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 7:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 7:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “Worms swarm on me and I look very dirty
    the skin of my body is dry and pus oozes from my wounds.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “My body has become full of worms and scabs,
    and pus has been coming out, bursting [through] my skin.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “My body is filled with worms and scabs. My boils break-open and puss-oozes-out.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Job 7:5

Verse 5 consists of two vivid statements describing Job’s body in terms of his flesh and skin. My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt: My flesh means “my body” and is the poetic use of a part of the body to represent the whole body. The figure of clothing is used to indicate that the entire body is covered with disease. The term translated worms is found only in Exodus 16.24, where it refers to worms that destroy food, and in Isaiah 14.11, where it is associated with the dead body. In 17.14 and 21.26 worms are also associated with the dead body, and so the term has the sense of “maggots.” The word translated worm here is related to a verb meaning to grow rotten. In 25.6 the same word is used to symbolize human insignificance and is used in parallel with another word for worm. The choice of a term to translate worm should be appropriate to the context. Dirt translates “clod of dust” and may suggest dirt caked on the skin. Dust as well as worms is a symbol of death, as seen in 17.16 “descend together into the dust.” The particular expression used here may mean scabs, and Good News Translation and some others take it in that sense.

In some languages translators must avoid speaking of flesh and skin and must thus perhaps modify the parallelism. However, it is often possible to substitute “body” for flesh, or even for both terms. It may not be possible in translation to keep the metaphor clothed with worms and dirt, but it may be possible to employ a different figure. “Full of worms” may give the wrong idea, and in such cases we can often say, for example, “Worms crawl all over my body,” “Worms and dirt are everywhere on my body,” or “I have worms and scabs from head to foot.”

In line b Job extends the description of his body as having dried skin running with pus from open sores. My skin hardens: translators render this line in various ways. The Hebrew says “My skin is broken and it runs.” The word “runs” is derived from a verb meaning to melt or flow, and Hebrew Old Testament Text Project thinks it has that meaning here, and so Job’s skin is covered with festering running sores. In translation it is best to keep this as a general description and not identify it as a particular disease, such as yaws.

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 .