Tola (תּוֹלָע) refers to the crimson worm or scarlet grub — specifically the Coccus ilicis insect whose females would attach to a tree, produce their crimson offspring, and die, with their bodies yielding the scarlet dye used in the tabernacle and priestly garments. The word covers both the creature itself and the crimson-scarlet color it produces. Appearing over 40 times, it is foundational to Israel's sacred color vocabulary.
The theological depth of tola is most striking in Psalm 22:6 — 'I am a worm [tola] and not a man' — a verse Jesus quoted from the cross. The crimson worm dies to produce a scarlet that cannot fade, clinging to a tree (wood), and this death yields life-giving color. Ancient readers would have recognized the sacrificial imagery: the dye used in the tabernacle was produced by a creature's death. Christ, the crimson worm, died clinging to the tree to cover humanity's sin with His blood.
The scarlet thread of Rahab (Joshua 2) saved her household — a tola-dyed cord that foreshadows the blood of the Passover lamb. From Psalm 22 to the cross, the tola worm is a hidden messianic symbol: it dies attached to wood, its scarlet body covers in crimson, and from its death comes the color of both sin and redemption. 'Though your sins are like tola... they shall be white as snow' (Isaiah 1:18).