Judges 6:38

(38) A bowl full of water.—The word used for bowl is sêphel, as in Jdg_5:25.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Gideon said unto God,.... In the same way as before, and on the morning when he had been favoured with the sight of the above miracle:

let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once; he was conscious to himself that it showed great presumption and boldness in him to repeat his request, and that it had the appearance of great diffidence and distrust in him, after he had been indulged with such a sign to confirm his faith; but as it was not so much on his own account as others, and promising to ask no more favours of this kind, he hoped his boldness would not be resented:

let me prove, l pray thee, but this once with the fleece one time more with it, and that not to try the power of God, of which he had no doubt, but the will of God, whether it was the good pleasure of God to save Israel by his hand, and whether now was the time, or another:

let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew; which might seem to be a greater, at least a plainer miracle than the former, and less liable to cavil and objection; for it might be urged, that a fleece of wool naturally draws in and drinks up moisture about it; wherefore that to be dry, and the ground all around it wet, would be a sure sign and evidence of the wonderful interposition of the power and providence of God, in directing the fall of the dew on the one, and not on the other.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

So. Gedeon besought the Lord to confirm his mission, in order to raise the drooping spirits of his soldiers. If he had not believed that he was chosen for the purpose of rescuing Israel, he would never have exposed himself, by destroying the idol and grove of Baal, and by calling the people to arms. Yet he might fear at present, lest he might be destitute of some of the necessary qualifications, and might entertain some apprehensions, lest the promises of God might by only conditional. The readiness with which God grants his requests, shews that he was inspired to act as he did, and his faith is greatly commended, Hebrews xi. 32. Other great saints have asked for a miraculous confirmation of what was promised, Exodus iv. 1., Josue v. 13., and Luke i. 34. (Calmet) --- Vessels. Hebrew sephel, Septuagint lecane, "a dish." Syriac, "a basin." The dew in Chanaan is very copious, resembling a shower of rain, insomuch that the roads are rendered extremely slippery. (Roger. i. 2.) (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

38. A bowl full of water — Heavy dews are wont to fall in Palestine, especially on the highlands, and wool naturally absorbs much dew. Kitto says, that while travelling in some parts of western Asia he “often found cloaks of sheepskin, exposed to the open air, as heavy with dew as if they had been dipped in water.” The preternatural sign in this case of Gideon lay in the fact implied, but not stated, that, while the fleece was so heavy with dew, the ground all around was dry.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gideon rose

"Gideon got out of bed"

wrung

twist and squeeze something to remove water

translationWords

Gideon

raise

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

That is what occurred. The dew condensed on the fleece alone more than everywhere else, as it is said, "a full bowl of water." However, "while all of the ground is dry" did not materialize, as a Divine covenant assures perpetual dew fall.

He squeezed. The word connotes pressure. Similarly, "They were neither pressed nor bandaged." They were not strapped in bandages to draw out the discharge.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.