Isaiah 11:1

In him dwelt the fullness of the Spirit; therefore I acknowledge him to be “the rod of the stem of Jesse.” His blooming flower shall be my Christ, upon whom has rested, according to Isaiah, “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and of the fear of the Lord.” Now to no man, except Christ, would this diversity of spiritual proofs suitably apply. He is indeed like a flower for the Spirit’s grace, reckoned indeed of the stem of Jesse but thence to derive his descent through Mary.

The same rule of truth teaches us to believe, after the Father, also on the Son of God, Christ Jesus, the Lord our God, but the Son of God—of that God who is both one and alone, namely, the Founder of all things, as already has been expressed above. For this Jesus Christ, I will once more say, the Son of this God, we read of as having been promised in the Old Testament and we observe to be manifested in the New, fulfilling the shadows and figures of the Old Testament types, being the embodiment of truth. For as well the ancient prophecies as the Gospels testify him to be the son of Abraham and the son of David. Genesis itself anticipates him when it says, “To you will I give it, and to your seed.” He is spoken of when Scripture shows how a man wrestled with Jacob; he too, when it says, “There shall not fail a prince from Judah, nor a leader from between his thighs, until he shall come to whom it has been promised; and he shall be the expectation of the nations.” He is spoken of by Moses when he says, “Provide another whom you may send.” He is again spoken of by the same, when he [Moses] testifies, saying, “A prophet will God raise up to you from your brothers; listen to him as if to me.” [Moses] bears witness of him, finally, when he says, “You shall see your life hanging in doubt night and day, and you shall not believe him.” Isaiah also refers to him: “There shall go forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall grow up from his root.” The same also when he says, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.”

It is prophesied that one will come forth of the seed of Jesse, that is to say, of David, many years after the death of both David and Solomon.

This shows in an obvious way that the birth of Christ would be from the root of Jesse, who was the father of David. This points toward the birth which the Gentiles would follow, having been prophetically announced by way of signs.

Jacob also prayed when he returned back from Laban, and he was rescued from the hands of his brother, Esau. He prayed as follows, confessing and saying, “With my staff have I crossed this river Jordan, and now I have become two camps.” Wondrous symbol of our Savior! When our Lord first came, the staff left the stem of Jesse, just like Jacob’s staff; and when he returns from his Father’s house at his second coming, he goes back to him with two camps, one from the people [Israel], the other from the peoples [nations]—just like Jacob who returned to his father Isaac with two camps.

He is the son of Mary, however, and not the son of Joseph. He did not appear in the body from any other lineage, except from David.

By the fruit of the root he will graft us onto his tree.

Just as when a lion is born from a lion, the nature is not changed but is shown to have a common source, so also one who is born from God cannot be anything other than God. But he calls him a lion’s cub for the purpose of signifying the Son. Indeed, he adds “from a sprout, my son, you have gone up,” because he wants to show us that Christ came from the sprout of Judah, as it was also said through the prophet Isaiah: “there will come forth a rod [virga] out of the root of Jesse, and a flower will go up from his root.” This Jesse was the father of David, from whose root, that is, source, the Virgin Mary [maria virgo] was born. That Isaiah refers to a “rod” [virga] and to a “flower” from the rod suggests that the flower which is Christ would be born from a virgin [virgine].

And there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. The root is indeed the family of the Jews, the branch is Mary, the flower is Christ of Mary, who when he shines forth in our land and delights the field of the soul, or blossoms in his Church, we cannot fear the cold, nor dread the rain, but await the day of judgment.

Moreover, he wonderfully expressed his incarnation, saying: From the shoot, my son, you have ascended; in that he sprouted as a plant of the earth in the womb of the Virgin, and as a flower of sweet fragrance, he ascended for the redemption of the whole world, emitted by the maternal womb with the splendor of new light, just as Isaiah says: A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The root of the family of the Jews is Mary, the branch is Mary, Christ is the flower of Mary. The rod, which is of royal lineage, rightly comes from the house and homeland of David, whose flower is Christ, who has abolished the stench of the worldly filth and has poured out the fragrance of eternal life.

