's throat.

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Shalom,
Steven