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Bible Encyclopedias
Dew
Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
or The various passages of Scripture in which dew is mentioned, as well as the statements of travelers, might, unless carefully considered, convey the impression that in Palestine the dews fall copiously at night during the height of summer, and supply in some degree the lack of rain. But we find that those who mention dews traveled in spring and autumn, while those who traveled in summer make no mention of them. In fact, scarcely any dew does fall during the summer months—from the middle of May to the middle of August; but as it continues to fall for some time after the rains of spring have ceased, and begins to fall before the rains of autumn commence, we may from this gather the sense in which the Scriptural references to dew are to be understood. Without the dews continuing to fall after the rains have ceased, and commencing before the rains return, the season of actual drought, and the parched appearance of the country, would be of much longer duration than they really are. The partial refreshment thus afforded to the ground at the end of a summer without dews or rains, is of great value in Western Asia, and would alone explain all the Oriental references to the effects of dew. This explanation is of further interest as indicating the times of the year to which the Scriptural notices of dew refer; for as it does not, in any perceptible degree, fall in summer, and as few would think of mentioning it in the season of rain, we may take all such notices to refer to the months of April, May, part of August, and September.
Public Domain.
Kitto, John, ed. Entry for 'Dew'. "Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature". https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/kbe/d/dew.html.
