“gnat ... camel.” The illustration combines the figures hyperbole (exaggeration) and hypocatastasis (comparison by implication; see commentary on Rev. 20:2). The “gnat” is the small things, while the “camel” represents the big things. The illustration was made more emotionally graphic to the Jews because the camel was an unclean animal and could not be eaten at all. For Jesus to imply that the Jews swallowed a camel would have been extremely offensive to them.