Are you ready to go fishing? If so, then you are going to need some worms, some Hebrew rimmah or some Greek skolex. But if you are looking for salvation, then you are going to need an entirely different worm, a tola’ or tole’ah Worm. Yup, you guessed it, Hebrew has several distinct words for the English equivalent.
The Rimmah / Skolex Worm [H7415 / G4663]
Job 7:5 – “My flesh is clothed with rimmah… my skin is broken, and become loathsome.”
Job 21:26 – “They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the rimmah shall cover them.”
Mark 9:44-48 – “Where their skolex dies not, and the fire is not quenched.”
The rimmah / skolex worm is the fishing kind of worm, also known as a maggot. This worm is a cause and sign of decay. This is the same worm that caused Herod to become sick, to be eaten by worms and die (Acts 12:23).
The Tolaʽ or Toleʽah Worm [H8439]
Isaiah 41:14 – “Do not fear, you tola’ Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you, declares Yahweh.”
Jonah 4:7 – “When dawn came up the next day, Yahweh appointed a tola’ that attacked the bush.”
The tola’ or tole’ah Worm is the female ‘Coccus Illicis’ worm, which the Hebrews used to make the red dye used in the coverings of the Tabernacle and the clothes of the priests. It is known as the crimson worm because of this color.
The Yeshua Tola’ or Tole’ah Worm
Job 25:6 – “How much less man, that is a rimmah and the son of man, which is a tola?”
Psalm 22 – “But I am a tola’ and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.”
Job 25:6 uses both Hebrew words for worm, calling man a rimmah and the son of man, Yeshua, a tola’. As Yeshua is being crucified, fully aware of Job’s quote, he then quotes from Psalm 22 (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34).
Psalm 22 and Job 25:6 both prophecy about the Messiah, and this is why Yeshua applies the word tola’ to himself. The death of the tola’ worm takes place as follows:
- the tola’ worm, or crimson worm, climbs into a Hermes Oak tree,
- the tola’ worm attaches itself to the tree and forms a protective shell,
- the tola’ worm lays her eggs and hatches her children, who feed off her body to stay alive,
- the tola’ worm oozes a red stain for three days which stains the tree red, and which also permanently covers its children,
- the tola’ worm pulls its tail up to its head, forming the shape of a heart,
- the heart-shaped tola’ worm then turns into a snow-white wax and flakes off.
Isaiah 1:18 speaks of this saying – “Says Yahweh: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
Application
1 Peter 2:24 – “Yeshua bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”
Yeshua likened Himself with the Tola’ or Tole’ah Worm – a perfect picture of the Messiah.
- Like the Crimson Worm, Yeshua was also attached to a tree to die (1 Peter 2:24).
- He did so willingly and died to give birth to his family, the Bride of Yeshua (John 10:17-18).
- The beatings, tortures, and crucifixion turned his body red with the shed blood (Luke 18:33).
- Yeshua rose from the dead after three days just as the baby worms leave the shell after three days (Matthew 12:40).
- His shed blood covers our sins and turns them white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).
The Trees
Psalm 96:11-13 – “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before Yahweh, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.”
Scripture uses many Hebrew idioms that are symbolic of other things. The Sea and the Land are almost identical to the Heavens and the Earth – which often symbolize nations and their peoples. The Stars symbolize heavenly beings: angels and fallen angels. Trees frequently symbolize human beings. Understanding Hebrew idioms helps us to better understand the scriptures. Today we look at another usage of the “trees” idioms – the Green Tree is Yeshua Ha’Mashiach – but the Dry Tree is the wicked, unbelieving person.
The Green Tree
Luke 23:31 – “For if they do these things to the greenG5200 treeG3586, what shall be done to the dryG3584 tree?”
Most translations state this verse as: “For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” The King James states it this way: “For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?”
The Hebrew is very explicit, and the actions taken are done TO, not “in” or “when.” The key to proper interpretation of this verse is that the phrases “green tree” and “dry tree” are Hebrew idioms, and the actions taken against either of these trees can only be done to the tree, not in the tree or when the tree is in a particular condition. Here’s why:
- The Green Tree is a messianic title that applies to Yeshua – the only one who is righteous.
- The Green Tree is an idiom for a righteous person, i.e., a person who has salvation in Yeshua and who has been given his righteousness…
- The Dry Tree represents the wicked, unbelieving individual.
This is most clearly seen in Ezekiel 20:47 thru 21:7. In this passage, Ezekiel quotes Yahweh, who is speaking to the Negev forest – another name (Hebrew idiom) for Israel! Yahweh says: “I will light a fire in you; it will devour every tree in you, green and dry alike; a blazing, unquenchable flame that will scorch every face… I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off both the righteous and the wicked from you.” This is a prophecy about the people of Israel whose first part was achieved at the time of Yeshua’s crucifixion, and whose second part was completed at the Diaspora of the Jews when they were dispersed to all of the nations of the world.
Verses 21:6-7 tell Ezekiel to groan bitterly for what is coming. Yeshua, as he made his way to his crucifixion, tells those following him not to cry (groan bitterly) for himself, but for themselves and their children (Luke 23:27-28). He knows that the prophecy of Ezekiel 20:47 – 21:7 is in the process of being fulfilled.
Conclusions
1 Peter 2:24 – “Yeshua bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”
Yeshua likened Himself with the Tôlâ or Tôlê âh Worm – a perfect picture of the Messiah. Like the Crimson Worm, Yeshua was also attached to a tree to die (1 Peter 2:24). He did so willingly and died to give birth to his family, the Bride of Yeshua (John 10:17-18). The beatings, tortures, and crucifixion turned his body red with the shed blood (Luke 18:33). Yeshua rose from the dead after three days just as the baby worms leave the shell after three days (Matthew 12:40). His shed blood covers our sins and turns them white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). How awesome is our God to provide us with such an example, with so many coinkydinks! Awesome indeed.
Ezekiel 17:24 – “Then all the trees of the field will know that I, Yahweh, bring down the tall tree and raise up the low tree, dry up the green tree and make the dry tree bear fruit. I, Yahweh, have spoken; and I will do it.”
Matthew 13:23 – “The person who hears the message and understands it will surely bear fruit.”
Yeshua, the Green Tree, was “dried up.” Crucified, died, buried. And the dry tree, every individual who has been given salvation and who has been given his righteousness, is now bearing fruit to the glory of Yahweh and Yeshua (Matthew 13:23, Mark 4:20, John 15:2-8, Romans 7:4).
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