"I am the Root of David"

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Isaiah 11:1, 10, Romans 15:12, Rev. 5:5, 22:16

 

Being the Root of Jesse and the Root of David does not mean that Jesus is God, but rather that Jesus is a descendant of Jesse and David.

 

Some Trinitarians claim that since Jesus is called the Root of Jesse and the Root of David, Jesus must have preceded Jesse and David and is the source of their lives, and is therefore God.

 

This podcast will explain why this Trinitarian claim is wrong. We will see that being the root of Jesse or the root of David, like being a branch from David, means that Jesus is a physical descendant of Jesse and David. The roots below ground, like the branches above ground, physically extend from the trunk of Jesse and David.

 

Being the root of Jesse or the Root of David has nothing to do with being God.

 

The deity of Christ claim

It’s hard to trace from when and where Trinitarian claims like this one come. As I will mention later, such a claim is not in the New Testament. And to be fair, not all Trinitarians claim that Jesus being the Root of Jesse or Root of David means that Jesus is the origin of Jesse and David. It seems the more modern scholarly commentaries, at least the ones that I looked at, are less inclined to make the claim. But the claim is still out there. The claim usually says that in his humanity Jesus is the “branch” of David, but as God, Jesus is the “root” of David. Here are some examples:

 

Harry Ironside, 1940, Moody Media (fundamentalist pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago, 1929-48

https://www.moodymedia.org/articles/morning-star-and-sun-righteousness/

“I am the root and the offspring of David,” says Jesus (Revelation 22:16). “I am the root of David”—that is, David sprang from Him. That is a title of deity... David came into existence through the omnipotent power of Jesus. He was David’s creator. But He (Jesus) adds, “I am the offspring of David.” As Deity David sprang from Him, but as a Man He sprang from David.”

 

Matthew Henry Commentary on the Bible, Rev. 5:5

"and the root of David according to his divine nature, though a branch of David according to the flesh."

 

Matthew Henry Commentary on the Bible, Rev. 22:16

"And this Jesus, as God, is the root of David, though, as man, his offspring…"

 

And then, of course, are websites like this one from a church called Redemption Baptist Church:

http://redemptionbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/4.-Jesus-The-Root-and-Rod-of-Jesse-Isaiah-11.pdf

"The name “Rod of Jesse” reveals that Jesus would receive His human life through Jesse. Jesse was Jesus’ human ancestor. · Yet, in this verse, we see just the opposite truth. Instead of Jesse being the root, and Jesus being the tree springing up from him, the idea is now reversed. Jesus is the Root, and Jesse is the “tree” springing up from Him! · The meaning of this is clear: Jesus, as a Man, is the descendant of Jesse; but as God, He is the Creator of Jesse!"

 

Not to be too dismissive right off, but this kind of deity of Christ claim seems to me to make the authors of the Scripture into terrible teachers. Instead of Isaiah or Paul just telling us: “The Messiah will be God incarnate, God creating himself as a human, God appearing in human form”, the authors of Scripture supposedly dropped little hints and clues along the way, like Jesus being the Root of David, that the enlightened will be able to discover and proclaim, “Aha, the baby born in Bethlehem is the Almighty Creator God making himself into a human!”

 

Instead of interpreting the Scripture in their historical, grammatical context - presupposition and inference take over and “Walah, the deity of Christ!”

 

Is it possible that this Trinitarian claim has misinterpreted the Root of David metaphor? Is the metaphor better understood differently? Do the New Testament passages apply the metaphor in the context of showing the “deity of Christ”? If the deity of Christ claim about the “Root of David” is wrong, we should ask in what other ways have presuppositions and inferences led to wrong Trinitarian interpretations?

 

Three main parts of a Tree: A Trunk, a Network of Branches, and a Network of Roots

 

The metaphor of a descendant of Jesse or David being a root below ground or branch above ground becomes clearer if we think of the three basic components of a tree. 1) The trunk, 2) the network of branches above ground, 3) the network of roots below ground.  There are two networks of branches growing out from the trunk. The network of branches above ground, visible, but another whole network of branches which grows out from the trunk below ground, the roots. 

