Bible Dictionary: Worm

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Smith's Bible Dictionary

Worm

the representative in the Authorized Version of several Hebrew words. Sas , which occurs in (Isaiah 51:18) probably denotes some particular species of moth, whose larva is injurious to wool. Rimmah , (Exodus 16:20) points evidently to various kinds of maggots and the larvae of insects which feed on putrefying animal matter, rather than to earthworms. Toleah is applied in (28:39) to some kinds of larvae destructive to the vines. In (Job 19:26; 21:26; 24:20) there is an allusion to worms (insect larvae) feeding on the dead bodies of the buried. There is the same allusion in (Isaiah 66:24) which words are applied by our Lord, (Mark 9:44,46,48) metaphorically to the torments of the guilty in the world of departed spirits. The valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem, where the filth of the city was cast, was alive with worms. The death of Herod Agrippa I, was caused by worms. (Acts 12:23)

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(1.) Hebrews sas (Isaiah 51:8), denotes the caterpillar of the clothes-moth.

(2.) The manna bred worms (tola'im), but on the Sabbath there was not any worm (rimmah) therein (Exodus 16:20, 24). Here these words refer to caterpillars or larvae, which feed on corrupting matter.

These two Hebrew words appear to be interchangeable (Job 25:6; Isaiah 14:11). Tola'im in some places denotes the caterpillar (Deuteronomy 28:39; Jonah 4:7), and rimmah, the larvae, as bred from putridity (Job 17:14; 21:26; 24:20). In Micah 7:17, where it is said, "They shall move out of their holes like worms," perhaps serpents or "creeping things," or as in the Revised Version, "crawling things," are meant.

The word is used figuratively in Job 25:6; Psalm 22:6; Isaiah 41:14; Mark 9:44, 46, 48; Isaiah 66:24.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) A creeping or a crawling animal of any kind or size, as a serpent, caterpillar, snail, or the like.

2. (n.) Any small creeping animal or reptile, either entirely without feet, or with very short ones, including a great variety of animals; as, an earthworm; the blindworm.

3. (n.) Any helminth; an entozoon.

4. (n.) Any annelid.

5. (n.) An insect larva.

6. (n.) Same as Vermes.

7. (n.) An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one's mind with remorse.

8. (n.) A being debased and despised.

9. (n.) Anything spiral, vermiculated, or resembling a worm

10. (n.) The thread of a screw.

11. (n.) A spiral instrument or screw, often like a double corkscrew, used for drawing balls from firearms.

12. (n.) A certain muscular band in the tongue of some animals, as the dog; the lytta. See Lytta.

13. (n.) The condensing tube of a still, often curved and wound to economize space. See Illust. of Still.

14. (n.) A short revolving screw, the threads of which drive, or are driven by, a worm wheel by gearing into its teeth or cogs. See Illust. of Worm gearing, below.

15. (v. i.) To work slowly, gradually, and secretly.

16. (v. t.) To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and secret means; -- often followed by out.

17. (v. t.) To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge from, as a firearm. See Worm, n. 5 (b).

18. (n.) To cut the worm, or lytta, from under the tongue of, as a dog, for the purpose of checking a disposition to gnaw. The operation was formerly supposed to guard against canine madness.

19. (n.) To wind rope, yarn, or other material, spirally round, between the strands of, as a cable; to wind with spun yarn, as a small rope.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

SCARLET (WORM)

(tola`ath shani (Exodus 25:4, etc.)): Cermes vermilio, a scale insect from which a red dye is obtained.

See COLOR; DYEING; WORM.

WORM; SCARLET-WORM

wurm, skar'-let-wurm:

(1) tola`, tole`ah, tola`ath, tola`ath, from tala`; compare Arabic tala, "to stretch the neck"; usually with shani, "bright" (of Arabic sana, "a flash of lightning"), the term tola`ath shani being translated "scarlet" in English Versions of the Bible; also in the same sense the following: sheni tola`ath (Leviticus 14:4), tola` (Isaiah 1:18, English Versions of the Bible "crimson"), shanim (Proverbs 31:21 Isaiah 1:18, English Versions of the Bible "scarlet"), shani (Genesis 38:28 Joshua 2:18 Songs 4:3); also kokkos, and kokkinos (Matthew 27:23 Hebrews 9:19 Revelation 17:3, 4; Revelation 18:12, 16).