The root of Jesse the patriarch is the family of the Jews, Mary is the rod, Christ the flower of Mary, who, about to spread the good odor of faith throughout the whole world, budded forth from a virgin womb, as he himself said: “I am the flower of the plain, a lily of the valley.”

Elsewhere, the Holy Spirit also speaks of the Virgin about to give birth when he says, “There will come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower will arise from his root.” The rod from the root of Jesse signifies the Virgin Mary, who found her origins in the stem of Jesse through David. For, as the Evangelist or apostle reveals, out of the tribe of David came the Virgin Mary, from whom the flower of human flesh arose in Christ. This is the rod which, having been placed in the ark of testimony to be a sign for everlasting memory, has now by a new and wonderful mystery, without moisture from the earth, brought forth the fruit of the almond. It is by this miracle that Aaron’s priesthood was confirmed.

Until the beginning of the vision, or the burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amos saw, his entire prophecy was about Christ, a prophecy that we want to explain piecemeal lest the ideas and discussions thereof together confuse the reader’s memory. The Jews interpreted the branch and the flower from the root of Jesse to be the Lord himself because the power of his governance is demonstrated in the branch and his beauty in the flower. But we understand the branch from the root of Jesse to be the holy Virgin Mary, who had no shoot connatural to herself. About her we read above: “Behold, a virgin will conceive and bear a son.” And the flower is the Lord our Savior, who said in the Song of Songs, “I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys.” In place of “root,” which only the Septuagint translated, the Hebrew text has geza, which Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotus interpret as kormon, that is, “stem.” And they translated “flower,” which the Hebrew text calls nēṣer, as “bud” to show that after a long time in Babylonian captivity, no longer possessing any glory from the sprout of the old kingdom of David, Christ would rise from Mary as though from her stem. The educated of the Hebrews believe that what all the ecclesiastics sought in the Gospel of Matthew but could not find, where it was written “Because he will be called a Nazarene,” was taken from this place. But it should be noted that nēṣer was written here with the [Hebrew] letter ṣade [צ], the peculiar sound of which—somewhere between z and s—the Latin language does not express.

