Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 6:38
And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
And it was so,…. The Lord condescended to work this miracle for the confirmation of his faith, and for the encouragement of those that were with him; the fleece was wet with the dew of heaven, and all the ground about it dry:
for he rose up early in the morning; being eagerly desirous of knowing whether his request would be granted, and how it would be with the fleece:
and thrust the fleece together; to satisfy himself whether the dew had fallen on it, and there was any moisture in it, which by being squeezed together he would more easily perceive:
and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water; so that it appeared it had not only fallen on it, but it had taken in a large quantity of it; the word here used is the same as in Jud 5:25
[See comments on Jud 5:25]; the Targum calls it a flagon.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(38) A bowl full of water.The word used for bowl is sphel, as in Jdg. 5:25.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
38. A bowl full of water Heavy dews are wont to fall in Palestine, especially on the highlands, and wool naturally absorbs much dew. Kitto says, that while travelling in some parts of western Asia he “often found cloaks of sheepskin, exposed to the open air, as heavy with dew as if they had been dipped in water.” The preternatural sign in this case of Gideon lay in the fact implied, but not stated, that, while the fleece was so heavy with dew, the ground all around was dry.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And it was so, for he rose up early on the next day, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a dish full of water.’
God graciously provided him with the sign he requested, so much so that a whole dish full of water was wrung from the fleece while the ground was bone dry. He was promised the dew of heaven.
But then he realised what a fool he had been. The fleece would naturally retain the dew, while the ground around may well have had time to dry out. He should have asked it the other way round.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
a bowl: Isa 35:7