 

A tree’s root system is made up of many roots, or root-branches, not just one root. Thinking that a tree has only one root would be like thinking that a tree has only one branch.

 

An internet search told me that most tree root-systems grow out to an area two to seven times wider than the above ground tree branches. As the branches above ground are extensions from the tree trunk, so the roots below ground are extensions from the tree trunk.

 

In the metaphor we will see in just a moment in the Book of Isaiah, and quoted by Paul in the Book of Romans, Jesse the father of King David is the trunk of the tree. Actually, he is not even the whole trunk, but just a stump. The upper part of the tree, including all the branches that grew out from the trunk, had been cut down, leaving just a stump of the trunk. But the underground branches, the roots that had grown out from the trunk of the tree, the unseen part of the tree, were still in the ground.

 

To emphasize, the roots in the metaphor are not the source of the trunk. It perhaps is a little confusing because sometimes “root” can be used to mean the source of something else. But the roots are not being used to describe the source of the tree in this case. The roots in the metaphor are the underground branches which grew out from the trunk.

 

The roots are not the source of the trunk. It’s the other way around. The trunk is the source of the roots. The roots grew out from the trunk and survived the cutting down of the above-ground tree.

 

In Isaiah’s metaphor, Jesse is the trunk-stump, and a Root of Jesse is one of the roots that grew out from the trunk underground. The roots represent people, like David and later Jesus, who grew out from Jesse the trunk-stump. In this way David and King Hezekiah during the Prophet Isaiah’s time, are descendants, the “Root of Jesse”.

 

To reiterate, both the branches above ground and roots below ground represent descendants of Jesse. But in the case of the roots, descendants that survived a cutting down of the tree.

 

Once more: “root” in this metaphor does not mean predecessor or source, but rather a remnant or surviving descendant of the divinely ordained monarchy which began with one of the sons of Jesse, David.

 

The real reason that Jesus is called the root and branch of Jesse is because Jesus is the divinely appointed descendant of Jesse. Jesus is a real human being who physically descended from Jesse and David.

 

The roots that came out from Jesse were not God or someone that literally pre-existed in the past.  God did not descend from Jesse or David.

 

The Scriptures

Let’s look closer at the Scriptures involved. The root of Jesse metaphor comes from the Prophet Isaiah, chapter 11:

 

Isaiah 11:1 “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”

 

Historical Background

The tree metaphor of Isaiah 11 is a continuation of the end of Isaiah chapter 10. In the mid to late 700s BC, YHVH, the God of Israel, was using the mighty nation of Assyrian like an axe and a saw to cut down the proud of Israel and Judah (Isa. 10:15, 34). But YHVH promised that even though the proud of Israel and Judah would be chopped down, there would still be a remnant of Israel that would survive (Isa. 10:20-22).

 

In Isaiah 11, an important part of the remnant is the dynasty of David, represented by the stump and roots of Jesse, David’s father.  The tree had been cut down, left with nothing but a stump and, importantly, remnant underground roots.  Idolatrous corruption from within and military attacks from without had left the Davidic dynasty hanging on by a thread. The Davidic dynasty was potentially on the verge of annihilation. Would it survive? “Yes” said YHVH through the prophet Isaiah “the Jesse/David dynasty will survive”.

 

From the remaining underground roots that had grown out from Jesse, YHVH promised a branch, a descendant who would emerge to rule in righteousness and bring peace and security. In Isaiah’s days this root and branch was King Hezekiah, who was a paradigm for the greater root and branch of Jesse, Jesus of Nazareth. Yes, King Hezekiah was a Root of Jesse.

 

Jesse has more than one root

In the phrase “a branch from his (Jesse’s) roots”, the word “roots” is plural: Isaiah says “a branch from his roots shall bear fruit”. Jesse is the main trunk, but he has more than one root that grew out from him. Jesse’s roots are metaphorically his sons and descendants, not the source of Jesse.

 

Remember Jesse had eight sons. Seven older brothers passed by Samuel before David was anointed as king. Only one of Jesse’s roots was selected by God to be king. David is the root of Jesse that became king. David, as Jesse’s root, is not Jesse’s source, but is Jesse’s descendant.

 

The plural, “roots of Jesse” doesn’t mean that Jesse has more than one source, but that Jesse is the source of more than one root. Jesse had more than one descendant.

 

A little Context

Note also, we can be certain that that the roots of Jesse and branches spoken of by Isaiah are not YHVH, the God of Israel, the Almighty God. The roots are that which came out from Jesse, Jesse’s descendants, and there are more than one. But YHVH is one. And, as the next few verses say, the shoot from one of the roots is empowered by the spirit of YHVH and lives and rules in the fear of YHVH (Isa. 11:1-2). It is silly to suggest that YHVH needs empowering and that he will rule the land in the fear of Himself.

 

In this passage in Isaiah, the shoot and branch come forth from the stump, and in parallel, from one of the roots of Jesse. The metaphor is simple enough. The tree was cut down, but a small branch springs up from the remaining stump or, in literary parallel, from one of the surviving underground roots.

 

Isaiah 11:10

Isaiah continues the tree metaphor in 11:10 and calls the one who would rise up “the root of Jesse”, or “a root of Jesse”.

 

KJV “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people.”

 

Most English translations have “the root of Jesse”, which is possible, but I think putting the definite article into the translation tends to lead the reader in the wrong direction, as if this is the only root that Jesse has. But a tree does not have just one root. A tree has lots of roots. We already know from 11:1 that Jesse has more than one root, more than one descendant that grew out from him. Isaiah is speaking of one of those roots that came out from Jesse, the specific root that will survive and from whom a branch sprouts up that will stand like a banner, and whom the nations will seek.

 

The translators of the KJV and NET Bibles understood that the root of Isaiah 11:10 is not the source of Jesse, but is a root that extends out from Jesse, that is, the root is a descendant of Jesse.

 

Isaiah 11:10

KJV “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people.”

 

NET “At that time a root from Jesse will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, and his residence will be majestic.”

 

Other literal translations (Young’s, Smith’s) also have “a root of Jesse”, acknowledging that Jesse has more than one root.

 

Also, some of the more interpretive translations understood the metaphor correctly that “root” is an heir or descendant:

New Living Translation: “In that day the heir to David’s throne…”

 

Contemporary English Version: “The time is coming when one of David's descendants will be the signal for the people…”

 

Good News Translation: “A day is coming when the new king from the royal line of David will be a symbol to the nations…”

 

As the literal translations, ironically enough, some of the more interpretive translations get the metaphor right. They understand that “the root of Jesse” means one of the roots that extends out from the trunk. The one root is not the source of Jesse, but is Jesse’s descendant, the one root from which the righteous ruler would emerge.  

 

Note what the scholarly evangelical commentator, John Oswalt, says about the word “root” in this verse in his commentary, NICOT The Book of Isaiah (Eerdmans, vol. 1, p. 284. 1986):

“shoresh, ‘root’, is the normal word for the literal root of a plant. But it is also a favorite term for descendants or for that elemental hope which remains for a person (Deut. 29:18; Job 14:8; 2 Ki. 19:30; Isa. 40:24; Dan. 4:15, 23, 26, 11:7; Eventually, like ‘branch’ shoresh became a term for the Messiah (Isa. 53:2, Sir. 47:22; Rev. 5:5, 22:16).

Other prophets, like Malachi, used “root (shoresh)” as a metaphor for elements of a tree that might remain. Malachi 4:1 (Heb., 3:19) “For indeed the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. The coming day will burn them up," says the LORD who rules over all. "It will not leave even a root or branch.”

To Malachi, the root was not the source of the tree, but something that might have remained. In Malachi’s case, however, the burning purge was so significant that even the root would be eliminated.
 

A little grammar

The grammatical term for the relationship of the nouns “root of Jesse” is called a genitive of source, that is, Jesse is the source of the root. The “root of Jesse” means “the root from Jesse”, “the root which comes out from Jesse.” Again, it is a little confusing because we often use the word “root” metaphorically to mean the cause or source. But in this biblical metaphor, the source is the trunk. The roots grow out from the trunk. The trunk, Jesse, has more than one root extending off from him. By the time of Isaiah the prophet, who lived nearly 300 years after Jesse, Jesse undoubtedly had many descendants from his eight sons. But only from one root, David, was Israel’s monarchy divinely established and preserved.

 

More Evidence from Isaiah that a root is what comes out from a tree and survives, not the source of a tree

The metaphor of a stump and roots of a tree being representative of that which survives, not of that which precedes, is used in other places by the Prophet Isaiah:

 

Of the princes and rulers of other nations, Isaiah 40:24 says:

“Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their trunk taken root in the earth, that He blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble.”

אַף בַּל-שֹׁרֵשׁ בָּאָרֶץ גִּזְעָם

 

In the mind of Isaiah the prophet, the root comes forth from the trunk.  The trunk is the source of the root.

 

As recorded 2 Kings 19:30-31, also in the context of the coming of Assyria, Isaiah spoke of the remnant survivors of Judah as being a root, meaning a surviving remnant:

“And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again be a root going downward, bearing fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of YHVH will do this.

In Isaiah 14:30, root is parallel to remnant for another people, the Philistines, but their root, their remnant will be destroyed:

“Of the Philistine YHVH says ‘but I will kill your root with famine, and it will slay your remnant.’”

 

Jesus, the root of Jesse and the root of David, New Testament passages

 

In the New Testament, the idea of being a root or branch of Jesse and David is applied to Jesus, because in accordance with YHVH’s promise, Jesus is the descendant, the offshoot of Jesse and David whom YHVH designated as king. Like “branch”, “root” also signifies a surviving descendant, not pre-existence or deity.

 

Romans 15:12 And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope."

 

In Romans 15:12 Paul quotes the LXX translation of Isaiah 11:10, which has some interesting nuances compared to the Hebrew.

 

Ambiguity of the Greek word for “root”

First, for the word which in Hebrew is the normal word for root (shoresh), the LXX version has a more generic word ῥίζα rhidsa which can mean both a root, or a shoot that comes from the root. Gingrich Greek NT Lexicon, pg. 177 1. root—a. lit. Mt 3:10; 13:6; Mk 4:6; 11:20; Lk 3:9.—b. fig. Mt 13:21; Mk 4:17; Lk 8:13; Ro 11:16–18; 1 Ti 6:10; Hb 12:15.—2. shoot, scion Ro 15:12; Rv 5:5; 22:16.

 

In doing this study I learned that in English we have a horticulture word “rhizome” from this Greek word rhidsa. A “rhizome” is an underground horizontal root which grows out from the trunk and from which smaller roots and above ground shoots spring up.

 

In any case, both the shoot and the root are what comes out from the tree trunk, signify a surviving descendant. Jesus is a Root of Jesse because he descended from, came out from Jesse.

 

Context, context, context: Why does Paul Quote Isaiah 11:10?

Basic Bible interpretation methodology requires interpreting a passage in context. In Romans 15 Paul is not describing the pre-existence or deity of Messiah. In Romans 15:6, just four verses before Paul’s quote from Isaiah 11:10 about the “root of Jesse”, Paul admonishes the believers in Rome “to glorify the God of our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:6). In the Book of Romans, as throughout all of Paul’s letters, Jesus Christ is not God but has a God.

