The Meaning of Isaiah 11:1 Explained

Isaiah 11:1

KJV: And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

YLT: And a rod hath come out from the stock of Jesse, And a branch from his roots is fruitful.

Darby: And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall be fruitful;

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 Reverse Interlinear

And there shall come forth  a rod  out of the stem  of Jesse,  and a Branch  shall grow  out of his roots: 

What does Isaiah 11:1 Mean?

Study Notes

shall come forth a rod
This chapter is a prophetic picture of the glory of the future kingdom. This is the kingdom announced by John Baptist as "at hand." It was then rejected, but will be set up when David's Son returns in glory Luke 1:31 ; Luke 1:32 ; Acts 15:15 ; Acts 15:16 .
Branch
branch
A name of Christ, used in fourfold way:
(1) "The Branch of Jehovah" ( Isaiah 4:2 ), that is, the "Immanuel" character of Christ Isaiah 7:14 to be fully manifested to restored and converted Israel after His return in divine glory Matthew 25:31 .
(2) the "Branch of David" Isaiah 11:1 ; Jeremiah 23:5 ; Jeremiah 33:15 that is, the Messiah, "of the seed of David according to the flesh" Romans 1:3 revealed in His earthly glory as King of kings, and Lord of lords;
(3) Jehovah's "Servant, the Branch" Zechariah 3:8 Messiah's humiliation and obedience unto death according to; Isaiah 52:13-15 ; Isaiah 53:1-12 ; Philippians 2:5-8 .
(4) the "man whose name is the Branch" Zechariah 6:12 ; Zechariah 6:13 that is His character as Son of man, the "last Adam," the "second Man" 1 Corinthians 15:45-47 reigning, as Priest-King, over the earth in the dominion given to and lost by the first Adam. Matthew is the Gospel of the "Branch of David"; Mark of "Jehovah's Servant, the Branch"; Luke of "the man whose name is the Branch"; John of "the Branch of Jehovah."
The Davidic kingdom
The order of events in Isaiah 10, 11, is noteworthy. Isaiah 10. gives the distress of the Remnant in Palestine in the great tribulation. Psalms 2:5 ; Revelation 7:14 and the approach and destruction of the Gentile host under the Beast.; Daniel 7:8 ; Revelation 19:20 . Is. 11. immediately follows with its glorious picture of the kingdom-age. Precisely the same order is found in Revelation 19, 20. See Scofield " Matthew 6:33 ".
That nothing of this occurred at the first coming of Christ is evident from a comparison of the history of the times of Christ with this and all the other parallel prophecies. So far from regathering dispersed Israel and establishing peace in the earth, His crucifixion was soon followed (A.D. 70) by the destruction of Jerusalem, and the utter scattering of the Palestinian Jews amongst the nations.
shall come forth a rod
This chapter is a prophetic picture of the glory of the future kingdom. This is the kingdom announced by John Baptist as "at hand." It was then rejected, but will be set up when David's Son returns in glory Luke 1:31 ; Luke 1:32 ; Acts 15:15 ; Acts 15:16 .
Branch
branch
A name of Christ, used in fourfold way:
(1) "The Branch of Jehovah" ( Isaiah 4:2 ), that is, the "Immanuel" character of Christ Isaiah 7:14 to be fully manifested to restored and converted Israel after His return in divine glory Matthew 25:31 .
(2) the "Branch of David" Isaiah 11:1 ; Jeremiah 23:5 ; Jeremiah 33:15 that is, the Messiah, "of the seed of David according to the flesh" Romans 1:3 revealed in His earthly glory as King of kings, and Lord of lords;
(3) Jehovah's "Servant, the Branch" Zechariah 3:8 Messiah's humiliation and obedience unto death according to; Isaiah 52:13-15 ; Isaiah 53:1-12 ; Philippians 2:5-8 .
(4) the "man whose name is the Branch" Zechariah 6:12 ; Zechariah 6:13 that is His character as Son of man, the "last Adam," the "second Man" 1 Corinthians 15:45-47 reigning, as Priest-King, over the earth in the dominion given to and lost by the first Adam. Matthew is the Gospel of the "Branch of David"; Mark of "Jehovah's Servant, the Branch"; Luke of "the man whose name is the Branch"; John of "the Branch of Jehovah."

Verse Meaning

The prophet had just described Assyria cut down like a forest of trees ( Isaiah 10:15-19; Isaiah 10:33-34). Likewise, Israel would have only a remnant left after God finished judging her ( Isaiah 10:20-23; cf. Isaiah 6:11-13). Now he pictured a shoot (Heb. nezer) sprouting from one of the stumps left after Israel"s harvesting (cf. Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 6:13; Isaiah 53:1-3; Job 14:7). A shoot would sprout from Jesse"s family tree stump. Some interpreters believe that Matthew had this shoot (nezer) in mind when he wrote that Jesus fulfilled prophecy by being called a Nazarene ( Matthew 2:23). [1] The reference to humble Jesse, rather than to glorious David, stresses God"s grace in providing a deliverer from a lowly family. It also indicates that Messiah would be another David, not just a son of David, and that the house of David would lack royal dignity when Messiah appeared. Other prophets referred to the coming ideal Davidic king as "David," picturing him as the second coming of David, so to speak (cf. Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23-24; Ezekiel 37:24-25; Hosea 3:5; Micah 5:2). The figure of a "branch" (Heb. neser, sapling), referring to Messiah, also appears in Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15, and in Zechariah 3:8; Zechariah 6:12.

Context Summary

Isaiah 11:1-9 - The Kingdom Of The Messiah
The advance of the Assyrian along the great north road is graphically described. It was marked by raided villages and towns. The night sky was lurid with flames. But his collapse would be as sudden and irretrievable as the felling of forest timber. As the one chapter closes we can almost hear the crash of the Assyrian tree to the ground, and there is no sprout from his roots. But in the next the prophet descries a fair and healthy branch uprising from the trunk of Jesse's line. The vision of the King is then presented, who can be none other than the divine Redeemer on whom rests the sevenfold Spirit of God. The second verse defines the work of the Comforter, and is evidently the model of that royal hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus. But remember that He on whom this divine unction rested longs to share the pentecostal gift with the least of His disciples, 1 John 2:27. Note that as man's sin brought travail and groaning on all creation, so will His redemption deliver it, Romans 8:19-25. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 11

1  The peaceable kingdom of the Branch out of the root of Jesse
10  The victorious restoration of Israel, and vocation of the Gentiles

What do the individual words in Isaiah 11:1 mean?

And there shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse and a Branch out of his roots shall grow
וְיָצָ֥א חֹ֖טֶר מִגֵּ֣זַע יִשָׁ֑י וְנֵ֖צֶר מִשָּׁרָשָׁ֥יו יִפְרֶֽה

וְיָצָ֥א  And  there  shall  come  forth 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
חֹ֖טֶר  a  Rod 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹטֶר  
Sense: branch, twig, rod.
מִגֵּ֣זַע  from  the  stem 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: גֶּזַע  
Sense: stem, trunk, stock (of trees).
יִשָׁ֑י  of  Jesse 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישַׁי 
Sense: son of Boaz and the father of king David.
וְנֵ֖צֶר  and  a  Branch 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נֵצֶר  
Sense: sprout, shoot, branch (always fig.
מִשָּׁרָשָׁ֥יו  out  of  his  roots 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שֹׁרֶשׁ  
Sense: root.
יִפְרֶֽה  shall  grow 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: פָּרָה 
Sense: to bear fruit, be fruitful, branch off.