The Righteous Saint Gideon, whose name signifies Destroyer, was the son of Joash the Abiezrite and is commemorated as a judge of Israel on 26 November.
While he was engaged in beating out wheat in a wine press to hide it from the Midianites, an angel of the Lord appeared and commissioned him to deliver the Israelites from their oppressors. Seeking confirmation of this divine mandate, Gideon proposed a test involving a shorn woollen fleece placed upon a threshing floor.
He requested that dew descend exclusively upon the fleece while the surrounding ground remained dry, a sign which was fulfilled when he wrung a bowl of water from the wool the following morning.
A subsequent sign was granted in which the fleece remained entirely dry while the ground was saturated with dew. These events are understood as manifestations of divine grace, mercy, and power working through human humility. Within the theological framework of the Church, the fleece of Gideon serves as a primary typological prefiguration of the Mother of God.
The descent of the dew is identified with the silent, gentle, and perfect Incarnation of the Saviour within the womb of the Theotokos. Just as the dew appeared without visible rain or force, the conception of the Word occurred courteously and without external observation.
The Virgin is consequently referred to as the Vellus Gedeonis, or the fleece of Gideon. The shorn lamb represents the humility of the Mother of God, who was emptied of earthly pride to be filled with the power of the Divine. In this interpretative tradition, every element of the Old Testament account serves as a preface and prelude to the events of the New Covenant.
The Righteous Gideon is prominently integrated into the liturgical life of the Church, specifically through references in the ninth ode of the second canon for the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy. The liturgical texts magnify the Mother of God as the radiant cloud upon which the Master of All descended as heavenly dew.
Furthermore, the military victory of Gideon, achieved with a select force of three hundred men, is recorded in the Epistle to the Hebrews as an exemplary act of faith that conquered kingdoms. Following the defeat of the Midianites, Gideon served as a judge for forty years, during which time the land experienced rest.
Although the people requested that he and his descendants rule over them, he declined, asserting that the Lord alone was the ruler of Israel.