Isaiahchapter 11
16 verses · BSBIsaiah book hub →
Speaks with:Luke 2×2Isaiah 11×2Zechariah 10×2Jeremiah 23×1Revelation 22×1Zechariah 6×1
Summary
Chapter summary
A shoot comes forth from the stock of Jesse, and the Spirit of Jehovah rests on him, wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of Jehovah. He judges the poor with righteousness, not by sight or hearing, slays the wicked with the breath of his lips, and wears righteousness and faithfulness as his girdle. Predators and prey lie down together (wolf with lamb, leopard with kid, lion eating straw, a child at the adder's den) for the earth is full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. The root of Jesse stands as an ensign to the peoples (11:1-10, quoted in Romans 15:12), and Jehovah gathers the remnant a second time from Assyria, Egypt, and the coastlands; Ephraim's envy departs, Judah's adversaries are cut off, and a highway rises as in the exodus from Egypt.
Context
Prophecy · Isaiah — Isaiah overview
- A. 1–5 A Shoot Out of the Stump of Jesse
- B. 6–9 The Wolf and the Lamb on the Holy Mountain
- C. 10–16 An Ensign for the Nations and a Second Gathering
The outline
A.A Shoot Out of the Stump of Jessevv. 1 to 5
Read vv. 1 to 5 →B.The Wolf and the Lamb on the Holy Mountainvv. 6 to 9
Read vv. 6 to 9 →C.An Ensign for the Nations and a Second Gatheringvv. 10 to 16
Read vv. 10 to 16 →
The world behind this chapter
Isaiah 11The history
The image is coppicing, and every farmer knew it. Cut an olive or an oak to the ground and the root sends up a fresh shoot; the tree looks finished and is not. Isaiah has just described a forest being felled. Now he points to one stump, and calls it Jesse's — not David's. Naming the father rather than the king says the royal house is back down to a farming family in Bethlehem.
The way this ruler judges is measured against the court everyone knew. Cases were heard at the city gate, in public, and they turned on what the judge saw and what witnesses said — which meant they turned on appearance, reputation, and who had paid whom. This one does not judge by what his eyes see or what his ears hear, and the poor get a fair hearing for the first time.
The animal pictures are pastoral facts turned inside out. A wolf among lambs, a leopard by a goat, a lion at the feed trough eating straw like an ox, a nursing baby playing over a snake hole — every one of those is a shepherd's nightmare, listed and cancelled. The cause is given plainly: the earth full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
The gathering at the end is a second exodus, and the route is spelled out: a highway from Assyria like the one Israel had out of Egypt, the gulf of the Egyptian sea dried, the river split into channels a man can cross in sandals, and the scattered brought back from Assyria, Egypt, Cush, Elam, Babylon, Hamath, and the coastlands.
What it meant to them
To hearers whose king was Ahaz, the promise was that the dynasty's ruin was not its end. The Spirit-list — wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, the fear of the LORD — is a description of everything Judah's kings had lacked.
The horizon is plainly further out than any homecoming these hearers saw. Nothing in the return from Babylon looked like a lion eating straw, and the house reading takes it as it stands: a real reign of the Messiah over a healed earth, still ahead.
Sources cited
- J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary
- Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah (3 vols.)
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Isaiah 11. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Connections from this chapter
v. 1 · A branch of the Messiah's tree
The child -> the Branch: 'a shoot (choter h2415, a dis legomenon) out of the stock of Jesse, a Branch (netzer h5342) out of his roots'; the stump that lives. Rare word spotlights the singular hope.
Isaiah 11:10→On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.
MT-ASV; H2415/H5342; TgJon ('the Messiah shall be anointed')
v. 1 · A stop on the Messiah's trail
the child -> the Branch: 'a BRANCH (netzer H5342) out of his roots'
Isaiah 9:6→For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
MT-ASV; H5342; Targum Jonathan
v. 1 · A stretch of this thread
'a righteous Branch' / 'a rod out of the stem of Jesse' - prophetic restoration of the fallen throne
Jeremiah 23:5→Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
text
v. 1 · A picture of Christ
A shoot from the stem of Jesse
Luke 3:23→Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
MannaFest topical index
v. 1 · A stop on the Messiah's trail
root of Jesse -> birthplace: 'Bethlehem Ephrathah... goings forth from of old'
Micah 5:2→But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
MT-ASV; Targum Jonathan
v. 1 · The echo that closes the arc · Prophecy and fulfillment
'the root of Jesse... on him shall the Gentiles hope' (Paul quoting Isa 11:10 LXX, Rom 15:12); Rev 22:16 gathers the Branch stop as 'the root and offspring of David'. Targum reads Isa 11:1 messianically (Sanh. 93b; Bereshith R. 85).
Revelation 22:16→“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”
public-domain quotation
v. 1 · Prophecy and fulfillment · Spoken beforehand, fulfilled here
'the ROOT of Jesse... on him shall the Gentiles hope' (Isa 11:10 LXX)
Romans 15:12→And once more, Isaiah says: “The Root of Jesse will appear, One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles will put their hope.”
public-domain quotation
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.