He was not widely known until the controversy over William Wall's work on infant baptism appeared.
He studied at Leiden University and received a Master of Arts degree and Ph.D. in 1699.
[2] Gale was a superb scholar of Hebrew, Greek and Latin, and he combatted Wall's patristic readings by arguing that the antiquity of infant baptism is not certain.
Gale began preaching at Paul's Alley Barbican, but he was never ordained and would not accept a regular position.
He left little money for his widow, and congregationalists collected a subscription to enable her to open a coffee shop in Finch Lane, London.