Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 11:1

"And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit." — Isaiah 11:1 (ASV)

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. The one was at first magnificent—like a vast spreading forest—yet would soon fall and decay; the other was the little sprout of a decayed tree, which would yet rise, expand, and flourish.

A rod - (חטר choṭı̂r). This word occurs in only one other place; Proverbs 14:3: In the mouth of the foolish is a “rod” of pride. Here it means, evidently, a branch, a twig, a shoot, such as starts up from the roots of a decayed tree, and is synonymous with the word rendered “branch” (צמח tsemach) in Isaiah 4:2; see the note on that place.

Out of the stem - (מגזע mı̂geza‛). This word occurs only three times in the Old Testament; see Job 14:8, where it is rendered “stock:”

Though the root thereof wax old in the earth,
And the stock thereof die in the ground;

And in Isaiah 40:24: Yea, their “stock” shall not take root in the earth. It means, therefore, the stock or stump of a tree that has been cut down—a stock, however, which may not be quite dead, but from which it may send up a branch or shoot from its roots. It is beautifully applied to an ancient family that has fallen into decay, yet from which a descendant may arise who will rise and flourish; just as a tree may fall and decay, but still there may be vitality in the root, and it will send up a tender germ or sprout.

Of Jesse - The father of David. It means that the one spoken of here would be of the family of Jesse, or David. Though Jesse had died, and though the ancient family of David would fall into decay, yet an illustrious descendant would arise from that family.

The beauty of this description is apparent if we remember that when the Messiah was born, the ancient and much-honored family of David had fallen into decay. The mother of Jesus, though belonging to that family, was poor, obscure, and unknown; and, to all appearance, the glory of the family had departed. Yet from that, as from a long-decayed root in the ground, one would spring who would restore the family to more than its ancient glory and shed additional luster on the honored name of Jesse.

And a branch - (נצר nêtser). A twig, branch, or shoot; a slip, scion, or young sucker of a tree that is selected for transplanting and that requires to be watched with special care. The word occurs only four times; Isaiah 60:21: They shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting;Isaiah 14:19: But thou art cast out of thy grave as an abominable branch;Daniel 11:7. The word rendered branch in Jeremiah 23:5 and Jeremiah 33:15 is a different word in the original (צמח tsemach), though meaning substantially the same thing. The word “branch” is also used by our translators in rendering several other Hebrew words; see Taylor’s “Concordance.” Here the word is synonymous with that which is rendered “rod” in the previous part of the verse—a shoot, or twig, from the root of a decayed tree.

Out of his roots - As a shoot starts up from the roots of a decayed tree. The Septuagint renders this, And a flower (ἄνθος anthos) shall arise from the root. The Chaldee paraphrase states, ‘And a king shall proceed from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah from his sons’ sons shall arise;’ showing conclusively that the ancient Jews referred this to the Messiah.

That this verse, and the subsequent parts of the chapter, refer to the Messiah, may be argued from the following considerations:

1. The fact that it is expressly applied to him in the New Testament. Thus Paul, in Romans 15:12, quotes the tenth verse of this chapter as expressly applicable to the times of the Messiah.
2. The Chaldee Paraphrase shows that this was the meaning the ancient Jews understood from the passage. That paraphrase is authoritative only to show that this was the meaning considered true by the ancient interpreters.
3. The description in the chapter is not applicable to any other personage than the Messiah. Grotius supposes that the passage refers to Hezekiah, though, ‘in a more sublime sense,’ to the Messiah. Others have referred it to Zerubbabel. But none of the things related here apply to either, except the fact that they were descended from the family of Jesse; for neither of those families had fallen into the decay that the prophet describes here.
4. The peace, prosperity, harmony, and order referred to in the subsequent portions of the chapter are not descriptive of any portion of the reign of Hezekiah.
5. The terms and descriptions here accord with other portions of the Scriptures as applicable to the Messiah. Thus Jeremiah (Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15) describes the Messiah under the similitude of a “branch”—a germ or shoot—using, indeed, a different Hebrew word, but retaining the same idea and image; compare Zechariah 3:8. It also accords with Isaiah’s description of the same personage in Isaiah 4:2; see the note on that place.
6. I may add that nearly all commentators have referred this to the Messiah; and, perhaps, it would not be possible to find greater unanimity regarding the interpretation of any passage of Scripture than on this one.