What is a jot? What is a tittle?

What is a “jot”? The smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet, answering to the letter, “I,” in our English alphabet.

Connected with this is a similar Scripture: "Verily, I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled" (Matt. 5:18). This reminds us of another passage in the 119th Psalm: "Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." How careful our Lord was to magnify the word of God — to guard against the thought that He had come to deny it or set it aside, save as it was fulfilled. The "jot and tittle," as you know, were the smallest marks in the Hebrew alphabet, the jot, or yodh, answering to our "i" — a very small letter in Hebrew — and the tittle not a letter at all, but a small mark to distinguish one letter from another; so that we might paraphrase it, "not a dot to an 'i,' or a cross to a 't.' "

Last, but not least, the Lord said, “Till heaven and earth shall pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.” The “jot” or “yod” is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, whilst the tittle is the little horn or point which distinguishes one letter from another very alike, so that inspiration is here claimed for even a single letter and even a part of a letter.

Supposed to refer to the smallest points in the Hebrew letters that distinguish one from another, as ב <span style="font-family: 'H ebraica'">b</span> differing from כ <span style="font-family: 'H ebraica'">k</span> . The least point of the law must be fulfilled. Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17.

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

The iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet (like the yod in Hebrew), and the tittle is a hook-shaped mark which in Hebrew distinguishes various letters which would otherwise be the same. If according to the words of our Lord not even the smallest parts of the written law will pass away, how much less the instructions once given by God! What a testimony to the verbal inspiration of this part of the Word of God, the Bible! Nothing of the law will pass away until it has been fulfilled in the millennium in a way that has never before been the case in the history of Israel. The words "till all be fulfilled" (cf. Luke 21: 32) point to the future time of the glorious reign of Christ as King, in which all the Old Testament prophecies will be fulfilled and all the words of the law will be observed.

While Christ has certainly introduced a new dispensation of God, He is emphatic in declaring that He in no way destroys the truth of the Old Testament, the law and the prophets. Rather, He fulfills or completes the truth of these in no uncertain way. Not one jot, the smallest letter in the Hebrew language; nor one tittle, the tiniest point that would distinguish one letter from another, will fail. The original Scriptures therefore, as God gave them in the Hebrew language, are absolute perfection. We may say the same of the new Testament in the Greek language.

On the other hand, the Lord Jesus quoted many an Old Testament Scripture as authoritative. Did He not say, "It is written" (Matt. 4:4, 6-7) three times, quoting passages from Deuteronomy when resisting the Devil in the temptation in the wilderness? In the Sermon on the Mount we read, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law [the law, a term covering the five books of Moses], till all be fulfilled" (Matt. 5:17-18). This is a particular affirmation of the authority and inspiration of the Old Testament. A jot is the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet; the tittle, a little mark on a letter to distinguish it from another letter, so alike that a mistake might be made were the mark not there. Some people are afraid of the word verbal inspiration, but our Lord goes further, and tells us every letter and mark is authoritative.

And lastly, we have seen how the Lord appealed to the very jot and tittle as being necessary—jot, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet; tittle, the smallest mark or form used to distinguish letters which are so similar as to be easily mistaken.

The Lord came to give a largeness to the law, to fill it out, so to speak (ver. 4 ). The books of Moses, the Pentateuch, are distinguished sometimes from the prophets, as "the law." Sometimes the word "law" is used as in Psalm 1 to denote all that God is pleased to reveal. In other places it means the ceremonial law; we must not make it always mean the same. The One who had given the law is speaking here with authority. "I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled." Jot and tittle — not the dot of an "i," nor the cross of a "t" of His whole revealed word shall pass till all be fulfilled. This is exceedingly sweet to us. What an inestimable treasure we have in His word, which God has given us. It is more stable than heaven or earth, more substantial, more lasting; and that is what we have to build on for eternity! How careful then should we be lest in any way we corrupt God's word! The Pharisees made it void and set it aside by their traditions. The Lord Jesus brings it in when they found fault with His disciples for not washing before food. Then the Lord showed them they were the ones to be judged because they made void the law through their traditions. They brought in a tradition which said, 'I have given that to God, and so I need not care for father or mother'; thus nullifying the law.