H7415 H7415
rimmah -- a worm or maggot, sign and agent of decay and human mortality
A feminine noun denoting worms or maggots -- the crawling organisms that feed on decaying flesh and thereby symbolize corruption and mortality. The word appears almost exclusively in contexts of death, judgment, and human insignificance. In Exodus 16:24, it is notably absent: the manna preserved overnight by God's command did not breed worms, unlike the disobediently hoarded portion. Job returns to rimmah repeatedly as a meditation on mortality: 'My flesh is clothed with worms' (Job 7:5), 'I say to the worm, you are my mother' (Job 17:14), and the dead 'lie down alike in the dust, and worms cover them' (Job 21:26). Isaiah pairs it with tole'ah ('worm') as the ignominious bed of the fallen king of Babylon (Isa 14:11). Spanish gusano, French ver, and German Wurm all converge on a single sense.
Senses
1. worm, maggot — A collective or singular noun for worms or maggots that feed on decaying organic matter, serving throughout the Hebrew Bible as a potent symbol of decomposition, mortality, and human frailty. Job 7:5 describes flesh 'clothed with worms,' and Job 17:14 addresses the worm as kin, while Isaiah 14:11 pairs rimmah with tole'ah as the degrading fate of proud tyrants. In Job 25:6 it extends hyperbolically to human insignificance before God. Spanish gusano and French ver consistently render this single sense without differentiation, confirming its monosemous character across all seven occurrences. 7×
AR["الدُّودُ", "دودًا", "دودَةٌ", "دُودٌ", "لِ-الدُّودِ", "وَ-الدُّودُ", "وَ-دُودٌ"]·ben["-পোকার-কাছে", "এবং-কীট", "এবং-পোকা", "কীট", "পোকা"]·DE["Wurm", "[רמה]", "und-Scharlach", "und-Wurm", "zu-Wurm"]·EN["a-maggot", "and-worm", "maggot", "to-the-worm", "worm", "worms"]·FR["[רמה]", "et-ver", "ver"]·heb["ו-רימה", "ל-רימה", "רימה"]·HI["और-कीड़े", "कीड़ा", "कीड़े", "कीड़े-को"]·ID["dan-ulat", "kepada-ulat", "ulat"]·IT["[רמה]", "al-a-il-verme", "e-e-verme", "e-verme", "un-maggot", "verme", "worms"]·jav["cacing", "dhumateng-cacing", "lan-cacing"]·KO["구더기가", "구더기를", "구더기에게", "구더기이고", "그리고-구더기가"]·PT["e-verme", "o-verme;", "para-o-verme", "verme", "vermes", "é-verme;"]·RU["гниль", "и-червей", "и-червь", "червь", "червью", "червям", "червями"]·ES["al-gusano", "el-gusano;", "gusano", "gusanos", "y-gusano", "y-gusanos"]·SW["funza", "kwa-minyoo", "mdudu", "minyoo", "na-mabuu", "na-minyoo"]·TR["kurda", "kurt", "kurtlar", "ve-kurt", "ve-kurtlar"]·urd["اور-کیڑا", "اور-کیڑے", "کیڑا", "کیڑا ہے", "کیڑے", "کیڑے-کو"]
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
† רִמָּה n.f. worm (cause and sign of decay);—abs. ר׳ Ex 16:24 (P), Is 14:11 (‖ תּוֹלֵעָה), Jb 7:5; 17:14; 21:26; 24:20 all indic. corruption, feeding on dead, etc.; hyperb. of insignificant man 25:6 (‖ תּוֹלֵעָה).