The words of Isaiah 11 reflect a vast array of Old Testament hope in three movements, each with its own fundamental theme. This post walks through each verse of Isaiah 11 to demonstrate the chapter’s kaleidoscopic portrait of Old Testament hope.
The Davidic King (11:1–5)
Isaiah’s first and most fundamental image is this: From the destruction of judgment, a descendant of David will rise and bring to fulfillment the hope of God’s people. The kingdom, the people, the land, and all the symbols of hope have been reduced to stumps, but from the stump arises one with all the verbal indications of fulfillment.
Isaiah 11:1
A sprout will go out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from from its root will bear fruit.
The hope of 2 Samuel 7 is recalled with the mention of Jesse, David’s father. The judgment of exile chopped down Judah and the Davidic kings. From this stump will come a sprout. In 2 Samuel 7:13, Yahweh promised David an eternal kingdom, echoing the eternal kingdom promised to his distant father Judah (Gen 49:10). Even when all has been truly lost, Isaiah’s message is that Yahweh is committed to his promise to David.
In the second line, the metaphor switches to a brach bearing fruit (פרה). “Be fruitful” (פרה) — that’s the life of flourishing both Adam and Noah were called to, and it’s what God promised to do for Abraham, make him “very very fruitful” (וְהִפְרֵתִי אֹתְךָ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד, Gen 17:6). Even when everything has been smashed by judgment, God is committed to his promise to Abraham. It’s going to happen through the sprout from the stump of Jesse.
Isaiah 11:2
And he will cause to rest upon him the Spirit of Yahweh, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Yahweh.
This verse gathers together so many symbols related to God’s instructions and wisdom, all related to God’s Spirit. The Spirit (רוּחַ) hovered over the uncreated watery nothingness, and the Spirit’s presence is implied as “breath” when God generates the universe through ten acts of speaking (Gen 1). Wisdom is what Solomon asked for and was given (1 Kings 3). This son of David will have wisdom and will lead creation to flourishing rather than idolatry, exile, and recreation. The Spirit upon this descendant of David will be marked by “knowledge” but not from taking it and disregarding God’s instructions (Gen 3). It’s knowledge and the fear of Yahweh that Deuteronomy demanded from Israel (Deuteronomy 6:2, 13, 24, et al.)
Yahweh caused Adam to rest in the garden (נוח), and he walked with him there (Gen 3:8). On this descendant of David the Spirit of God will rest (נוח), he is the resting place of God. Even when everything is lost, God will fulfill his plan to renew creation through Abraham’s family and will once again walk among his people as he did in Eden.
Isaiah 11:3–5
His incense will be the fear of the LORD, and he will judge not by what his eyes see, nor will he make decisions based on what his ears hear. He will judge the poor with justice, and he will rightly make decisions for the oppressed of the land. He will strike the land with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked. Justice be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness will be the belt around his hips.
Genesis 18:19 says that Yahweh chose Abraham to create a family that keeps the way of the LORD in order to bring about “righteousness and justice so that Yahweh might bring upon Abraham what he said to him.” Isaiah 11:3–5 says that the sprout from the stump of Jesse will bring about the justice that Abraham’s family was intended to produce. If fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and fear of the LORD is the incense he burns, the promise is a king marked by wisdom that creates the people that Abraham’s family was originally intended to be, leading to blessing for all nations. Moses knew the generation on the plains of Moab would be unable to keep the covenant (Deuteronomy), but the sprout from the stump of Jesse will do it.
Just as Yahweh spoke 10 times to generate the universe in Genesis 1, this descendant of David will speak with decreative power to destroy the wicked.
Furthermore, in 1 Samuel Yahweh promised to usher in a faithful (אמן) priest and build him a sure (אמן) house (1 Sam 2:35), and Yahweh promised that David’s house and kingdom would be made sure (אמן) forever (2 Sam 7:16). Isaiah says the sprout from the stump will wear faithfulness (אמן) as a belt (Is 11:5).
Even when the wicked seem to prevail and there is no sign of justice, Isaiah’s message is that God is committed to fulfill his promises to Abraham and David.
New Creation (11:6–9)
In the first five verses, the Davidic king was likened to new creation—a sprout—but the imagery switches here to describe the abundant, Eden-like, new creation that the Davidic king brings with him.
