Protos

What does "Dew" mean in the Bible?

Dew, a dense vapor which falls on the earth during the night, and which in Judaea was so copious as in a great measure to supply the absence of showers. Dew appears in 29 verses across 15 books of the Bible.

Drops of dew on grasses
Drops of dew on grasses · © böhringer friedrich, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

What does the Bible say about Dew?

DEW, a dense vapor which falls on the earth during the night, and which in Judaea was so copious as in a great measure to supply the absence of showers. It thus became a beautiful emblem of spiritual blessings, Deut 32:2; Hos 14:5-7, as well as of temporal prosperity, because without the apparent effort of rain it gently accomplished the same result. But then it vanished so quickly on exposure to the sun that it was likewise an emblem of transient desires and relinquished efforts in God's service. Job 29:19. The heat and dryness of the air in the Holy Land are such that if it were not for the dews the earth would be parched and all its fruits withered. The same fact may be inferred from Jud 6:37-40; 2 Sam 17:12; Job 29:19; Song of Solomon 5:2. The Psalmist, Ps 133:3, mentions particularly the dew of Hermon as emblematical of the rich and abundant blessings of spiritual communion. So Hos 14:5-7.

Definition text: Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible · 1898. Public domain.

Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.

What is the Hebrew word for Dew?

Hebrew · H2919

טַל

tal

dew

TBESH, STEPBible, licensed CC BY 4.0.

Where does Dew appear in the Bible?

Dew is referenced in 29 verses across 15 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.

Showing the first 24 of 29.

Open all 29 references in Protos

What else appears in these passages?

These turn up in the same passages as Dew.

Common questions

How many times does the Bible mention Dew?

Dew appears in 29 verses across 15 books, most often in Judges, which accounts for 4 of them.

Which books of the Bible mention Dew?

Judges, Deuteronomy, Hosea, 2 Samuel, Exodus, Genesis, Isaiah, Job, and 7 more.

Where can I read every verse about Dew?

This page lists 24 of them. Protos carries all 29, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.

Read it in context

Read Judges with "Dew" explained on the verse.

Tap any name, place, or word you do not recognize and the background opens on the verse you are reading. No second tab, no search, no losing your place.

The Protos reader open on Genesis 1 with the How to Read Genesis background sheet raised over it
"People don't give up on the Bible for lack of discipline. They give up because they don't understand what they read. So they skim past it and jump straight to what it means for them, before they have listened to what God is saying through the words, the story, and the voice of the writer. It happens so often that theology has a name for it: eisegesis."
Fabio Jonathan ArifinFabio JonathanFounder of Protos · Portland Bible College graduate

Protos is the answer to that. Every explanation you read was written by a scholar and published in a reference work, credited right on the page.

★★★★★4.7 from 107 App Store ratings

The streak feature actually got people in my congregation excited to read, especially the youth. We've started comparing notes after service.
★★★★★
PPhilPastor, Ohio
between work + kids i barely get time to breathe lol. but protos somehow helps making deep studies doable. i've been reading during lunch breaks again for the first time in years.
★★★★★
CCalebA dad
been using protos for like 2 weeks now. It helps me prep for our small group without getting overwhelmed. The context snippets show up right where I need them.
★★★★★
CChloe ChuaSmall group leader, Singapore

Start understanding the Bible better.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Android is in review with Google Play. Tap the Play badge and we will email you the day it lands.