A figure of speech used by Isaiah (Isaiah 11:10) to express the hope of a messianic king from the line of David. The “root” of a family is its first member. Jesse, David’s father, is an ancestor of the Messiah (Isaiah 11:1, 10; Matthew 1:5–6; Luke 3:32; Acts 13:22–23). Isaiah describes God’s judgment upon Assyria as the cutting down of a forest (Isaiah 10:33–34). Judah will also be cut down and the proud "tree" of David’s kingship will fall. But, a small piece will remain, which Isaiah describes as a shoot from a stump (Isaiah 6:13). The messianic shoot will grow out of the the stump of Jesse as a branch from his roots. The Spirit of the Lord will live in this one who will be a sign to the people, so everyone will seek the Lord's glory (Isaiah 11:1–10; see Isaiah 53:2; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Ezekiel 17:22–23; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12).
The apostle Paul quoted Isaiah’s prophecy and said Jesus was “the root of Jesse” in whom the Gentiles have hope (Romans 15:12). Christ is not only “a shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1) but is himself the “root of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:10; Romans 15:12; see Revelation 5:5; 22:16, “root of David”). This means that Jesus did not only come from Jesse’s line but that Jesse (and David) came from Jesus. In other words, the image of a root of Jesse points to Jesus’ divinity. While Jesus was the son of David, Jesus was also David’s “Lord.” This is the point Jesus made in his debate with the religious leaders of his day who thought that the Messiah was only a human descendant of David. Matthew 22:42–45 reads: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” “David’s,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’? For he says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’ So if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how can He be David’s son?”