Isaiah 11:1
in Isaiah 11Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit.
KJV
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
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This verse in Isaiah 11
Commentary
31 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And there shall come forth a rod - In the previous chapter, the prophet had represented the Assyrian monarch and his army under the image of a dense and flourishing forest, with all its glory and grandeur. In opposition to this, he describes the illustrious personage who is the subject of this chapter, under the image of a slender twig or shoot, sprouting up from the root of a decayed and fallen tree. Between the Assyrian, therefore, and the person who is the subject of this chapter, there is a most striking and beautiful contrast.
This site's exposition
Then a shoot will spring up
on Isaiah 11:1-2
The shoot springs from the stump of chapter 10, named from Jesse. The Spirit rests on Him in three pairs, wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and the fear of the LORD. It is the fullest description of the Spirit resting on any single figure in the Old Testament.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
The root of Jesse the patriarch is the family of the Jews, Mary is the rod, Christ the flower of Mary, who, about to spread the good odor of faith throughout the whole world, budded forth from a virgin womb, as he himself said: "I am the flower of the plain, a lily of the valley."
A commentator
Ambrose of MilanOn the Blessings of the Patriarchs, 4.19-20 · Written before 397.
proposed
Moreover, he wonderfully expressed his incarnation, saying: From the shoot, my son, you have ascended; in that he sprouted as a plant of the earth in the womb of the Virgin, and as a flower of sweet fragrance, he ascended for the redemption of the whole world, emitted by the maternal womb with the splendor of new light, just as Isaiah says: A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The root of the family of the Jews is Mary, the branch is Mary, Christ is the flower of Mary. The rod, which is of royal lineage, rightly comes from the house and homeland of David, whose flower is Christ, who has abolished the stench of the worldly filth and has poured out the fragrance of eternal life.
A commentator
Ambrose of MilanSecond Apology for the Prophet David, 8.43 · Written before 397.
proposed
And there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. The root is indeed the family of the Jews, the branch is Mary, the flower is Christ of Mary, who when he shines forth in our land and delights the field of the soul, or blossoms in his Church, we cannot fear the cold, nor dread the rain, but await the day of judgment.
We believe, therefore, in the immortal and invisible God, not in him whom the infidels have fashioned to be God, who is both an adulterer and a thunderer, but in the true God, Creator and Ruler of all the world.We also hold to Jesus Christ …
David was the king of Israel and the son of Jesse at a certain time in the Old Testament, when the New Testament was still hidden there in the Old, like a fruit in its root. For if you seek the fruit in its root, you will not find it. But neither would you find the fruit in the branch, unless it had first come from the root.At that time, then, the first people had come from the seed of Abraham carnally. The second people, those who belong to the New Testament, also belong to the seed of Abraham, but spiritually. Those first people who were still carnal, therefore, among whom very few prophets understood both what was to be desired from God and when to announce it publicly, foretold this future time and the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Insofar as Christ himself was born according to the flesh, he was hidden in the root, in the seed of the patriarchs, and was to be revealed at a certain time, like fruit appearing on the branch, as it is written: "A rod will bloom from the root of Jesse." The same is true of the New Testament, which was hidden in Christ throughout those earlier times and was known only to the prophets and to a very small group of godly persons, not as the manifestation of present realities but as a revelation of future events. For what does it mean, brothers, if I can remind you of one specific event, that Abraham, sending his faithful servant to betroth a wife to his only son, makes him swear to him and in the oath says to him, "Put your hand under my thigh and swear"? What was in the thigh of Abraham upon which the man put his hand and swore? What was there, except what was then promised to him: "in your seed, all the peoples will be blessed"? The thigh signifies the flesh. From the flesh of Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob and, without naming everyone, through Mary, came our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers11 voices
By the fruit of the root he will graft us onto his tree.
He is the son of Mary, however, and not the son of Joseph. He did not appear in the body from any other lineage, except from David.
This shows in an obvious way that the birth of Christ would be from the root of Jesse, who was the father of David. This points toward the birth which the Gentiles would follow, having been prophetically announced by way of signs.
It is prophesied that one will come forth of the seed of Jesse, that is to say, of David, many years after the death of both David and Solomon.
