Bible Dictionary
Mote
A mote is a tiny splinter, particle, or piece of chaff that could enter the eye. Jesus used it to picture a small fault in another person while warning against ignoring a greater fault in oneself.
Definition
A mote is a minute, dry or light particle, such as a piece of straw, chaff, or a splinter of wood, that might enter the eye. The word can also describe a small moral defect.
Biblical Usage
Jesus used the mote in contrast with a beam to rebuke those who correct small faults in others while cherishing greater faults in themselves. The image appears in his teaching recorded in Matthew and Luke.
Historical Background
The term comes from a word describing something dry. Its biblical imagery reflects the annoyance and visibility of a small particle lodged in the eye.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Gr. karphos, something dry, hence a particle of wood or chaff, etc.). A slight moral defect is likened to a mote (Matt. 7:3-5; Luke 6:41, 42).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>mot (karphos): A minute piece of anything dry or light, as straw, chaff, a splinter of wood, that might enter the eye. Used by Jesus in Mt 7:3 ff; Lu 6:41 f in contrast with "beam," to rebuke officiousness in correcting small faults of others, while cherishing greater ones of our own.</p>