(2) rimmah, from ramam, "to putrefy" (Exodus 16:20); compare Arab ramm, "to become carious" (of bone).

(3) cac (only in Isaiah 51:8); compare Arabic sus, "worm"; ses, "moth" (Matthew 6:19).

(4) zochalim (Micah 7:17, the King James Version "worms," the Revised Version (British and American) "crawling things"), from zachal, "to crawl."

(5) skolex (Mark 9:48), skolekobrotos, "eaten of worms" (Acts 12:23).

Besides the numerous passages, mostly in Exodus, referring to the tabernacle, where tola`ath, with shani, is translated "scarlet," there are eight pasages in which it is translated "worm." These denote worms which occur in decaying organic matter or in sores (Exodus 16:20 Isaiah 14:11; Isaiah 66:24); or which are destructive to plants (Deuteronomy 28:39 Jonah 4:7); or the word is used as a term of contempt or depreciation (Job 25:6 Psalm 22:6 Isaiah 41:14). Rimmah is used in the same senses. It occurs with tola`ath as a synonym in Exodus 16:24 Job 25:6 Isaiah 14:11. In Job 25:6, English Versions of the Bible, rendering both tola`ath and rimmah by "worm," 'enosh and 'adham by "man," and introducing twice "that is a," makes a painfully monotonous distich out of the concise and elegant original, in which not one word of the first part is repeated in the second. Cac (Isaiah 51:8), English Versions of the Bible "worm," is the larva of the clothes-moth. See MOTH. In none of the cases here considered are worms, properly so called, denoted, but various insect larvae which are commonly called "worms," e.g. "silkworm," "apple-worm," "meal-worm," etc. These larvae are principally those of Diptera or flies, Coleoptera or beetles, and Lepidoptera or butterflies and moths.

Tola`ath shani, "scarlet," is the scarlet-worm, Cermes vermilio, a scale-insect which feeds upon the oak, and which is used for producing a red dye. It is called by the Arabs dudeh, "a worm," a word also used for various insect larvae. It is also called qirmiz, whence" crimson" and the generic name Cermes. This scarlet-worm or scale-insect is one of the family Coccidae of the order Rhynchota or Hemiptera. The female is wingless and adheres to its favorite plant by its long, sucking beak, by which it extracts the sap on which it lives. After once attaching itself it remains motionless, and when dead its body shelters the eggs which have been deposited beneath it. The males, which are smaller than the females, pass through a complete metamorphosis and develop wings. The dye is made from the dried bodies of the females. Other species yielding red dyes are Porphyrophora polonica and Coccus cacti. The last named is the Mexican cochineal insect which feeds on the cactus and which largely supplanted the others after the discovery of America. Aniline dyes have in turn to a great extent superseded these natural organic colors, which, however, continue to be unsurpassed for some purposes.

See COLORS.

Alfred Ely Day

Greek

4663. skolex -- a worm
... a worm. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: skolex Phonetic Spelling:
(sko'-lakes) Short Definition: a gnawing worm Definition: a gnawing worm ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4663.htm - 6k

4596. serikos -- silk.
... silk. From Ser (an Indian tribe from whom silk was procured; hence the name of the
silk-worm); Seric, ie Silken (neuter as noun, a silky fabric) -- silk. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4596.htm - 6k

1389. doloo -- to ensnare, fig. to adulterate
... Cognate: 1389 (from 1388 , "bait") -- properly, to lure (or snare) -- holding out
the worm and concealing the hook!; ; "primarily, ; then to corrupt -- used of ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1389.htm - 7k

4662. skolekobrotos -- eaten by worms
... eaten of worms. From skolex and a derivative of bibrosko; worm-eaten, ie Diseased
with maggots -- eaten of worms. see GREEK skolex. see GREEK bibrosko. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4662.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

7415. rimmah -- a worm
... 7414, 7415. rimmah. 7416 . a worm. Transliteration: rimmah Phonetic Spelling:
(rim-maw') Short Definition: worm. Word Origin from ...
/hebrew/7415.htm - 6k

8439b. toleah -- a worm
toleah or tolaath. 8439a, 8439b. toleah or tolaath. 8440 . a worm.
Transliteration: toleah or tolaath Short Definition: worm. Word ...
/hebrew/8439b.htm - 5k

