Dew: tal, masculine noun (Strong’s 2919)
Sounds like: tahl
Root: טַל
For the next few weeks we’re going to dive into “sky stuff”. There’s a beautiful speech made by YHWH in the book of Job where He made it clear that Job really didn’t understand the vast responsibilities of being the Creator of the Universe. In that speech we are introduced to just how much sky stuff (snow, hail, rain, dew, frost, ice, clouds, water) was essential to the planet’s functioning:
Job 38:22-38
[YHWH:] “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, and have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for a time of distress, for a day of war and battle?
Where is the way that the light is divided, and the east wind scattered on the earth? Who has split open a channel for the flood, and a way for the thunderbolt, to bring rain on a land without people, on a desert without a person in it, to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the seeds of grass to sprout?
Does the rain have a father? Or who has fathered the drops of dew [tal טָֽל]? From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth? Water becomes hard like stone, and the surface of the deep is imprisoned.
Can you tie up the chains of the Pleiades, or untie the cords of Orion? Can you bring out a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear with her satellites? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, or do you establish their rule over the earth?
Can you raise your voice to the clouds, so that an abundance of water will cover you? Can you send flashes of lightning, so that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
Who has put wisdom in the innermost being, or given understanding to the mind? Who can count the clouds by wisdom, and pour out the water jars of the heavens, when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods stick together?”
We’ll start our sky stuff tour looking at Dew… or tal in Hebrew. It is primarily associated with bounty and blessing.
The introduction to dew comes in Isaac’s blessing to his first born son. It should have been given to Esau, but Jacob, the younger son, tricked his blind father into giving him the blessing instead:
Genesis 27:28
“…may God give you of the dew of heaven [mi-tal מִטַּל֙], and of the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine…”
Of course this was terribly upsetting to Esau who lost his blessing to his cheating brother. Instead of a blessing Esau was told that he would dwell away from fertile land, “and away from the dew of heaven [u-mi’tal וּמִטַּ֥ל] ” (Genesis 27:39). The only good news was that he would one day break free from servitude to his brother (Gen 27:40).
Jacob caused his brother to miss out on the refreshing goodness of the land and Esau, understandably, would have a hard time forgiving him for it.
Nourishment: Dew and Manna
Dew helped revive and restore moisture to the earth. Poetically, Moses tapped into the metaphor of refreshing dew:
Deuteronomy 33:28-29a
[Moses:] So Israel lives in security, the fountain of Jacob secluded, in a land of grain and new wine; his heavens also drip down dew [tal טָֽל].
Blessed are you, Israel; who is like you, a people saved by YHWH, the shield of your help, and He who is the sword of your majesty!”
Dew expressed nourishment, hydration, bountiful growth, and fulfillment. Dew was the hope that thirst would be quenched, the earth would be hydrated, the seeds would grow to fruition, vegetation would thrive, and the world would be nourished. It’s not surprising, then, that dew played a part in the delivery of nourishing manna (which may have been in Moses’ mind when her wrote the above poem):
Exodus 16:11-15
And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am YHWH your God.’”
So it came about at evening that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew [ha-tal הַטַּ֔ל] around the camp. When the layer of dew [ha-tal הַטָּ֑ל] evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which YHWH has given you to eat.”
Dew helps flowers to bloom, trees to thrive, and grass to stay green, and so YHWH is like the dew to His people:
Hosea 14:4-5
[YHWH:] I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, because My anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew [ka-tal כַטַּל֙] to Israel; he will blossom like the lily, and he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
Dew Poetry
Biblical poets used dew as an analogy. For example, dew is nourishing, like good teaching:
Deuteronomy 32:1-3
[Moses:] “Listen, you heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth! May my teaching drip as the rain, my speech trickle as the dew [ka-tal כַּטַּ֖ל], as droplets on the fresh grass, and as the showers on the vegetation. For I proclaim the name of YHWH; ascribe greatness to our God!”
Dew is refreshing, like living together in unity:
Psalm 133
A Song of Ascents, of David.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, as on Aaron’s beard, the oil which ran down upon the edge of his robes.
It is like the dew [k-tal כְּטַל] of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion; for YHWH commanded the blessing there—life forever.
Here David’s poem expressed the full extent of the goodness of unity, from oil over the head to the tip of the garment, or from dew spread across Mount Hermon in the North to the Mount of Zion in the South. It’s the idea of wide-spread nourishment from YHWH.
Dew is restorative, like YHWH’s wisdom, understanding and knowledge:
Proverbs 3:19-20
YHWH founded the earth by wisdom, He established the heavens by understanding. By His knowledge the ocean depths were burst open, and the clouds drip with dew [tal טָֽל].
