Judges 6:37

(37) A fleece of wool.—In works of art this is sometimes represented as an entire sheepskin, probably from an erroneous explanation of the Vulgate, Vellus lanae, and from Luther’s rendering, ein Fell mit der Wolle. But the English version is correct.

In the floor.—i.e., on the open threshing-floor. (See Note on Judges 6:11, and comp. Psalms 1:4; Hosea 13:3.)

If the dew be on the fleece only.—The very fact that this circumstance might be a purely natural result only shows the simple truthfulness of the narrative. Gideon would hardly have asked for this sign if he had been aware that, taken alone, it would be no sign of supernatural guidance. Bishop Hervey quotes Lord Bacon, who says (Nat Hist.) that “Sailors have used every night to hang fleeces of wool on the sides of their ships towards the water, and they have crushed fresh water out of them in the morning.” Every one must have noticed flocks of wool on the hedges, sparkling with dewdrops long after the dew on the leaves around them has evaporated. In Psalms 72:6 (Prayer Book), “He shall come down like the rain into a fleece of wool,” the Hebrew word is the same as here, and the ancient version takes it in the same sense (LXX., epi plokon; Vulg., in vellus); but perhaps the true sense is there “mown grass,” as in Amos 7:1 (mowings).