Moth

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MOTH (‘âsh. Job_4:18; Job_13:28; Job_27:18, Psa_39:12, Isa_50:9; Isa_51:8, Hos_5:12; Gr. sçs, Mat_6:19-20, Luk_12:33, Jam_5:2).—All the references are to the clothes-moth, which is ubiquitous and extremely plentiful in Palestine. It is almost impossible to guard against its destructiveness, except by constantly using clothes, shawls, carpets, etc. Such goods, when stored for long, are found to be reduced almost to powder on being removed (cf. Job_4:19 etc.). The fragile cases of these moths are referred to in Job_27:18, if the MT [Note: Massoretic Text.] he correct.
E. W. G. Masterman.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909

The clothes moth, Hebrew 'ash, Greek sees. Job_4:19; "houses of clay crushed (as a garment) before the moth" (compare Job_13:28); but Maurer, "crushed after the manner of the moth," whose lustrous satiny wings and body are soon crushed. The minute wasting of garments, stored up as they are in the East as wealth, by the larva which forms its own case out of the cloth material on which it feeds, is the chief point of similitude (Mat_6:19-20; Jas_5:2); Hos_5:12, "I will be unto Ephraim as a moth," gradually, silently, and surely consuming the nation's substance (Isa_50:9; Isa_51:8).
The Tinea pellionella and Tinea biselliata still abound in Palestine. The order is the Lepidoptera. Job says of the man enriched by wrong, (Job_27:18) "he buildeth his house as a moth," whose house, in and of the garment, is broken, so frail is it whenever the garment is shaken out. The moth chooses for laying its egg a garment under cover, rather than one exposed and in use. The young one chooses the longer hairs for the outside, the shorter for the interior, of its oblong case; it finishes it within with closely woven silk. When needed, it enlarges the case by pieces inserted in the sides. Only when the case is complete it begins to eat. It chooses for food the shortest and thickest fibers, eating into the body of the cloth and rejecting the nap.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.

Moth. By the Hebrew word, we are certainly to understand some species of clothes-moth, (tinea). Reference to the destructive habits of the clothes-moth is made in Job_4:19; Job_13:28; Psa_39:11; etc.
(The moth is a well-known insect, which in its caterpillar state is very destructive to woollen clothing, furs, etc. The egg of the moth, being deposited on the fur or cloth, produces a very small shining insect, which immediately forms a house for itself by cuttings from the cloth. It eats away the nap, and finally ruins the fabric. There are more than 1500 species of moths. ? McClintock and Strong's Cyclopedia).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863