Elsewhere, the Holy Spirit also speaks of the Virgin about to give birth when he says, "There will come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower will arise from his root." The rod from the root of Jesse signifies the …
In him dwelt the fullness of the Spirit; therefore I acknowledge him to be "the rod of the stem of Jesse." His blooming flower shall be my Christ, upon whom has rested, according to Isaiah, "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and of the fear of the Lord." Now to no man, except Christ, would this diversity of spiritual proofs suitably apply. He is indeed like a flower for the Spirit's grace, reckoned indeed of the stem of Jesse but thence to derive his descent through Mary.
Chapter XI - Verses 1, 2. And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. Up to the beginning of the Vision or the weight of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amos saw, all this prophecy is about Christ, which we wish to explain in parts so as not to confuse the reader's memory by presenting and discussing it all at once. The rod and the flower from the root of Jesse are interpreted as the Lord Himself of the Jews: so that in the rod, the power of the reigning one may be shown, and in the flower, the beauty. But we understand the rod from the root of Jesse to be the holy Virgin Mary, who had no fruit cohering to herself; of whom we also read above: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son (Isa. VII, 14). And the flower is the Lord and Savior, who says in the Song of Solomon: I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys (Cant. II, 1). Concerning the root which alone the LXX translators turned into Hebrew script, it has (in Geza) which Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotio interpreted as κορμὸν, that is, trunk. And concerning the flower which is called (in Hebrew) Neser, they translated it as germ to show that much later after the Babylonian captivity, with no one from the line of David possessing the glory of the ancient kingdom, Christ arose as if from the trunk of Mary, and from Mary Christ was born. That which in the Gospel of Matthew everyone seeks the words of the Ecclesiastics, and does not find where it is written, 'He shall be called a Nazarene' (Matt. 2:23), the learned Hebrews think is taken from this place. […]
The land that before brought forth thorns, hears in Isaiah the blessing: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom." "You have turned away the captivity of Jacob." The Lord has come, therefore, to proclaim pardon to captives. There is a parallel to this in another passage of Scripture: "He led captivity captive," that is, we, who in former times had been captured by the devil to perdition, now are led away by the Savior to salvation.
A commentator
Gregory of ElviraORIGEN'S TRACTATE ON THE BOOKS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 6:35-36 · Written before 392.
proposed
Just as when a lion is born from a lion, the nature is not changed but is shown to have a common source, so also one who is born from God cannot be anything other than God. But he calls him a lion's cub for …
Jacob also prayed when he returned back from Laban, and he was rescued from the hands of his brother, Esau. He prayed as follows, confessing and saying, "With my staff have I crossed this river Jordan, and now I have become two camps." Wondrous symbol of our Savior! When our Lord first came, the staff left the stem of Jesse, just like Jacob's staff; and when he returns from his Father's house at his second coming, he goes back to him with two camps, one from the people [Israel], the other from the peoples [nations]—just like Jacob who returned to his father Isaac with two camps.
Chapter XI - Verses 1, 2. And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord.
The Medieval Church9 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Finally, He must be supremely just, because of the manifold character of a justice making infallible inquiries, irreproachable distinctions, and irrevocable judgments, handing out retribution to each one according to his deeds. Isaiah writes: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. Justice shall …
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Third, there is the production of prophets similar to the multiplication of flowers. Flowers appeared when the prophet said: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom."
The prophet Isaiah bears witness that our Redeemer had to be conceived in Nazareth when he says, "A nazareus will ascend from his root." The term nazareus has the meaning of "flower" or "clean." The Son of God made incarnate for us can properly be …
Now [Mary] saw that she herself, who had arisen from the stock of Jesse, had conceived God's Son of the Holy Spirit.