8438. tola -- worm, scarlet stuff
... 8437, 8438. tola. 8439 . worm, scarlet stuff. Transliteration: tola
Phonetic Spelling: (to-law') Short Definition: crimson. Word ...
/hebrew/8438.htm - 6k

2119. zachal -- to shrink back, crawl away
... be afraid, serpent, worm A primitive root; to crawl; by implication, to fear --
be afraid, serpent, worm. 2118, 2119. zachal. 2119a . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/2119.htm - 5k

8439. Towla' -- two men of Issachar
... crimson, scarlet, worm The same as towla'; worm; Tola, the name of two Israelites --
Tola. see HEBREW towla'. 8438, 8439. Towla'. 8439a . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/8439.htm - 5k

1501. gazam -- locusts
... palmer-worm. From an unused root meaning to devour; a kind of locust --
palmer-worm. 1500, 1501. gazam. 1502 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/1501.htm - 5k

7537. raqeb -- to rot
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to rot NASB Word Usage rot (2). rot. A primitive
root; to decay (as by worm-eating) -- rot. 7536, 7537. raqeb. 7538 . ...
/hebrew/7537.htm - 5k

Library

The Inch-Worm and the Mountain
... THE INCH-WORM AND THE MOUNTAIN. ... If you are tempted to trust too much to your
brightness, remember the animals who made fun of the inch-worm. ...
/.../fifty-two story talks to boys and girls/the inch-worm and the mountain.htm

Whether the Worm of the Damned is Corporeal?
... OF THE PUNISHMENT OF THE DAMNED (SEVEN ARTICLES) Whether the worm of the damned
is corporeal? ... Because flesh cannot be tormented by a spiritual worm. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether the worm of the.htm

December 16. "I Will Restore to You the Years that the Locust Hath ...
... DECEMBER 16. "I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker
worm and the caterpillar and the palmer worm, my great army, which I sent ...
/.../simpson/days of heaven upon earth /december 16 i will restore.htm

Of Hell, and the Nature of Eternal Punishments.
... then what God by His prophet has said of the everlasting punishment of the damned
shall come to pass"shall without fail come to pass,""their worm shall not ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 9 of hell and the.htm

February the Seventh Leaving Its Mark
... FEBRUARY The Seventh LEAVING ITS MARK. "Fear not, thou worm Jacob, I will make
thee a threshing instrument with teeth." "Isaiah 41:8-14. ...
/.../my daily meditation for the circling year/february the seventh leaving its.htm

The Author's Concluding Address.
... fire and the eye ever fixed in menacing glare of fallen angels chained in Tartarus
as punishment for their sins; and you shall escape the worm that ceaselessly ...
/.../the refutation of all heresies/chapter xxx the authors concluding address.htm

When Diamond Got Home He Found his Father at Home Already...
... "What shall I do if things don't reform? I don't know where there's a single worm. ...
We want a storm"-. I don't know where there's a single worm.". ...
/.../macdonald/at the back of the north wind/chapter 23 when diamond got.htm

The Apple Trees
... lying there, yet if you were to take them up one by one, and handle them, and turn
them round, perhaps you would scarcely find two that were not worm-eaten and ...
/.../bevan/three friends of god/chapter xix the apple trees.htm

Brokenness
... In a pathetic passage in a prophetic Psalm, He says, "I am a worm and no
man."[footnote2:Psalm 22:6.] Those who have been in tropical lands tell us that ...
//christianbookshelf.org/hession/the calvary road/chapter i brokenness.htm

The Twenty-Second Psalm.
... "But I am a worm, and not man; a reproach of men, and despised of the
people" (verse 6). This is His own complaint. No longer a ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/gaebelein/the lord of glory/the twenty-second psalm.htm

Thesaurus

Worm (22 Occurrences)
... (2.) The manna bred worms (tola'im), but on the Sabbath there was not any worm
(rimmah) therein (Exodus 16:20, 24). ... See Illust. of Worm gearing, below. 15. ...
/w/worm.htm - 21k

Canker-worm (7 Occurrences)
Canker-worm. Cankerworm, Canker-worm. Canneh . Int. Standard Bible
Encyclopedia CANKER-WORM. kan'-ker-wurm (yeleq, (Joel ...
/c/canker-worm.htm - 9k

Scarlet-worm
Scarlet-worm. Scarletworm, Scarlet-worm. Scars . Int. Standard Bible
Encyclopedia WORM; SCARLET-WORM. wurm, skar'-let-wurm ...
/s/scarlet-worm.htm - 11k

