out of the dust; He lifteth up the needy out of the dunghill, that He may set him with princes, with the princes of His people,"--in which, the second time, the transition should take place from the low condition to the royal dignity, should not be mentioned according to its royal, but according to its rustic character. This explanation of the fact is confirmed by the circumstance that it agrees exceedingly well with the right interpretation of גזע: Jesse is mentioned and not David, because the Davidic dignity had become a גזע. The mention of Jesse's name thus explained, agrees, then, with the birth of Christ at Bethlehem, announced by Isaiah's cotemporary, Micah. Christ was to be born at Bethlehem, because that residence was peculiar to the [Pg 105] family of David during its lowliness; comp. vol. I., p. 508-9.--The second hemistich of the verse may either be explained: "a twig from his roots shall bear fruit," or, as agrees better with the accents: "a twig shall from his roots bear fruit." The sense, at all events, is: A shoot proceeding from his roots (_i.e._, the cut-off stem of Jesse) shall grow up into a stately fruitful tree; or: As a tree cut down throws out from its roots a young shoot which, at first inconsiderable, grows up into a stately fruit-bearing tree, so from the family buried in contempt and lowliness, a _King_ shall arise who, at first humble and unheeded,[3] shall afterwards attain to great glory. Parallel is Ezek. xvii. 22-24. The Messiah is there compared to a tender twig which is planted by the Lord on a high hill, and sends forth branches and bears fruit, so that all the birds dwell in the shadow of its branches.--It has now become current to explain: "A branch breaks forth or sprouts;" but that explanation is against the _usus loquendi_. פרה is never equivalent to פרח "to break forth;" it has only the signification "to bear," "to bear fruit," "to be fruitful." _Gesenius_ who, in the later editions of his translation, here explains פרה by, "to break forth," knows, in the _Thesaurus_, of no other signification. In the passage of Ezekiel referred to, which may be considered as a commentary on the verse before us, עשה פרי corresponds to the יפרה here. The change of the tense, too, suggests that יפרה does not contain a mere repetition, but a progress. This progress is necessary for the sense of the whole verse. For it cannot be the point in question that, in general, a shoot comes forth; but the point is that this shoot shall attain to importance and glory. יפרה comprehends and expresses in one word that which, in the subsequent verses of the section, is carried out in detail. First, there is the bestowal of the Spirit of the Lord whereby He is enabled to bear fruit; then, the fruit-bearing itself. We here subjoin the discussion of the New Testament passage which refers to this verse.