Revelation uses this name for Jesus in chapters 5 and 22. In Rev 5:5, one of the elders around the heavenly throne tells John not to weep, because “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”¹ In Rev 22:16, Jesus refers to Himself as “the root and the descendant of David.” This rightly brings to mind the messianic prophecy of Isaiah 11:1, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit,” as well as the Davidic covenant of 2 Sam 7:11-16 in which God promises that David’s “throne shall be established forever” (v. 16).

            Interestingly though, the prophecy in Isaiah 11 and the Davidic covenant of 2 Sam 7 are not the only messianic prophecies that refer to some sort of a root/shoot/branch/sprout of David. God tells Jeremiah that He will “raise up for David a righteous Branch” who will save Judah and Israel (Jer 23:5-6, Jer 33:15-16). Jeremiah also refers to the Davidic covenant in Jer 33:17. Furthermore, we also see a “Branch” or “Sprout” in v. 8 of the heavenly court scene of Zechariah 3, and again in God’s instructions regarding the crowning of Joshua in Zech 6:12. Many scholars believe that the “Branch” or “Sprout” in Zech 3:8 refers to Zerubbabel,² although in Zech 6:12, the Branch/Sprout may refer to Joshua, the first high priest of the temple that was rebuilt after the exile.³ I believe that it is also important to keep in mind that many Old Testament prophecies have a “dual fulfillment.” This means that there is a “near” fulfillment; a fulfillment that takes place close to the time of the original author and the original audience, as well as a messianic or eschatological fulfillment in the more distant future. Therefore, the Branch/Sprout in Zechariah could refer to Zerubbabel/Joshua AND to the Messiah. Hmmm, it is also intriguing that Joshua and Jesus are variations of the same name…

            Let’s talk a little bit more about the words involved in this name of Jesus. It is tempting to think of the “root” as the base of the plant. The roots form the underground foundation of the plant, while the part above ground produces the flowers or fruit. However, if we look closely at Is 11:1, Jesse (David’s father) seems to be the stump/root. It is the fruit-bearing shoot or the branch that refers to the Messiah. The Hebrew words in Is 11:1 include the word translated as “shoot” in Is 11:1a, חטך (hōter: branch/twig/rod),⁴ and the word translated as “branch” in Is 11:1b ןנער (nēser: sprout/shoot/branch).⁵ We see something similar in Rev 5:5. The word translated as “root” is the Greek word ῥίζα (riza) which can mean an actual root, or a sprout/shoot, or even a term for offspring or progeny.⁶ G. K. Beale explains in his commentary on Revelation that the purpose of the word “Root” in Rev 5:5 and 22:16 “is to identify Jesus as the one who fulfills the prophecy that one of David’s descendants will be the Messiah.”⁷ Therefore, Jesus is the “sprout” that came from the line of David, not the “root” that produced the line of David. Now, just to make our brains work a little harder, Jesus really is our “root” too, since Col 1:16 tells us that “by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth…” However, the name “Root of David” refers to Jesus being a descendant of David. Since Jesus is on the eternal throne of heaven, this fulfills God’s promise in the Davidic covenant, confirmed in Luke 1:32-33.

            One of the truly fascinating aspects of this name of Jesus is that the OT prophets who use this name don’t all belong to the same period in the Israelites’ history. Isaiah prophesied in the time prior to the northern kingdom of Israel’s fall to the Assyrians. Jeremiah prophesied prior to and during the southern kingdom of Judah’s fall to the Babylonians. Zechariah prophesied in the post-exilic period after the Israelites began returning to Jerusalem from the exile in Babylon. And, let’s not forget that the name showed up again in John’s vision of the end times, the book we know as Revelation. Clearly, this name has been one of great importance throughout biblical history.

            As I discussed above, the name “Root of David” and its corollary, “Shoot from the Stump of Jesse,” refer to Jesus’s lineage from the family of David. However, there seem to be some other important implications as well. When John hears this name from the elder in Rev 5:5, it is in the context of Jesus as the one who had conquered and therefore was worthy to open the sealed scroll. He conquered because He was the perfectly righteous, once-for-all sacrifice that defeated sin and evil. When Jesus uses this name for Himself in Rev 22:16, it follows an exhortation to be cleansed and live righteously, as well as a polemic against sin, immorality, and false worship in Rev 22:11-15. The use of this name in Revelation, therefore, seems to be associated with righteousness. This association is not just in Revelation though! After Isaiah prophesies that “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Is 11:1), he goes on to say that this “stump” shall judge with righteousness (Is 11:4), and that “Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist” (Is 11:5). Jeremiah refers to righteousness in the name itself, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch” (Jer 23:5) and says almost the exact same thing in Jer 33:15, “I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David.” Furthermore, in both Jeremiah 23 and 33, the prophet goes on to state that this “righteous branch” will be called “The Lord is our righteousness” (Jer 23:6, Jer 33:16). Moving on to Zechariah, God tells Zechariah that first He will send the “Branch” (Zech 3:8), and then will set a stone before Joshua (Zech 3:9a). Following the description of the stone, God goes on to say that He will “remove the iniquity of this land in a single day” (Zech 3:9b). And what happens when iniquity is removed from the people? Yes! The people are made righteous! Clearly, this particular name of Jesus has a distinct association with righteousness.

            The emphasis on the Root of David/Shoot from the Stump of Jesse’s own righteousness, as well as His ability to make others righteous, also brings to mind the role of the priest. When the Levitical priesthood was created, way back in the days of Moses, it was the high priest that atoned for the sins of the people once each year, thus temporarily restoring righteousness. Jesus Christ, the Root of David, is our perfect high priest who atoned for us once and for all (rather than once a year, like the Levitical high priest), and now sits on David’s throne in heaven for all eternity (Heb 10:10, Luke 1:32-33).

            In conclusion, this particular name for Jesus, “Root of David” or “Shoot from the Stump of Jesse,” primarily points us to Jesus as the one who fulfilled the messianic prophecies stating that the Savior would come from the line of David, and that Jesus would ultimately fulfill the Davidic covenant. However, this name also seems to be strongly associated with righteousness; not just the Messiah’s own righteousness, but His ability to restore righteousness to God’s people, by His perfect and permanent atoning sacrifice on the cross.

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[1] ¹All Scripture references are from the ESV unless otherwise noted.

[2] ²Mark J. Boda, The Book of Zechariah, NICOT, ed. Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016),

[3] ³Joyce G. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction & Commentary, TOTC, ed. D. J. Wiseman (Downers Grove: IVP, 1972), 133-134.

[4] ⁴James Strong, The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001), H2415.

[5] ⁵Strong, H5342.

[6] ⁶Joseph H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, New Edition (PMA Publishing, 2015), 568, #4491.

[7] ⁷G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation, NIGTC, eds. I. Howard Marshall and Donald A. Hagner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 1147.