The Root and Offspring of David

In the last chapter of the Bible Jesus says, 'I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.' The pairing is deliberate. As the offspring of David, Jesus is David's descendant, the promised 'rod out of the stem of Jesse' and the Branch from his roots. As the root of David, he is the source from which David himself came. The title holds together Jesus' true humanity in David's royal line and his eternal divinity - the same puzzle Jesus once put to the Pharisees about how David's son could also be David's Lord.

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Strongest connections in Scripture

Revelation 22 Isaiah 11

Key Passages

I Am the Root and the Offspring of David

Revelation 22:16

Jesus' self-description near the close of Scripture gathers up the promises made to David.

I¹⁶ Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

A Rod Out of the Stem of Jesse

Isaiah 11:1-2

Isaiah foresees a shoot from Jesse's family line on whom the Spirit of the LORD will rest.

A¹nd there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

² And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;