11:1 Judgment in Isaiah is often described as a cutting down of trees (6:13; 10:33–34). The stump of Jesse indicates that the Davidic line has also been cut down, but the tree is yet living. The shoot that springs up shows that David’s line will have new life. It will be restored and will once again bear fruit. The association of the stump with Jesse rather than David indicates that there is a new beginning here, a going back to origins, and a distancing from the later corrupt kings of Judah. The continuation of the Davidic line is an indication of the grace of God based on the covenant of kingship with David: “Your house and kingdom will endure before me forever, and your throne will be established forever” (2Sm 7:16). As redemptive history progressed, the new Davidic dynasty was not realized in later Davidic descendants like Zerubbabel (Ezr 3; Zch 4), but in Jesus Christ.[1]
11:1 stump. All that is left of the Davidic dynasty is a stump. The privileged sons of David no less than Assyria are like trees that have been chopped down (10:33, 34). But in spite of this judgment on Judah, the Lord will raise up new leadership from the dynasty of David (Matt. 1:1).
Jesse. The father of David (1 Sam. 16:10–13). David inaugurated a great kingdom, but the greater David (Ezek. 34:23–25; Zech. 12:7–10), now only a tender plant (53:2), will rule an incomparably greater kingdom.
branch. See note 4:2.[2]
11:1 a shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse The stump is a metaphor for the remnant of the royal family of David. The kingly line is all but eliminated in the invasions and deportations by the Babylonians (see 6:13). The shoot is a metaphor for restoration of the line in the Messiah. Compare 53:2.
a branch from its roots will bear fruit The branch is again a metaphor for the Messiah. See Zech 3:8 and note.[3]
11:1 a shoot from the stump. After portraying the destruction of arrogant human evil as the felling of a vast forest (10:33–34), Isaiah presents the Messiah as a shoot or twig growing from a stump remaining after God’s judgment (cf. 4:2; 6:13; 53:2). Jesse. The father of David (cf. 1 Sam. 16:1–13; 2 Sam. 20:1). A greater David is prophesied (cf. Ezek. 34:23–24; Hos. 3:5). bear fruit. Unlike the human failure before him, especially King Ahaz, this son of Jesse bears the fruit of a new world.
11:1 The Messiah is from the line of Jesse, the father of David (1 Sam. 16:1). He is filled with the Spirit (Matt. 3:16; Luke 4:18), with wisdom (Col. 2:3), and with justice (Rev. 19:11).[4]
11:1 stem … roots. With the Babylonian captivity of 586 b.c., the Davidic dynasty appeared as decimated as the Assyrian army. A major difference between the two was the life remaining in the stump and roots of the Davidic line. That life was to manifest itself in new growth in the form of the Rod and Branch. Jesse. Jesse was David’s father through whose line the messianic king was to come (Ru 4:22; 1Sa 16:1, 12, 13). branch. This is a title for the Messiah (see 4:2).[5]
11:1 A Rod from the stem of Jesse (1 Sam. 16:10–13) represents the new and greater David. As David inaugurated a kingdom of righteousness and peace, the new David, the “rod” or “root” from David’s line (53:2), will establish an incomparably greater kingdom. The words Rod and Branch are messianic terms. They are figurative words for the great descendant of the household of David, the Seed of the Woman promised in Gen. 3:15, Jesus Christ Himself (Matt. 1:17).[6]
11:1 Isaiah 11 is one of the greatest passages on the Millennium in either the OT or the NT. In one of the quick transitions, so frequent in the prophets, we are now carried forward to the Second Coming of Christ.
First we see the lineage of the Son of David, a Rod from the stem of Jesse, who was David’s father (1 Sam. 17:12).[7]
11:1. The Lord would cut down the forests and the mighty trees (10:33–34), that is, foreign soldiers and leaders, but God’s kingdom will arise by a Shoot coming up from the stump of Jesse, David’s father (cf. Rev. 22:16). Isaiah undoubtedly was thinking of God’s promise to David (2 Sam. 7:16) that a Descendant of David will rule over his kingdom (cf. Isa. 9:7) forever. This Branch, the Messiah (cf. Jer. 23:5), will bear fruit, that is, prosper and benefit others. (He is the Root; cf. Isa. 11:10.) This Hebrew word for branch (nēṣer) differs from the word used for branch in 4:2 (ṣemaḥ). However, the concept is the same. (Yônēq in 53:2 for “tender shoot” is still another word.) He will come directly from the line of David (cf. Matt. 1:1) and will fulfill God’s promises in the Davidic Covenant.[8]
[1] Longman, T., III. (2017). Isaiah. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 1059). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Sproul, R. C., ed. (2005). The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (p. 966). Ligonier Ministries.
[3] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Is 11:1). Lexham Press.
[4] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1262). Crossway Bibles.
[5] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Is 11:1). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[6] Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (p. 820). T. Nelson Publishers.
[7] MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (A. Farstad, Ed.; p. 948). Thomas Nelson.
[8] Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1056). Victor Books.
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