Chapter XI - Verses 1, 2. And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. Up to the beginning of the Vision or the weight of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amos saw, all this prophecy is about Christ, which we wish to explain in parts so as not to confuse the reader's memory by presenting and discussing it all at once. The rod and the flower from the root of Jesse are interpreted as the Lord Himself of the Jews: so that in the rod, the power of the reigning one may be shown, and in the flower, the beauty. But we understand the rod from the root of Jesse to be the holy Virgin Mary, who had no fruit cohering to herself; of whom we also read above: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son (Isa. VII, 14). And the flower is the Lord and Savior, who says in the Song of Solomon: I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys (Cant. II, 1). Concerning the root which alone the LXX translators turned into Hebrew script, it has (in Geza) which Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotio interpreted as κορμὸν, that is, trunk. And concerning the flower which is called (in Hebrew) Neser, they translated it as germ to show that much later after the Babylonian captivity, with no one from the line of David possessing the glory of the ancient kingdom, Christ arose as if from the trunk of Mary, and from Mary Christ was born. That which in the Gospel of Matthew everyone seeks the words of the Ecclesiastics, and does not find where it is written, 'He shall be called a Nazarene' (Matt. 2:23), the learned Hebrews think is taken from this place. But it should be known that here 'Nazarene' is written with the letter 'Sade', which the Latin language does not express the sound and property of between 'z' and 's'. It is, in fact, a strident sound and is barely pronounced with the tongue against the teeth: from which the city of Zion is also written. Moreover, the Nazarenes, whom the Seventy sanctified, whom Symmachus separated, transferred, pronounce 'Zain' (the letter element is always written). Therefore, upon this flower, who will suddenly rise from the trunk and root of Jesse through the Virgin Mary, the spirit of the Lord will rest, because in him it pleased all the fullness of divinity to dwell bodily: not by parts, as with the other saints; but according to the Gospel that the Nazarenes read, which was written in the Hebrew language: 'Upon him descends every source of the Holy Spirit.' Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). In the same volume of Matthew, we read that which is written in the following: Behold, my servant whom I have chosen: my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him: he shall show judgment to the Gentiles (Matt. XII, 18). This is understood to refer to the understanding of the Savior, in whom the Spirit of the Lord rested, that is, he remained in eternal habitation: not so as to fly away and descend to him again; but according to the testimony of John the Baptist, he would continually remain, who said: I saw the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and remaining upon him, and I did not know him: but he who sent me to baptize in water, said to me: He upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining upon him, he it is who baptizes in the Holy Spirit (John. XXXII, 33). Furthermore, in the Gospel, of which we have mentioned above, we find these writings: And it came to pass, when the Lord was ascended out of the water, the whole fountain of the Holy Spirit descended and rested upon him, and said to him: My son, in all the prophets I have expected thee, that thou shouldst come, and that I might rest in thee. For thou art my rest, thou art my first begotten Son, who reignest in eternity. Who is called the Spirit of the Lord and the Spirit of wisdom; for all things were made by him, and without him was made nothing that was made (John 1:3). And in the Psalms it is sung: How great are your works, O Lord! You have made all things in wisdom (Ps. XCI, 24). And the Apostle writes: Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (I Cor. I). And in Proverbs it is read: By his wisdom, God founded the earth, and by his prudence, he prepared the heavens (Prov. III, 19). And just as the Word of God is called light, and life, and resurrection, so the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord is named: not because it is different according to the differences of names, but because it is the one and same source and beginning of all virtues. Therefore, without Christ, no one can be wise, intelligent, wise counsel, strong, learned, pious, or full of the fear of God. And it should be noted that the Spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and fortitude, knowledge and piety, and the fear of the Lord, that is, the number seven, which is said to be the seven eyes on one stone in Zechariah (Chapter 3), may rest upon the rod and flower, who rose from the root of Jesse, and therefore from the line of David. But the Spirit of the fear of the Lord has filled him because of those who lack the fear of the Lord: for they are little ones, whom perfect love casts out. For whoever fears, has punishment, and is not perfect (1 John 4:18). Therefore, the Apostle speaks to the believers: For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear: but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father (Romans 8:15). And in Malachi we read: If I am a father, where is my glory? And if I am the Lord, where is my fear? (Malachi 1:6). Concerning this fear, it is sung in the Psalm: Come, children, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord (Psalm 34:11).

The land that before brought forth thorns, hears in Isaiah the blessing: “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” “You have turned away the captivity of Jacob.” The Lord has come, therefore, to proclaim pardon to captives. There is a parallel to this in another passage of Scripture: “He led captivity captive,” that is, we, who in former times had been captured by the devil to perdition, now are led away by the Savior to salvation.

