Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

JESSE*, Root of

Figure of speech used by Isaiah (Is 11:10) to express the hope of a messianic king from the line of David. The “root” of a family is its progenitor. Jesse, David’s father, is listed as an ancestor of the Messiah (Is 11:1, 10; Mt 1:5-6; Lk 3:32; Acts 13:22-23). Isaiah pictures God’s judgment upon Assyria as the cutting down of a forest (Is 10:33-34); Judah likewise will be felled and the proud tree of David’s sovereignty hewn down, but a remnant will remain, described by Isaiah as a shoot from a stump (6:13). The messianic shoot will come forth from the stump of Jesse as a branch from his roots. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon this one who stands as an ensign to the people, so that the nations will seek him in the glory of his dwelling place (Is 11:1-10; see Is 53:2; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Ez 17:22-23; Zec 3:8; 6:12).

The apostle Paul, quoting Isaiah’s prophecy, identified Jesus as “the root of Jesse” in whom the Gentiles hope (Rom 15:12). Christ is not only “a shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Is 11:1) but is himself the “root of Jesse” (Is 11:10; Rom 15:12; see Rv 5:5; 22:16, “root of David”). This means that Jesus not only came from Jesse’s line but that Jesse (and David) came from Jesus. In other words, the image points to Jesus’ divinity. While Jesus was the son of David, Jesus was also David’s “Lord.” This is the point Jesus made in his debate with the religious leaders of his day who recognized only that the Messiah was a human descendant of David. Matthew 22:42-45 reads: “ ‘What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They replied, ‘He is the son of David.’ Jesus responded, ‘Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, call him Lord? For David said, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit in honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.” Since David called him Lord, how can he be his son at the same time?’ ”