H1492 H1492
Fleece; the shorn wool of a sheep, used exclusively in the Gideon narrative as a sign from God.
A fleece of wool, referring to the thick coat shorn from a sheep. Every occurrence in the Hebrew Bible appears in the famous account of Gideon's test before God (Judges 6:37-40), where he laid a fleece on the threshing floor and asked for dew to confirm divine guidance. The Hebrew gizzah is cognate with Arabic jizzah and Aramaic gezzta, all pointing to a common Semitic root for shorn wool. Its narrow scriptural usage has made 'putting out a fleece' a proverbial expression for seeking a sign.
Senses
1. fleece (of wool) — A fleece of wool, the shorn coat of a sheep used as a physical object in a test of divine will. All seven occurrences cluster in Judges 6:37-40 where Gideon places the fleece (gizzat tsemer) on the threshing floor overnight, asking God to wet or dry it as confirmation. English consistently renders 'fleece,' while Spanish uses 'vellon' (wool fleece). The construct form gizzat appears bound to tsemer (wool), emphasizing the material nature of the object. 7×
AR["الْجَزَّةَ", "الْجَزَّةِ", "بِ-الْجَزَّةِ", "جَزَّةَ"]·ben["পশম-দিয়ে", "পশমকে", "লোমের-পশম", "সেই-পশম", "সেই-পশমে"]·DE["der-fleece", "fleece-von", "mit-der-fleece"]·EN["fleece-of", "the-fleece", "with-the-fleece"]·FR["avec-le-fleece", "fleece-de", "le-fleece"]·heb["ב-גיזה", "גיזת", "ה-גיזה"]·HI["ऊन", "ऊन-के", "ऊन-को", "ऊन-से"]·ID["dengan-guntingan", "guntingan"]·IT["con-il-vello", "il-vello", "vello-di"]·jav["mawi-wulu", "wulu", "wulu-punika"]·KO["양털에", "양털에서", "양털으로", "양털을"]·PT["a-tosão", "com-a-tosão", "tosão-de"]·RU["руна", "руне", "руно", "руном"]·ES["con-el-vellón", "el-vellón", "vellón-de"]·SW["kwa-manyoya", "manyoya", "manyoya-ya"]·TR["de-yünün", "eğer", "eğer-", "söyledin", "ve-söyleyeyim"]·urd["اون-کی-کھال", "کھال", "کھال-سے"]
Related Senses
H4325 1. water, waters (582×)H6965b 1. Qal: to rise, arise, get up (432×)H2091 1. gold (the metal) (389×)H0068 1. stone, rock (material/object) (267×)H5178a 1. bronze/copper as metal (131×)H6083 1. dust, dry earth, soil (108×)H8313 1. burn, set fire to (94×)H2734 1. anger was kindled (82×)G5204 1. water (80×)H2822 1. darkness, absence of light (80×)G5457 1. light (illumination) (71×)G0450 1. rise, stand up (physical) (69×)H6965b 2. Qal: to stand firm, endure, be valid (50×)H6999a 2. burn sacrifice on altar (Hifil) (45×)H5553 1. rock, cliff (physical feature) (43×)H6965b 4. Hifil: to establish, confirm (covenant/kingdom/word) (40×)H1197a 1. burn, be on fire (39×)H4306 1. rain, showers (38×)H1653 1. rain, precipitation (34×)G4655 1. darkness (30×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† גִּזָּה n.f. fleece—(Arabicجِزَّةٌ, Aramaic ܓܶܙܬܳܐ ) גִּזָּה Ju 6:37 + 5 times; cstr. גִּזַּת Ju 6:37;—fleece, ג׳ צֶמֶר Ju 6:37; abs. Ju 6:37, 38(×2), 39(×2), 40.