worm / maggot

In English, “worm” is a fairly general word, while “grub” refers to worms and insect larvae that eat fruit and some vegetables such as beans. “Maggot” refers to the worm-like larvae flies and beetles, which feed on decaying meat or flesh. The Hebrew words tole‘ah and tola‘ath are fairly general terms for worms of all kinds, regardless of what the worms eat.

In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers there occurs the phrase tola‘ath shani, literally “worm of scarlet”. The Hebrew name indicates both a scarlet color and the dye producing this color. The dye is made from the kermes insect Coccus ilicis, which was found in the Ararat region. The dye was traded by the Phoenicians, who carried it to the Middle East, North Africa, southern Europe, Mesopotamia, and even further.

Unlike the more general words tole‘ah and tola‘ath, rimah and its Greek equivalent skōlēx refer exclusively in the Bible to flesh-eating worms, in other words, maggots. The use of “worm” and “vermin” in modern English versions is motivated by the fact that to say that one’s own body is covered with maggots is repulsive and impolite in English culture. It may not be in other cultures.

Worms, grubs, and maggots are small, soft, legless, tube-shaped creatures that have no bones or shells. They typically feed on overripe fruit, rotting meat, and similar things. Most are actually larvae that hatch from the eggs laid by flies or some beetles. Most of them mature into pupae and then into adult forms of the parent insects.

In the Bible worms and maggots are symbols of uncleanness, decay and insignificance. In Psalms 22:6 and Isaiah 41:14 the word tola‘ath signifies a very insignificant human being or even nation. Where comparing a person with a worm or maggot will not convey the same meaning, it may be possible to find some other insect which symbolizes insignificance. Where no such comparison exists, it will be necessary to follow something like “weak and helpless as a worm.”

Maggots were a symbol of uncleanness, decay, and death. In Job 25:6 the maggot is symbolic of a repulsive, insignificant person.

Worms and maggots are found universally, and finding equivalents should not be too hard. However, in many languages there are specific words for different kinds of worms or maggots, but no generic word that includes them all. In such cases the individual contexts should guide the translator. When the reference is to worms destroying grapes or olives, a suitable word for such a context should be found; when the reference is to maggots that feed on corpses, a suitable word for these contexts should be used. It is more important to translate appropriately for a given context than it is to translate one Hebrew or Greek word the same way every time.

The use of a word for a flesh-eating worm or maggot is appropriate for all contexts.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

complete verse (Job 25:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 25:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “What can one say about a person who is an insect, just a fly!
    What is a person in the eyes of God?’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “in the same way, in God eyes, men are like maggots,
    we mortal men are like mere worms."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “how much more a man who is just like a worm.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Job 25:5 - 25:6

These two verses can be taken together, since they are linked by the Hebrew words meaning either “how much more” or “how much less,” depending on the context. A similar pattern is found in the speeches of Eliphaz in 4.18-19 and 15.15-16.

Behold, even the moon is not bright: in 15.15b Eliphaz argued that “the heavens are not clean in his sight.” In line b of this verse the stars will be substituted for the “heavens.” Good News Translation has shifted in his sight from line b to the beginning of the verse to reinforce the parallel statement made in verse 4, and so it will apply to both lines of verse 5. In Revised Standard Version in his sight mistakenly applies only to line b. It is better to translate Behold as “If,” which enables the connection between verses 5 and 6 to be understood, and so “If in God’s eyes even the moon is without brightness…” (Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers “… does not shine.”)

And the stars are not clean in his sight: this line reproduces 15.15b, with stars replacing “heavens.” In many languages it will be awkward or impossible to speak of stars being pure or clean. The thought here is that both the moon and the stars fail to shine as they should, and so they are dim. Therefore it will sometimes be possible to translate “and if the stars are dim,” “if the stars give little light,” or, as in Bible en français courant, “and if the stars appear to him (God) as tarnished.”

Verse 6 expresses a negative comparison. How much less man, who is a maggot: the two lines of this verse are closely parallel in meaning and serve to emphasize the insignificance of human beings. To Bildad man is morally worth little because of his humble origins. Man translates the same Hebrew term used in verse 4a and may be rendered “person” or “human being.” The parallel form in line b is son of man, and this means the same as the “human person” in line a. Humankind is likened to a maggot. The same word is used to describe Israel in Isaiah 41.14. The word here translated maggot is used in 7.5; 17.14; 21.26, and in those passages Revised Standard Version translates it “worm.” See the comments on “worm” in 7.5. In those and other passages maggot is associated with a dead body. Only here and in Psalm 22.6 is the term used to express man’s insignificance. According to Dhorme the term is properly maggot, as in Revised Standard Version, and worm (from the verb meaning “to gnaw”) in line b refers to the “earthworm.”

And the son of man, who is a worm: son of man is parallel in meaning to man in line a. This expression represents the poet’s way of intensifying the thought. The heightening of emphasis is not in the pair of terms maggot … worm, but in man … son of man. Since it is the poet’s purpose to depict the insignificance of mankind, translators must find the most effective way to do this. For example, Good News Translation has used the pair “worm” and “insect.” Bible en français courant says “What will become of these miserable humans as insignificant as an ordinary earthworm?” and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “How much less mankind, this miserable worm.” Good News Translation‘s rendering of the line, “What is man worth in God’s eyes?” does not translate the content of this line but seems to summarize verses 4-6. It is better to stay closer to the text. Due to the complex set of grammatical relations involved in verses 5 and 6, translators may find it necessary to state some aspects of the meaning more directly than the translations cited have done; for example, “If God does not consider the moon and stars to shine brightly, he considers human beings to be even less. To him they are maggots and worms”; “When God looks at the moon and the stars he considers them to be dim lights. When he looks at human beings they are nothing more to him than maggots and worms.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .