Isaiah 11:1 - Exposition

There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse . The blasted and ruined "stem" or stock of Jesse, cut down, and for ages hidden from sight, shall suddenly put forth a sprout—a young green sapling, tender vet vigorous, weak seemingly, yet foil of life (comp. Job 14:7-9 , "There is hope of a tree, if it he cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not crease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant"). "The stem of Jesse" must mean the house of David, for there is but one Jesse ( Ishai ) in Scripture—David's father. A Branch shall grow out of his roots . That which is at first a sapling gains strength and grows into a "branch" (see Isaiah 4:2 , where the word used, though different, is synonymous).