H6211a H6211a
moth; a fabric-eating insect used figuratively for slow, insidious decay and human fragility before God
Refers to the moth or moth-larva, the tiny insect whose larvae silently consume garments and organic material. In Scripture it becomes a vivid image of quiet, relentless destruction. Hosea pairs it with dry rot to describe God's slow judgment on Ephraim (Hos 5:12), while Job uses it to underscore human frailty — crushed 'like a garment eaten by a moth' (Job 13:28). Isaiah twice warns that oppressors will be consumed like moth-eaten cloth (Isa 50:9; 51:8). The multilingual evidence is remarkably consistent: Spanish polilla, French teigne, and German Motte all converge on a single sense.
Senses
1. moth — A moth or moth-larva — the small insect whose larvae devour fabric and organic material. Used literally of the destructive pest itself, but overwhelmingly deployed as a figure for slow, invisible ruin: God consumes like a moth (Hos 5:12), humans crumble like moth-eaten cloth (Job 4:19; 13:28), and the wicked will be devoured as a garment by moths (Isa 50:9; 51:8). The Psalmist likewise invokes the moth to portray the dissolution of beauty under divine rebuke (Ps 39:11). 7×
AR["السُّوسُ", "العُثَّةِ", "سُوسٌ", "عُثٌّ", "كَ-العُثِّ", "كَالعُثَّةِ"]·ben["পতঙ্গের", "পোকা", "পোকার-মতো", "পোকার-মতো-", "যেমন-পতঙ্গ"]·DE["[כעש]", "[עש]", "wie-ein-Motte"]·EN["a-moth", "as-moth", "like-a-moth", "like-moth", "moth", "the-moth"]·FR["[עש]", "chevreuil", "comme-teigne", "mite"]·heb["כ-עש", "עש"]·HI["कीट-की-तरह", "कीड़ा", "कीड़े-जैसा", "के-जैसे-कीड़े", "पतंगे"]·ID["ngengat", "seperti-ngengat"]·IT["[כעש]", "[עש]", "come-il-as-moth", "moth", "un-moth"]·jav["kados-renget", "kadosdene-lawa", "renget"]·KO["-좀벌레-같이", "같으니라-좀에", "나방", "좀", "좀이", "좌-같이"]·PT["como-traça", "traça"]·RU["как-моль", "моли", "моль", "молью"]·ES["como-polilla", "polilla"]·SW["kama-nondo", "nondo"]·TR["guve", "güve", "güve-gibi", "güvenin"]·urd["جیسے-کیڑا", "پتنگے", "کیڑا", "کیڑے-کی-طرح"]
Related Senses
H6629 1. flock, sheep/goats (small livestock) (274×)H1241 1. cattle, herd (bovine livestock) (183×)H0352a 1. ram (male sheep) (156×)H6499 1. young bull, bullock (130×)H3532 1. lamb, young male sheep (105×)H2543 1. donkey (male ass) (96×)H7794 1. ox, bull (79×)H7462b 1. shepherd (agent noun) (76×)H5795 1. she-goat(s), female goat(s) (68×)H7462b 2. to shepherd, tend, pasture (60×)H1581 1. camel (domestic animal) (54×)H0738b 1. lion (46×)G4263 1. sheep (39×)H5739 1. flock or herd of livestock (38×)H5695 1. calf, young bull (35×)H0738a 1. lion (large predatory feline) (34×)H0860 1. female donkey (34×)H3611 1. dog (animal) (32×)H3715a 1. young lion, lion cub (31×)G0721 1. Lamb (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. עָשׁ n.m.Is 50:9 moth (as waster, consumer);—ע׳ abs., Ho 5:12 (‖ רָקָב), Is 50:9; 51:8; in sim. ψ 39:12; כְּבֶגֶד אֲכָלוֹ עָשׁ Jb 13:28; symbol of fragility Jb 4:19.—27:18 read prob. עַכָּבִישׁ q.v.