Jesse Tree

Is 11:1-3.

"But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD."

"The passage in Isaiah, 11:1 is: "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. In the Latin Vulgate Bible used in the Middle Ages this was: "et egredietur virga de radice Iesse et flos de radice eius ascendet " or ".. a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up...". Flos, pl floris, is Latin for flower. Virga is a "green twig", "rod" or "broom", as well as a convenient near-pun with Virgo or Virgin, which undoubtedly influenced the development of the image. Thus Jesus is the Virga Jesse or "shoot of Jesse".

"The Jesse Tree is a genealogical tree often displayed in Advent that traces the ancestry of Jesus beginning with Jesse, father of King David. It is usually located in the vestibule of the Church."

Links

• "Catholic Activity: Jesse Tree Instructions."
• Wikipedia, "Tree of Jesse."
• O Antiphons