עיש , Job_4:19; and עשש , Job_13:28; Job_27:18; Psa_6:7; Psa_31:9-10; Psa_39:11; Isa_50:9; Hos_5:12. The clothes moth is the tinea argentea; of a white, shining silver, or pearl colour. It is clothed with shells, fourteen in number, and these are scaly. Albin asserts this to be the insect that eats woollen stuffs; and says that it is produced from a gray speckled moth, that flies by night, creeps among woollens, and there lays her eggs, which, after a little time, are hatched as worms, and in this state they feed on their habitation, till they change into a chrysalis, and thence emerge into moths. “The young moth, or moth worm,” says the Abbe Pluche, “upon leaving the egg which a papilio had lodged upon a piece of stuff commodious for her purpose, finds a proper place of residence, grows and feeds upon the nap, and likewise builds with it an apartment, which is fixed to the groundwork of the stuff with several cords and a little glue. From an aperture in this habitation, the moth worm devours and demolishes all about him; and, when he has cleared the place, he draws out all the fastenings of his tent; after which he carries it to some little distance, and then fixes it with the slender cords in a new situation. In this manner he continues to live at our expense, till he is satisfied with his food, at which period he is first transformed into the nympha, and then changed into the papilio.” The allusions to this insect in the sacred writings are very striking: “Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool.” They shall perish with as little noise as a garment under the tooth of a moth, Isa_51:7-8. In the prophecies of Hosea, God himself says, “I will be as a moth unto Ephraim, and as a lion;” that is, I will send silent and secret judgments upon him, which shall imperceptibly waste his beauty, corrode his power, and diminish his strength, and will finish his destruction with open and irresistible calamities. Or the meaning may be, As the moth crumbles into dust under the slightest pressure, or the gentlest touch, so man dissolves with equal ease, and vanishes into darkness, under the finger of the Almighty. Deeply sensible of this affecting truth, the royal Psalmist earnestly deprecates the judgments of God, humbly confessing his own weakness, and the inability of every man to endure his frown: “Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed, by the blow of thy hand. When thou with rebukes doth correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah,” Psa_39:10-11. Such, in the estimation of Job, is the fading prosperity of a wicked man: “He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh,” Job_27:18. His unrighteous acquisitions shall be of short continuance; they shall moulder insensibly away, returning to the lawful owner, or pass into the possession of others. It is in this sense that the Lord threatens: “I will be unto Ephraim as a moth,” Hos_5:12. By the secret curse of God he shall fade away, and whatever is most precious in his estimation shall be gradually dissolved and consumed, as a garment eaten by the moth. The same allusion is involved in the direction of our Lord to his disciples: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal,”
Mat_6:19-20. The word treasure commonly suggests to our minds the idea of some durable substance, as precious stones, gold, and silver, upon which the persevering industry of a moth can make no impression; but, in the language of inspiration, it denotes every thing collected together which men reckon valuable. The Jews had treasures of raiment as well as of corn, of wine, of oil, of honey, Jer_41:8; and of gold, silver, and brass, Eze_33:4; Dan_11:43. The robes of princes were a part of their treasure, upon which they often set a particular value. Rich vestments made a conspicuous figure in the treasury of Ulysses. These were, from their nature, exposed to the depredations of the moth; fabricated of perishing materials, they were liable to be prematurely consumed, or taken away by fraud or violence; but the favour of God, and the graces of his Spirit, and the enjoyment of eternal happiness, are neither liable to internal decay nor external violence, and by consequence, are the proper objects of our highest regard, chief solicitude, and constant pursuit. It is also likely, that by “moth” our Lord meant all the kinds of small insects which devour or spoil the different kinds of property, such as corn, honey, fruits, &c, which were treasured up for the future. These, in warm countries, are very numerous and destructive.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.

moth (עשׁ, ‛āsh; compare Arabic ‛uththat, ?moth?; colloquial, ‛itt; סס, ṣāṣ, ?worm? Isa_51:8; compare Arabic sûs, ?worm,? especially an insect larva in flesh, wood or grain; σής, sḗs, ?moth? Mat_6:19-20; Luk_12:33; σητόβρωτος, sētóbrōtos, ?moth-eaten? Jam_5:2):
The moths constitute the larger division of the order Lepidoptera. Two of the points by which they are distinguished from butterflies are that they are generally nocturnal and that their antennae are not club-shaped. Further, the larva in many cases spins a cocoon for the protection of the pupa or chrysalis, which is never the case with butterflies. The Biblical references are to the clothes-moth, i.e. various species of the genus Tinea, tiny insects which lay their eggs in woolen clothes, upon which the larvae later feed. As the larva feeds it makes a cocoon of its silk together with fibers of the cloth on which it is feeding, so that the color of the cocoon depends upon the color of the fabric. The adult is only indirectly harmful, as it is only in the larval stage that the insect injures clothing. Therefore in Isa_51:8, ?For the moth (‛āsh) shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm (ṣāṣ) shall eat them like wool,? both words must refer to the larva, the distich demanding such a word as ṣāṣ to balance ‛āsh in the first half. The word ?moth? occurs 7 times in the Old Testament, in Job, Psalms, Isaiah and Hosea, always in figurative expressions, typifying either that which is destructive Job_13:28; Psa_39:11; Isa_50:9; Isa_51:8; Hos_5:12 or that which is frail Job_4:19; Job_27:18. See INSECTS.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.

