{One jot or one tittle} (i(9374)a hen (8820)mia kerea). "Not an
iota, not a comma" (Moffatt), "not the smallest letter, not a
particle" (Weymouth). The iota is the smallest Greek vowel, which
Matthew here uses to represent the Hebrew _yod_ (jot), the
smallest Hebrew letter. "Tittle" is from the Latin _titulus_
which came to mean the stroke above an abbreviated word, then any
small mark. It is not certain here whether kerea means a little
horn, the mere point which distinguishes some Hebrew letters from
others or the "hook" letter _Vav_. Sometimes _yod_ and _vav_ were
hardly distinguishable. "In _Vay_. R. 19 the guilt of altering
one of them is pronounced so great that if it were done the world
would be destroyed" (McNeile).