Ephrem the Syrian : The Spirit described his generation as a worm that was without meaning. The type that the Holy Spirit shaped attains its meaning. — HYMNS ON THE NATIVITY 1:10 Ephrem the Syrian : Therefore, you will subdue kings and kingdoms with your frailty and will overturn their schemes and proud designs. So [Isaiah] calls the Jews, about whom he is speaking here, "worm," in order that they may understand that they cannot rely on their strength; nonetheless, their weakness will not hinder them, since worms are able to consume hard wood, so that, in the future, they will destroy the pride and power of very strong kingdoms. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 41:14 Jerome : I say to you, Do not be afraid: I have helped you; do not fear, worm of Jacob, who are dead from Israel, or as the LXX says, very few from Israel. But the worm which is said in Hebrew, Tholath, is called the chorus of the Apostles because of their humility and contempt, imitating the Savior, who speaks in the psalm: I am a worm, and not a man: the reproach of men, and the despising of the people (Psalms 22:7). For just as the worm penetrates the earth, so the apostolic word penetrated the cities of the nations and first entered the hardest hearts. And what follows: I have set thee as a new threshing cart, having tearing beaks, signifies that the preaching of the Gospel crushes the opposing powers and lifts up the spiritual wickedness that exalts itself against the knowledge of God; which, according to the variety of pride, are called mountains and hills. And when these are taken away and scattered like a whirlwind, let Israel exult and rejoice in the Holy Lord of Israel. We can also say that an ecclesiastical man, having the serpents of evangelical preaching on a new wagon, which does not work at all in the oldness of the letter, but in the freshness of the spirit, crushes the hardest hearts of unbelievers: separating the wheat from the chaff, and breaking mountains and hills, that is, all the leaders of heretics, who, being crushed and broken, are reduced to dust and taught that they are nothing, so that those who were gathered wickedly may be divided into their own good. — Commentary on Isaiah Theodoret of Cyrus : This shows clearly that the prophetic text applies to those who have believed in the Lord. It is a small part of Israel that believed, while the major part refused to. That is why Paul said that even at the present time there remains a remnant according to God's gracious election.… As for the name "worm," it fits very well. In the first place, this remnants' appearance was contemptible. In fact, this is what the divine apostle meant when he said, "God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise." But Isaiah calls them worms for another reason. The worm that lodges in wood of poor quality will in a short time wear it down. Similarly, those who are athletes of the truth will, while hidden and imperceptible, destroy the error of the idols. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 12:41.14