TITTLE

tit'-'-l (keraia (Westcott-Hort, kerea), from keras, "a horn"): A small stroke or mark, specif. on a letter to denote accent, or as a diacritical mark; used only in Matthew 5:18 and Luke 16:17. In the first passage it is used in connection with iota, or jot, i.e. the very smallest thing, and in both it refers to the minutiae of the Law. It is well known that the scribes paid the greatest attention to such marks attached to the letters in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Massoretic Text of which abounds in them.

See JOT ; YODH .

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.