 

The reason Paul quotes a number of passages from the Old Testament in rapid fire succession in Romans 15:9-13, including our Isaiah 11:10 passage, but also Psalm 18, Deuteronomy 32, and Psalm 117, is not to prove the deity of Messiah, but to proclaim the participation of the Gentiles in the good things of God through the Messiah Jesus, the promised descendant of David: “I will praise you among the Gentiles. Rejoice O Gentiles with His people. Praise YHVH all Gentiles! Let all peoples praise Him. The root of Jesse who rises to rule the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles hope”.

 

Paul’s quotes have nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the deity of Messiah. To claim that the phrase root of Jesse describes the literal pre-existence and therefor deity of Messiah is just plain bad exegesis, and ignores or misses entirely the meaning of the passage.

 

To repeat, Paul does not quote Isaiah 11:10 in an effort to prove the deity of Jesus the Messiah. He quotes Isaiah 11:10 to give evidence that Gentiles were to experience the goodness of God and praise YHVH the God of Israel through the divinely chosen root, that is, descendant, of Jesse.

 

Similarly, Jesus is called the root of David in the Book of Revelation, not to proclaim his deity or pre-existence, but to show that Jesus is the promised descendant of David who would rise up and conquer, with resulting blessing upon all of humankind.

 

Revelation 5:5 “And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root (or shoot, ῥίζα rhidsa) of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."

 

Revelation 22:16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root (or shoot) and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

 

Jesus is emphasized who he is by phrasing it two different ways. He is not using the terms root and descendant in an opposite manner, as if he were both the source of David and the descendant of David. He used the title “Root from David” as Isaiah used “Root from Jesse.”  In a poetic parallel, Jesus stated the same truth twice in two different ways for emphasis. One way metaphorically, “the root”. The second way more directly, “the descendant”. Jesus is the root that came from David, the descendant of David. To be a root of David, using the tree metaphor is to state that Jesus is the Son of David.

 

Summary:

 

That Messiah comes from the stump of Jesse, or is the root of Jesse and David has nothing to do with saying the Messiah pre-existed Jesse and David, or that, even stranger, that Messiah is God. Rather, “the root of Jesse/David” means that the Messiah is a descendant of Jesse and David, chosen and raised up by God from what remained of the divinely ordained Davidic dynasty.

 

Not a New Testament Exercise

Finally, it should be emphasized that neither Jesus nor any other author of the New Testament went back into the Old Testament (Tanach) to find proofs or hints that Jesus is God. Such efforts are totally foreign to the New Testament. Finding proofs of the deity of Jesus deity or “eternal pre-existence of Jesus” in the Old Testament is not a New Testament exercise. It is not a biblical exercise. Finding hints or proofs of Jesus’ deity in passages like Isaiah chapters 7, 9, or 11 is an activity of men beginning in the centuries after the New Testament was written. The Prophet Isaiah would be appalled to think that some people have taken his words to try to show that a descendant of David is actually David’s creator.

 

Neither Jesus nor the Apostles ever appealed to the Old Testament to show Messiah’s eternal deity. Never. Rather, Jesus and the apostles appealed to the Old Testament - the Torah of Moses, the Prophets and the Writings - to show the suffering, death, burial, resurrection and exaltation of the man descended from David, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah (Luke 24:26-27, 44-46; Acts 2:22-36, 3:18, 10:30, 17:2, 31, etc.).

 

Neither did Jesus or any of the authors of the New Testament ever appeal to an Old Testament passage to reveal or prove that God is a Trinity.

 

Christians who appeal to a passage in the Old Testament to “prove” the deity of Christ, or that God is a Trinity, should ask themselves these questions. “Neither Jesus nor any apostle or author of a New Testament book ever went to an Old Testament passage to prove the deity of Jesus. Why am I?  Neither Jesus nor any apostle or author of a New Testament book ever went to an Old Testament passage to prove that God is a Trinity. Why am I?”