David was the king of Israel and the son of Jesse at a certain time in the Old Testament, when the New Testament was still hidden there in the Old, like a fruit in its root. For if you seek the fruit in its root, you will not find it. But neither would you find the fruit in the branch, unless it had first come from the root.At that time, then, the first people had come from the seed of Abraham carnally. The second people, those who belong to the New Testament, also belong to the seed of Abraham, but spiritually. Those first people who were still carnal, therefore, among whom very few prophets understood both what was to be desired from God and when to announce it publicly, foretold this future time and the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Insofar as Christ himself was born according to the flesh, he was hidden in the root, in the seed of the patriarchs, and was to be revealed at a certain time, like fruit appearing on the branch, as it is written: “A rod will bloom from the root of Jesse.” The same is true of the New Testament, which was hidden in Christ throughout those earlier times and was known only to the prophets and to a very small group of godly persons, not as the manifestation of present realities but as a revelation of future events. For what does it mean, brothers, if I can remind you of one specific event, that Abraham, sending his faithful servant to betroth a wife to his only son, makes him swear to him and in the oath says to him, “Put your hand under my thigh and swear”? What was in the thigh of Abraham upon which the man put his hand and swore? What was there, except what was then promised to him: “in your seed, all the peoples will be blessed”? The thigh signifies the flesh. From the flesh of Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob and, without naming everyone, through Mary, came our Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe, therefore, in the immortal and invisible God, not in him whom the infidels have fashioned to be God, who is both an adulterer and a thunderer, but in the true God, Creator and Ruler of all the world.We also hold to Jesus Christ his Son, formerly promised through the prophets, and we know that the promise has been fulfilled. Yet, because we were not present when it was fulfilled, we are also commanded to believe it. The Jews were present then, however, from whose race the Savior himself chose apostles through whom the faith has reached us. As a member of the very race in which and from which he deigned to be born, the prophet Isaiah predicted a long time ago: “Behold, a virgin will conceive in the womb and will bear a son, and you will call his name Emmanuel, which means ‘God with us.’ ”; And elsewhere [we read]: “There will come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower will go up from his root.” The branch signifies the Virgin Mary, and the flower of the rod represents the Son of the Virgin, the Lord Jesus Christ. Before these things took place, the Jews read about it and did not understand.… Christ was born from a virgin like a flower from a branch, without the involvement of any seed. He was born a small infant and a great king.

For it is history when something is reported as having been done or said in plain discourse according to the letter; for example, the people of Israel, after they had been delivered from Egypt, are said to have made a tabernacle for the Lord in the wilderness. It is allegory when the presence of Christ and the sacraments of the church are designated by mystical words or things; by words, certainly, as when Isaiah says, “A shoot [virga] shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up from his root,” which is to say openly, “The Virgin Mary will be born from the stock of David, and Christ will proceed from his lineage”; and by things, as when the people delivered from Egyptian slavery through the blood of the lamb signifies the church freed from the devil’s domination by the passion of Christ.

The prophet Isaiah bears witness that our Redeemer had to be conceived in Nazareth when he says, “A nazareus will ascend from his root.” The term nazareus has the meaning of “flower” or “clean.” The Son of God made incarnate for us can properly be named by this term, both because he adopted the nature of a human being clean from all vices and because in him the font and origin of spiritual fruits came forth for all believers, since to them he both pointed out examples and granted the fruits of living properly and blessedly.

The prophet Isaiah testified that it was necessary that our Redeemer be conceived in Nazareth when he said, “There will come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a nazareus will go up from his root.” Nazareus can be translated either as “flower” or as “pure.” The Son of God who was made flesh for us can rightly be called by these names because he assumed a human nature which was pure of every vice and because he is the font and source of spiritual fruit for all who believe in him, to whom he also both showed an example and granted the gift of righteous and blessed living.

Now [Mary] saw that she herself, who had arisen from the stock of Jesse, had conceived God’s Son of the Holy Spirit.

The seven lamps are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, all of which remain in our Lord and Redeemer forever and are distributed in his members (that is, in all the elect) according to his will. Therefore the seven lamps are set upon the lampstand because upon our Redeemer, the firstborn “from the root of Jesse,” rested “the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and of godliness,” and he was filled “with the Spirit of the fear of the Lord.” As he himself also says through the same prophet, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me.”

In which rod, no doubt the blessed Virgin Mary is predicted, who sprung from the stock of Jesse and David and fecundated by the Holy Spirit, brought forth a new flower of human flesh, becoming a virgin-mother. (Pope St. Leo the Great Sermon 4) Or it could be that a flower refers to Christ; and it is probably implied indirectly by "rod" that he has royal dignity as well, a rod being a symbol of kingship. (St. Cyril of Alexandria) Or it could be that Jesse is the root, David the tree that through its branch, that is, Mary, has produced fruit, that is Christ.