Palmer-worm (2 Occurrences)
Palmer-worm. Palmerworm, Palmer-worm. Palms . Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Hebrews gazam). ... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. PALMER-WORM. ...
/p/palmer-worm.htm - 7k

Plant-worm (2 Occurrences)
Plant-worm. Plants, Plant-worm. Plaster . Multi-Version Concordance
Plant-worm (2 Occurrences). Joel 1:4 What the worm...
/p/plant-worm.htm - 7k

Scarletworm
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia WORM; SCARLET-WORM. ... (3) cac (only in Isaiah
51:8); compare Arabic sus, "worm"; ses, "moth" (Matthew 6:19). ...
/s/scarletworm.htm - 11k

Insects (17 Occurrences)
... caterpillar, creeping thing, cricket, crimson, flea, fly, gnat, grasshopper, honey,
hornet, locust, louse, (lice), moth, palmer-worm, sandfly, scarlet-worm...
/i/insects.htm - 14k

Field-fly (2 Occurrences)
... Joel 1:4 What the worm did not make a meal of, has been taken by the locust; and
what the locust did not take, has been food for the plant-worm; and what the ...
/f/field-fly.htm - 7k

Quenched (22 Occurrences)
... Mark 9:44 'where their worm doesn't die, and the fire is not quenched.' (WEB KJV
WEY BBE DBY WBS YLT). Mark 9:45 If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. ...
/q/quenched.htm - 14k

Moth (10 Occurrences)
... moth (`ash; compare Arabic `uththat, "moth"; colloquial, `itt; cac, "worm" (Isaiah
51:8); compare Arabic sus, "worm," especially an insect larva in flesh, wood ...
/m/moth.htm - 13k

Bible Concordance

Worm (22 Occurrences)

Mark 9:44 'where their worm doesn't die, and the fire is not quenched.'
(WEB KJV WEY BBE DBY WBS YLT)

Mark 9:46 'where their worm doesn't die, and the fire is not quenched.'
(WEB KJV WEY BBE DBY WBS YLT)

Mark 9:48 'where their worm doesn't die, and the fire is not quenched.'
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 16:24 They laid it up until the morning, as Moses asked, and it didn't become foul, neither was there any worm in it.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Deuteronomy 28:39 You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worm shall eat them.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 8:37 If there is no food in the land, or if there is disease, or if the fruits of the earth are damaged through heat or water, locust or worm; if their towns are shut in by their attackers; whatever trouble, whatever disease there may be:
(BBE)

2 Chronicles 6:28 If there is no food in the land, if there is disease, if the fruits of the earth are damaged by heat or water, locust or worm; if their towns are shut in by their attackers: whatever trouble or whatever disease there may be:
(BBE)

Job 13:28 Though a man comes to nothing like a bit of dead wood, or like a robe which has become food for the worm.
(BBE)

Job 17:14 If I have said to corruption,'You are my father;' to the worm,'My mother,' and'my sister;'
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Job 21:26 They lie down alike in the dust. The worm covers them.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Job 24:20 The womb shall forget him. The worm shall feed sweetly on him. He shall be no more remembered. Unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Job 25:6 How much less man, who is a worm, the son of man, who is a worm!"
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 14:11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, with the sound of your stringed instruments. Maggots are spread out under you, and worms cover you.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 41:14 Don't be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you," says Yahweh, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 50:9 See, the Lord God is my helper; who will give a decision against me? truly, all of them will become old like a robe; they will be food for the worm.
(BBE)

Isaiah 51:8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation to all generations."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT RSV NIV)

Isaiah 66:24 "They shall go forth, and look on the dead bodies of the men who have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 51:14 Yahweh of Armies has sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill you with men, as with the canker worm; and they shall lift up a shout against you.
(WEB JPS ASV YLT)

Joel 1:4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
(Root in KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT)

Joel 2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
(Root in KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT)

Jonah 4:7 But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine, so that it withered.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Worm

Worm of Remorse

Worm: Figurative

Worm: General Scriptures Concerning

Worm: Herod Agrippa I Was Eaten By, (Josephus Confirmed This)

Related Terms

Canker-worm (7 Occurrences)

Scarlet-worm

Palmer-worm (2 Occurrences)

Plant-worm (2 Occurrences)