For it is history when something is reported as having been done or said in plain discourse according to the letter; for example, the people of Israel, after they had been delivered from Egypt, are said to have made a tabernacle for the Lord in …
The seven lamps are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, all of which remain in our Lord and Redeemer forever and are distributed in his members (that is, in all the elect) according to his will. Therefore the seven lamps are set upon the …
The prophet Isaiah testified that it was necessary that our Redeemer be conceived in Nazareth when he said, "There will come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a nazareus will go up from his root." Nazareus can be translated either as …
In which rod, no doubt the blessed Virgin Mary is predicted, who sprung from the stock of Jesse and David and fecundated by the Holy Spirit, brought forth a new flower of human flesh, becoming a virgin-mother. (Pope St. Leo the Great Sermon 4) Or …
352. And there shall come forth a rod out of the root. The destruction of their adversary having been set out, the restoration of the people, who had been divided into the two tribes and the ten tribes, is promised. And this is divided into …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The stem - Or, stump: for the word signifies properly a trunk cut off from the root. By which he clearly implies, that the Messiah should be born of the royal house of David, at that time when it was in a most forlorn condition, like a tree cut down, and whereof nothing is left but a stump or root under ground.
The Messiah was thus to begin his estate of humiliation, for submitting to which he should be highly exalted, and would thus give early notice that his kingdom was not of this world. The Chaldee paraphrase reads this, There shall come forth a King from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah (or Christ) shall be anointed out of his sons' sons.
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,.... By which is meant, not Hezekiah, as R.
Or rather it is meant of the gospel church, that Mount Zion of which Christ has said, This is my rest, and in which he resides. This, though despised by the world, having upon it the beauty of holiness, is truly glorious, a glorious high throne, Jer. xvii.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And a shoot shall spring forth from the stem of Jesse And if you say, ‘Here are consolations for Hezekiah and his people, that they shall not fall into his hands.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And a king shall come forth from the sons of Jesse, and from his children's children the Messiah shall be anointed.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָצָ֥א | veyatza' | and it will go forth | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| חֹ֖טֶר | choter | a shoot | H2415 → | |
| מִגֵּ֣זַע | migeza' | from [the] rootstock of | H1503 → | |
| יִשָׁ֑י | yishai | Jesse | H3448 → | |
| וְנֵ֖צֶר | venetzer | and a branch | H5342 → | 4 times |
| מִשָּׁרָשָׁ֥יו | misharashav | from roots his | H8328 → | 33 times |
| יִפְרֶֽה׃ | yifreh | it will bear fruit | H6509 → | 29 times |
וְיָצָ֥אand it will go forth
veyatza'H3318 →1067 times
חֹ֖טֶרa shoot
choterH2415 →
מִגֵּ֣זַעfrom [the] rootstock of
migeza'H1503 →
יִשָׁ֑יJesse
yishaiH3448 →
וְנֵ֖צֶרand a branch
venetzerH5342 →4 times
מִשָּׁרָשָׁ֥יוfrom roots his
misharashavH8328 →33 times
יִפְרֶֽה׃it will bear fruit
yifrehH6509 →29 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 23:5Behold, 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.
it leads to
- Isaiah 4:2
On that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 1:32–33
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
- Isaiah 4:2
Through
Revelation 5:5Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:5–6
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.
- 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.”
- 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.”
- 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.
- Hebrews 7:14
For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe as to which Moses said nothing about priests.
- Jeremiah 23:5–6
Through
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.”
it leads to
- Revelation 5:5
Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
- Revelation 5:5
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 30 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit 2.5; Ambrose of Milan, On the Blessings of the Patriarchs, 4.19-20; Ambrose of Milan, Second Apology for the Prophet David, 8.43; Aphrahat the Persian Sage, DEMONSTRATION 4:6; Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 72:1; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 1:6; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 1:7; Bede, On the Tabernacle 1:6; Bede, On the Tabernacle 1:9; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14; Chromatius of Aquileia, TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 2:5; Ephrem the Syrian, HYMNS ON THE NATIVITY 3:17; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 26; Eusebius of Caesarea, PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 2:3; Eusebius of Caesarea, PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 7:3; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Glossa Ordinaria, Commentary (church-history corpus); Gregory of Elvira, ORIGEN'S TRACTATE ON THE BOOKS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 6:35-36; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS, ALTERNATE SERIES, PSALM 84; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah 11:1-2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Quodvultdeus, ON THE CREED 2:3.14-2:4.6; Tertullian, AGAINST MARCION 3.17 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.