Dew is bountiful, like the favour of a king:
Proverbs 19:12
A king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favour is like dew [u-k-tal וּכְטַ֖ל] on the grass.
Dew is protective, like YHWH’s watchful gaze over us:
Isaiah 18:4
For this is what YHWH has told me:
“I will quietly look from My dwelling place like dazzling heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew [tal טַ֖ל] in the heat of harvest.”
However, we know that dew doesn’t last all day. It peaks in the early morning and disappears when the sun dries the dew drops. In the Hosea scroll, disappearing dew was used to describe the people’s disappearing loyalty:
Hosea 6:4
[YHWH:] What shall I do with you, Ephraim? What shall I do with you, Judah?
For your loyalty is like a morning cloud, and like the dew [w-ka-tal וְכַטַּ֖ל] which goes away early.
The scroll later expressed the idea that idol worshippers would eventually disappear, like dew:
Hosea 13:1-3
When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling. He exalted himself in Israel, but through Baal he incurred guilt and died.
And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves cast metal images, idols skillfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. They say of them, “Let the people who sacrifice kiss the calves!”
Therefore they will be like the morning cloud and like dew [w-ka-tal וְכַטַּ֖ל] which soon disappears, like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor, and like smoke from a chimney.
Dew Drought and Devastation
Dew was most commonly associated with blessings and abundance, but turn that around and the image of a loss of dew could be used in curses. For example, David cursed the mountains of Gilboa when he lamented over the death of Jonathan and Saul:
2 Samuel 1:21
“Mountains of Gilboa, may there be no dew [tal טַ֧ל] nor rain on you, or fields of offerings! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.”
During king Ahab’s idolatrous reign, the prophet Elijah announced the removal of dew and the onset of drought:
1 Kings 17:1
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As YHWH, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall certainly be neither dew [tal טַ֣ל] nor rain during these years, except by my word.”
Even YHWH explained why there was a lack of dew given to the people who had forgot about Him and thought only of themselves:
Haggai 1:7-10
YHWH of armies says this: “Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains, bring wood, and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be honoured,” says YHWH. “You start an ambitious project, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares YHWH of armies. “It is because of My house which remains desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew [mi-tal מִטָּ֑ל], and the earth has withheld its produce.”
Faithful like Dew
Dew had a connection to the people’s faith in YHWH. The most famous dew story can be found in the scroll of Judges. There Gideon faced the great army of the Midianites but God promised to save Israel under Gideon’s leadership. Feeling inadequate, Gideon wasn’t completely convinced, and so he asked for a set of signs involving dew:
Judges 6:36-40
Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel through me, as You have spoken, behold, I am putting a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew [tal טַל֩] on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will save Israel through me, as You have spoken.”
And it was so. When he got up early the next morning and wrung out the fleece, he wrung the dew [tal טַל֙] from the fleece, a bowl full of water.
Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me, so that I may speak only one more time; please let me put You to the test only one more time with the fleece: let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew [tal טָּֽל] on all the ground.”
And God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew [tal טָֽל] was on all the ground.
Gideon had tested God, now it was God’s turn to test Gideon. YHWH minimized the size of Gideon’s army, from 32,000 men to 300 and Gideon and his small band of warriors had to face the impressive Midianite army with their faith in YHWH alone. Like the dew on the fleece, YHWH provided the abundance needed to defeat the wicked Midianites and Israel was saved.
YHWH was like the dew to faithful Israel… refreshing, nourishing, abundantly protective, and necessary for growth.
Zechariah 8:11-13
[YHWH:] “But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,” declares YHWH of armies. “For there will be the seed of peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will provide their dew [talam טַלָּ֑ם]; and I will give to the remnant of this people all these things as an inheritance. And it will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.”
There was hope for the future. YHWH would save His people. Even in death, they would rise up and live.
Isaiah 26:19
Your dead will live; their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for the dew [tal טַ֤ל] of the dawn is your dew [taleka טַלֶּ֔ךָ], and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.
When Yeshua came and lived among us, He died and rose again. His life, death, and resurrection meant that we could enter the Garden Kingdom of YHWH and see Him face to face. He paid the entrance fee, removed our guilt, and gave us the ticket to the Kingdom.
The imagery of dew, water, vines, and fruit trees should remind us of YHWH’s heavenly Garden, Eden, which will always be hydrated and vibrant… filled with nourishing goodness. That is where we’re all headed at the end of our earthly days. It’s the place of ultimate beauty and it’s where you belong. But until that day, remember to be like dew to everyone around you… be refreshing to those who thirst, be nourishing to those who seek, be restorative to those who ache, and be bountiful in your love.
Next time: more sky stuff!
Hebrew Word Lessons 