Bible Dictionary
Cankerworm
The cankerworm was probably a locust or a stage in the locust’s development, noted for consuming vegetation and bringing devastation.
Definition
The cankerworm was probably the locust at a particular stage of growth, shortly after emerging from its caterpillar state. Its Hebrew designation means “the licking locust,” describing its consumption of field vegetation.
Biblical Usage
The cankerworm appears in prophetic descriptions of devastation and restoration. It is also associated with the locust that sheds its covering and flies away.
Historical Background
The entry connects the cankerworm with the locust’s development, specifically a stage following the caterpillar state. Its name reflects its destructive feeding on grass and other vegetation.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Heb. yelek), “the licking locust,” which licks up the grass of the field; probably the locust at a certain stage of its growth, just as it emerges from the caterpillar state (Joel 1:4; 2:25). The word is rendered “caterpillar” in Ps. 105:34; Jer. 51:14, 17 (but R.V. “canker-worm”). “It spoileth and fleeth away” (Nah. 3:16), or as some read the passage, “The cankerworm putteth off [i.e., the envelope of its wings], and fleeth away.”
Smith's Bible Dictionary
[Locust]