Moth occurs in Job_4:19; Job_13:28; Job_27:18; Isa_50:9; Isa_51:8; Hos_5:12; Mat_6:19-20; Luk_12:33; Sir_19:3; Sir_42:13. There is no Biblical insect whose identity is better ascertained. The following allusions to the moth occur in Scripture:?to its being produced in clothes?'for from garments cometh a moth' (Sir_42:13): to its well-known fragility 'mortal men are crushed before the moth' (Job_4:19), literally 'before the face of the moth.' The allusion to 'the house of the moth' (Job_27:18) seems to refer plainly to the silky spindle shaped case, covered with detached hairs and particles of wool, made and inhabited by the larva of the Tinea sarcitella; or to the felted case or tunnel formed by the larva of the Tinea pellionella; or to the arched gallery formed by eating through wool by the larva of the Tinea tapetzella. References occur to the destructiveness of the clothes-moth: 'as a garment that is moth-eaten' (Job_13:28); 'the moth shall eat them up' (Isa_50:9); 'the moth shall eat them up like a garment' (Isa_51:8); 'I will be to Ephraim as a moth,' i.e. will secretly consume him (Hos_5:12); comp. Mat_6:19-20; Luk_12:33; Jam_5:2, metaphorically. Since the 'treasures' of the Orientals, in ancient times, consisted partly of 'garments, both new and old' (Mat_13:52; and comp. Jos_7:21; Jdg_14:12), the ravages of the clothes-moth afforded them a lively emblem of destruction. Moths, like fleas, etc. amid other more immediate purposes of their existence, incidentally serve as a stimulus to human industry and cleanliness; for, by a remarkable discrimination in her instinct, the parent moth never deposits her eggs in garments frequently overlooked or kept clean. Indeed, the most remarkable of all proofs of animal intelligence is to be found in the larva of the water-moth, which get into straws, and adjust the weight of their case so that it can always float: when too heavy they add a piece of straw or wood, and when too light a bit of gravel.




The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.

Job_4:19 (b) This insect which weighs very little is used as a type of GOD's wrath in its least and lightest form. This, falling on mortal man, crushes him and wrecks him.

Psa_39:11 (a) In this passage natural human beauty is compared to this insect in that it is quickly and easily lost, crushed and destroyed, even as this insect may be easily destroyed.

Isa_50:9 (b) This type indicates the way the Lord uses little things to remove great things. Little troubles, little difficulties, little adversities destroy peace, joy, zeal, earnestness and even faith, just as a little moth will destroy a large, expensive garment.

Hos_5:12 (a) The destructive insect eating away at the cloth is a picture of the way our Lord would quietly and slowly deal with Israel, taking away his blessings, one by one, and leaving them as a damaged garment, with no strength, no beauty and no power.

Mat_6:19 (c) By this is represented decay in the animal kingdom from the moth, decay in the mineral kingdom by the rust, decay in the human kingdom by the thieves. All of these ruin and destroy the things we lay up for ourselves on the earth.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.

