dew

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

Source of fertility (Gen. 27:28²⁸Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: (Genesis 27:28); Judg. 6:37-40³⁷Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. ³⁸And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. ³⁹And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. ⁴⁰And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. (Judges 6:37‑40)); object of rich imagery (Deut. 32:2²My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: (Deuteronomy 32:2); Job 29:19¹⁹My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. (Job 29:19); Psa. 133:3³As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. (Psalm 133:3)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

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Dew

Whatever may be said as to the source and cause of the dew, scripture shows that

1. It descends; it is called the dew “of heaven”; (Gen. 27:28, 39²⁸Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: (Genesis 27:28)
³⁹And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; (Genesis 27:39); Dan. 4:15-33¹⁵Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: ¹⁶Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. ¹⁷This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. ¹⁸This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. ¹⁹Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. ²⁰The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; ²¹Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: ²²It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. ²³And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; ²⁴This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: ²⁵That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. ²⁶And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. ²⁷Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. ²⁸All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. ³⁰The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? ³¹While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. ³²And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. ³³The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. (Daniel 4:15‑33)); “the clouds drop down the dew” (Prov. 3:20²⁰By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. (Proverbs 3:20)).

2. It falls in the night (Num. 11:9⁹And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. (Numbers 11:9); Job 29:19¹⁹My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. (Job 29:19)), and disappears when the sun arises in its strength (Ex. 16:14¹⁴And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. (Exodus 16:14); Hos. 6:4⁴O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. (Hosea 6:4); Hos. 13:3³Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney. (Hosea 13:3)).

3. It is a blessing, a refreshment sent by God, and withheld for a punishment, or in discipline (Psa. 133:3³As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. (Psalm 133:3); Isa. 26:19¹⁹Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. (Isaiah 26:19); Hag. 1:10¹⁰Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. (Haggai 1:10); 1 Kings 17:1¹And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. (1 Kings 17:1)). In the summer the dew is very copious in Palestine, and aids greatly in the cultivation of the land. It is typical of the refreshment and strengthening which God sends down upon His people during the night of the absence of their Lord. It will not be needed when the day breaks, and the Sun of righteousness arises with healing in His wings (Mal. 4:2²But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)).

Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:

Number:

2920 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)

Transliteration:

tal

Phonic:

tal

Meaning:

(Aramaic) the same as 2919

KJV Usage:

dew