Answers about
dew in the Bible
Hebrew: טַל —transliteration: tal
Dew is a source of great fertility (Genesis 27:28; Deuteronomy 33:13; Zechariah 8:12), and its withdrawal is regarded as a curse from God (2 Samuel 1:21; 1 Kings 17:1).
It is the symbol of a multitude (2 Sam. 17:12; Psalm 110:3); and from its refreshing influence it is an emblem of brotherly love and harmony (Psalm 133:3), and of rich spiritual blessings (Hosea 14:5).
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Dew as God's Provision and Blessing
Dew represents God’s favor, fertility, and sustenance, akin to gentle rain.
Isaac’ blessing of his son Jacob: “May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.” —Genesis 27:28 ESV
Moses said of Joseph’s descendants: “Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven above, and of the deep that crouches beneath… with the finest produce of the ancient mountains… and the favor of him who dwells in the bush.” —Deuteronomy 33:13 ESV
“I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily… his beauty shall be like the olive.” —Hosea 14:5 ESV
Linking dew to Creation’s order— “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth… by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew” —Proverbs 3:19–20 ESV
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Dew in Prayer and Covenant Renewal
Symbolizing unity among brothers as refreshing and life-giving— “It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore” —Psalm 133:3 ESV
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Dew as a Metaphor for Transience or Fragility
God’s lament over Israel’s fleeting loyalty: “Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away.” —Hosea 6:4 ESV
“Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away…” —Hosea 13:3 ESV
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Dew in Miracles and Divine Intervention
Gideon’s fleece test): Gideon asks God to make dew appear only on a fleece (while the ground stays dry) and then reverse it, as a sign of victory over the Midianites. God complied both times. —Judges 6:36–40
Manna in the wilderness appeared with the evaporating dew: “In the morning dew lay around the camp… And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing…” —Exodus 16:13–14
Nebuchadnezzar's humiliation: The king is to be “wet with the dew of heaven” like a beast in the field for 7 years, symbolizing exposure and loss of reason. —Daniel 4:15, 23–25
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Dew Withheld as Judgment
Elijah’s prophecy, leading to an immediate year’s long drought in Israel: “There shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word” —1 Kings 17:1
“Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew… and I have called for a drought on the land…” —Haggai 1:10–11
More information
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