Moth
(עָשׁ, ash, so called from its causing garments to fall in pieces, Job_4:19; Job_13:28; Job_27:18 : Psa_39:11; Isaiah 1, 9; Isa_51:8; Hos_5:12; Sept. and Vulg. everywhere [except in the Psalms, where they have ἀράχνη, aranea] render σής, tinea; like the N.T., Mat_6:19-20; Luk_12:23; with which may be compared the Heb. סָס, sas, from its leaping, Isa_51:8; Sept. σής, Vulg. tinea, Auth. Vers. "worm;" the word σής also occurs in the term σητόβρωτος, "moth-eaten," Jam_5:2), the name of a well-known insect, which, in its caterpillar state, is very destructive to clothing. The tribe of moths is called by naturalists Phalcena, and is said to contain more than 1500 species. Linnaeus, under the order Lepidoptera, genus Phalenaa, gives the species of moths — Tinea tapetzella, T.pellionella, and T. recurvaria sarcitella — as peculiarly destructive to woollen clothes, furs, etc. The egg of the moth, being deposited on the fur or cloth, produces a very small, shining insect, which immediately forms a house for Itself by cuttings from the cloth. It eats away the nap, weakens or destroys the thread, and finally ruins the fabric. Moths fly abroad only in the evening and night, differing in this respect from the tribe of butterflies, which fly only by day.
Some of the species of moths feed on the leaves of plants. The "moth" par eminence is an insect of the order Lepidoptera, which possess four wings covered with minute tessellated scales, and of the tribe Nocturna, in which the antennue (or "horns") are drawn out to a fine point. The genus Tinea in this division consists of small species, with the fore-wings long and narrow, and the head covered with coarse hairs. It includes a large number of species, several of which are noted for their destructiveness to clothes, woollen stuffs, furs, specimens of natural history in museums, and corn in granaries. The most pertinacious are T. pellionella and T. tapetzella, which feed on cloth; and these, from their abundance, and from their minuteness enabling them to penetrate into drawers and wardrobes, are but too well known in every household The identity of this with the Biblical insect is apparent from the terms by which it is rendered in the Sept. (comp. Theophrast. Hist. plant. 1:16) and Vulg. (comp. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 11:41). "The following allusions to the moth occur in Scripture-to its being produced in clothes: 'For from garments cometh a moth' (Sir_43:13); to its well- known fragility: 'Mortal men are crushed before the moth' (Job_4:19), which words really mean (so the Sept.) 'Like as (לַפְנֵי, comp. 1Sa_1:10) the moth is crushed' (comp. Plautus, Cistell. 1:1, 73); but others take the phrase actively, 'As a moth consumes clothing' (so the Vulg.).
The allusion to 'the house of the moth' (Job_27:18) seems to refer plainly to the silky, spindle-shaped case, covered with detached hairs and particles of wool, made and inhabited by the larva of the Tinea sarcitella; or to the felted case or tunnel formed by the larva of the Tinea pellionella; or to the arched gallery formed by eating through wool by the larva of the Tinea tapetzella. References occur to the destructiveness of the clothes-moth: 'As a garment that is moth-eaten' (Job_13:28); 'The moth shall eat them up' (Isa_50:9); ' The moth shall eat them up like a garment' (Isa_51:8);' I will be to Ephraim as a moth,' i.e., will secretly consume him (Hos_5:12); comp. Mat_6:19-20; Luk_12:33; Jam_5:2, metaphorically; and Sir_19:3 — 'Moths and worms shall have him that cleaveth to harlots,' but the better reading is σήπη, 'rottenness.' Since the 'treasures' of the Orientals, in ancient times, consisted partly of ‘garments, both new and old' (Mat_13:52; and comp. Jos_7:21; Jdg_14:12), the ravages of the clothes-moth afforded them a lively emblem of destruction.
Their treasures also consisted partly of corn laid up in barns, etc. (Luk_12:18; Luk_12:24); and it has been supposed that the βρῶσις, translated 'rust,' joined with the σής ' in Mat_6:19-20, refers also to some species of moth, etc., probably in the larva state, which destroys corn. Kuiunol says the 'curculio, or corn-worm,' the larva of the Tinea granella, is injurious to corn. Compare the Roman phrase blatta et tinea. Moths, like fleas, etc., amid other more immediate purposes of their existence, incidentally serve as a stimulus to human industry and cleanliness; for, by a remarkable discrimination in her instinct, the parent moth never deposits her eggs in garments frequently overlooked or kept clean. Indeed, the most remarkable of all proofs of animal intelligence is to be found in the larvae of the water-moth, which get into straws, and adjust the weight of their case so that it can always float: when too heavy they add a piece of straw or wood, and when too light a bit of gravel (Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1:42)." "The Tinea pellionella. the larva of which constructs a portable case out of the substance on which it feeds, and is very partial to feathers, certainly occurs in Asia Minor, and we may safely conclude that it and biselliata (an abundant species often found in horse-hair linings of chairs) will be found in any old furniture-warehouse at Jerusalem." A detailed account of the habits of these insects may be found in Rennie's Insect Architecture (Lond. 1857), page 220 sq. SEE WORM.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.

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