Jot

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

JOT. —This modern spelling of the Authorized Version, followed by Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885, which has discarded the 16th cent. ‘iote’ (in Tindale, Coverdale, Cranmer ‘iott’) of Rhemish, Bishops’, Authorized Version (1611), somewhat obscures the etymology of the word, which is simply a transliteration of the Greek term (ἸῶΤΑ = ‘i’). Wyclif’s translation and paraphrase (‘oon i, that is lest lettre ’) was not adopted by any of the subsequent English versions. The Greek trisyllable being pronounced ‘jota’ (cf. Spanish ‘jota,’ German ‘jota,’ ‘jodt,’ ‘jott,’ ‘jot’), the reduction to the monosyllable ‘iote’ (pronounced ‘jote’) with its variants ‘ioyt,’ ‘ioit’ (Scots form: see J. Knox, Hist. Ref . 1572, Wks. 1846, i. 107; and Davidson, Commend. Vprichtnes , 152 (1573), in Satir. P. Ref. xl.) and ‘iott,’ was natural and normal. The German authorized version is still Luther’s paraphrase: ‘der kleinste Buchstabe’ for which Weizsäcker prefers the transliteration: ‘ein Jota,’ while the French versions also transliterate: ‘un (seul) iota.’

The proverbial phrase ἰῶτα ἒν ἣ μία κεραία ( Matthew 5:18 only) derives its point from the fact that ἰῶτα in the Greek alphabet, like its equivalent letter and original yod in the Hebrew, is the smallest character. In fact, as Dr. Hastings notes ( s.v. in D B [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] ), the yod being more distinctively the smallest, provides an argument in favour of those who regard Aramaic as the language of Jesus.

After Tindale’s introduction of the word (1526), its meaning, derived from the passage above cited, was not so much ‘the least letter or written part of any writing,’ as in a more general application ‘the very least,’ ‘a whit,’ and was usually preceded by a negative expressed or implied. Thus: Bale (1538), God’s Promises , iii. in Dodsley O. Pl. i. 1: ‘I wyll not one iote, Lord, from thy wyll dyssent’; Shakspeare (1596), Merch. of Ven .: ‘This bond doth giue thee here no iot of bloud’; Spenser (1595), Sonnets , lvii.: ‘That wonder is how I should liue a iot.’

P. Henderson Aitken.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Ἰῶτα (Strong'S #2503 — Noun Neuter — iota — ee-o'-tah )

from the Heb. yod, the smallest Hebrew letter, is mentioned by the Lord in  Matthew 5:18 (together with keraia, "a little horn, a tittle, the point or extremity" which distinguishes certain Hebrew letters from others) to express the fact that not a single item of the Law will pass away or remain unfulfilled.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Matthew 5:18 (a) This is "jod" of the Hebrew alphabet. It occurs just before  Psalm 119:73. It has a numerical value of ten and is used in the Hebrew language both as a letter and as a number and also as an article by which the value and meaning of another letter is changed. It is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Our Lord uses it to show the very great care which He exercises over the smallest details of the Scripture.

King James Dictionary

JOT, n. Heb. yod. An iota a point a tittle the least quantity assignable.

Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law till all shall be fulfilled.  Matthew 5

A man may read much, and acquire not a jot of knowledge, or be a jot the wiser.

JOT, To set down to make a memorandum of.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Jot. The English form of the Greek iota , that is, the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet. The Hebrew form is yod , or y . Formed like a comma. It is used metaphorically, to express the minutest thing.  Matthew 5:18.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Jot, the English form of the Greek Iota, I.E., the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet. The Hebrew Yod, or Y formed somewhat like a comma ('). It is used metaphorically to express the minutest thing.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A word which comes from the name of the Greek letter iota and the Hebrew yod. It is the smallest letter of these alphabets; and is therefore put for the smallest thing or particle; which is also its meaning in English,  Matthew 5:18 . See Tittle .

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( v. t.) To set down; to make a brief note of; - usually followed by down.

(2): ( n.) An iota; a point; a tittle; the smallest particle. Cf. Bit, n.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

This refers to the Hebrew letter yod , the smallest letter in the language.  Matthew 5:18 . The word used is iota , which is the Greek equivalent for the same letter.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Matthew 5:18

Holman Bible Dictionary

Dot

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

or, rather, IOTA ( Ι᾿Ω͂τα ), the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet ( Ι ), derived from the Hebrew Yod ( י ), and answering to the I ( J ) or Y of European languages. Its name was employed metaphorically to express the minutest trifle. It is in fact, one of several metaphors derived from the alphabet, as when Alpha, the first letter, and Omega, the last, are employed to express the beginning and the end. We are not to suppose, however, that this proverb was exclusively apposite in the Greek language. The same practical allusion equally existed in Hebrew, some curious examples of which may be seen in Wetstein and Lightfoot. One of these may here suffice: In the Talmud ( Sanhed. 20, 2) it is fabled that the book of Deuteronomy came and prostrated itself before God, and said, "O Lord of the universe, thou hast written in me thy law, but now a testament defective in some parts is defective in all. Behold, Solomon endeavors to root the letter jod out of me" (i.e. in the text, לאֹ ירְבֶּה נָשׁי , "he shall not multiply wives,"  Deuteronomy 17:17). "The holy, blessed God answered Solomon, and a thousand such as he, shall perish, but the least word shall not perish out of thee." This is, in fact, a parallel not only to the usage, but the sentiment, as conveyed in  Matthew 5:18, "One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law." — Kitto. The propriety of the use of this letter for such a proverb is especially evident from the fact that it is the smallest letter of the Heb. alphabet likewise, being, in fact, often dispensed with as a Mater Lectionis, and very liable to be omitted in writing or mistaken for a part of some other letter. (See Tittle).

Jotapata.

(See Jiphthah-El).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

jot  : "Jot" (Revised Version, later editions of the King James Version) is a corruption of iote (early editions of the King James Version, Geneva, Rheims, Bishops' - pronounced i - ō´te , an English transliteration of ιῶτα , iōta , the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet (  Matthew 5:18 parallel). "Iota," in turn, is the nearest Greek equivalent for the Hebrew yōdh י , the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in New Testament times being little larger than an English accent (´). The tittle (which see) is the smallest part of a letter (not part of a ,י however). Consequently, thinking of the law as written out, the sense of   Matthew 5:17 , is: "From this code, so written, not the smallest letter nor part of a letter - not an 'i' nor the crossing of a 't' - shall be erased until all things come to pass." (For the meaning, see Law .) The reference is to the synagogue rolls, which were written in Hebrew, so that the passage has no bearing on the language used by Christ. For the form of the "jot," compare the tables in Hdb , article "Alphabet," more fully in Chwolson,. Corp. Inscr. Hebrew . (1882). See Tittle .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Jot, properly Iota, designates the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet ( ); derived from the Hebrew jod ( י‎) and employed metaphorically to express the minutest trifle. It is, in fact, one of several metaphors derived from the alphabet—as when alpha, the first letter, and omega, the last, are employed to express the beginning and the end.