גִּזָּה

From the study of Judges 6:37

Range of meaning

A shorn fleece: a sheep's coat clipped off and still holding together as one mat of wool. It comes from the verb gāzaz, "to shear." A related noun, gēz, means "shearing / shorn wool" (Deut 18:4, "the first of the fleece" given to the priests; Job 31:20). In Amos 7:1 and Psalm 72:6 the same form refers to mown grass.

Against the English

"Fleece" is accurate. Modern readers may picture a woolly blanket or a garment. The Hebrew means raw shorn wool, a cheap, everyday farm product that soaks up moisture well. That is why Gideon could wring "a bowlful of water" from it (v. 38).

How it drifted

The word itself hasn't drifted. The English idiom "to put out a fleece" (to ask God for a sign before deciding something) has given the object a weight in popular thinking that the passage itself does not give it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gizzāh appears only in Judges 6:37–40 (seven times). The Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) renders it with πόκος ("fleece"). The same Greek word appears in Psalm 71(72):6 ("like rain upon a fleece"), which led early Christian writers to connect the two passages.

From the study of Judges 6:38

Range of meaning

A shearing, meaning the wool clipped from a sheep, usually coming away in one mat. It comes from the verb gazaz, 'to shear'. In v. 37 it is called gizzat hatsemer, 'a shearing of wool'. The related noun gez means shorn wool or a mown field (Deuteronomy 18:4; Job 31:20; Psalm 72:6).

Against the English

'Fleece' is right. It means raw shorn wool, not a tanned sheepskin and not the modern synthetic fabric. In church language, though, 'fleece' has become an idiom for asking God for a sign (see drift).

How it drifted

In English-speaking Christian circles 'to put out a fleece' became a set phrase for asking God to show his will through some arranged sign. This is a later idiom built from this story.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gizzah occurs only in Judges 6:37–40, seven times in all. The Greek Septuagint uses pokos (shorn wool). It uses the same word in Psalm 72:6 (LXX 71:6), 'like rain on the fleece', and later Jewish and Christian interpreters linked that verse to Gideon's fleece.

From the study of Judges 6:39

Range of meaning

A shorn fleece: the mass of wool cut from a sheep in one piece. It comes from the verb gazaz, 'to shear'. In the Bible it occurs only in this episode (Judg 6:37–40), where 6:37 calls it 'a fleece of wool' (gizzat hatstsemer). The related noun gez means shearing or fleece (Deut 18:4 'the first of the fleece') and in Ps 72:6 probably mown grass.

Against the English

'Fleece' is accurate. The modern Christian idiom 'putting out a fleece' (asking God for a sign before a decision) is a later use built on this story. It is not something the word itself means.

How it drifted

Popular devotional use, especially from the 19th–20th centuries onward, turned 'fleece' into shorthand for a decision-making method.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Ps 72:6, 'like rain on the gez', the Septuagint reads 'upon a fleece' (epi pokon). Church fathers linked that verse to Gideon's fleece, and from that pairing came Christian symbolic readings of the fleece (Israel, the Gentiles, Mary).