Isaiah 11:6–8
And a wolf will dwell with a lamb. A leopard will lie down with a young goat. The calf, young lion, and full grown cattle will be together, and a little child will lead them. Cow and bear will graze; their young will lie down together, and a lion will eat straw like the ox. A baby will play over a snake hole, and over the den of a viper a toddler will stretch out his hand.
Verses 3–5 described the justice brought about by the Davidic king. Justice is the opposite of the violence and corruption (שׁחת) that led to the flood in Genesis 6. Here we see a new world without the flesh-tearing violence that marks everyday life. Each animal pair is one that “should” lead to pain and violence according to our expectations, yet none does.
Isaiah 11:9
They will not do evil, and they will not act corruptly in all my holy mountain for the land will be filled with the knowledge of Yahweh as water coves the sea.
This part of Isaiah 11 is my favorite because of the way it uses שׁחת (corrupt) to portray a universal situation that is opposite to the flood generation of Genesis 6. “They will not act corruptly” (וְלֹא־יַשְׁחִיתוּ) stands in sharp contrast to the generation of Noah, when “all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth” (הִשְׁחִית כָּל־בָּשָׂר אֶת־דַּרְכּוֹ עַל־הָאָרֶץ, Gen 6:12).1 If one is unsure whether or not the author intends to make a contrast to the flood generation, note this: The parallels between Isaiah 11:9 and Genesis 6:12 are not limited to the use of the verb שׁחת. Notice the conceptual parallel, too.
Genesis 6 portrays the land (אֶרֶץ) in universal terms—it’s completely corrupted—and Isaiah 11:9 speaks similarly in universal terms. The land (אֶרֶץ) is filled (מָלְאָה) with something, but this time it isn’t corruption or violence. In Isaiah, the land is filled with the knowledge of Yahweh. Now, notice the last phrase of verse 9. How does the author intend for you to think about the land being filled with the knowledge of Yahweh? He makes his metaphor explicit in the last phrase. He wants you to envision a huge mass of water: “as the water covers the sea.”
When the Davidic king comes he will bring justice and new creation and the knowledge of Yahweh will cover the earth like water covers the sea. It is striking that the author specifically mentions “knowledge of Yahweh” as the covering agent because spreading the name of Yahweh was explicitly stated in the book of Exodus as Yahweh’s goal. He says to Pharaoh: “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exod 9:16).
The concept of Exodus provides a transition into the final section. This verse makes clear how the purpose of the Exodus (broadcasting Yahweh’s name) is tied to the purpose of the plan with Abraham, to bless all nations and lead to a renewal of all creation. Even when all has been reduced to stump and ash, Yahweh’s plan with Abraham and his purpose in the Exodus will still come to fruition.
New Exodus (11:10–16)
Chapter 11 closes with a host of metaphors related to the theme of Yahweh bringing about a new Exodus. The theme of new Exodus bridges the gap between the chapter’s opening images of the Davidic king and Messiah (vv. 1–5) and new creation (vv. 6–9).
Isaiah 11:10
And in that day there will be a root of Jesse who will stand as a banner for the peoples. Nations will seek him, and glory will be his resting place.
Verse 10 bridges together the agricultural metaphor that opened the chapter—Davidic king as a root (11:1)—with an metaphor related to new Exodus and return from exile: The Messiah will be a signal or a banner, leading in the people from the nations. What will the land be like when the people come to the banner: a glorious resting place, like Eden and the promised land.
Isaiah 11:11
And in that day it will come to pass that the Lord will once use his hand to purchase the remnant of his people, those who are left from Assyria, Egypt, Pathos, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea.
Redemption is accomplished by the use (יסף) of Yahweh’s hand to purchase a remnant of his people.2 In Exodus 15:16, after passing through the Red Sea, Moses and the people sing about how the greatness of Yahweh’s arm (conceptually similar to the use of hand in Isa 11:11) led Israel through the Red Sea, and this Exodus even is said to be a metaphor for Yahweh “purchasing” (קנה, same verb as used here in Isa 11:11) a people (עַם, also the same word used here). The verbal connection to key ways of talking about the Exodus make clear that the author has in mind a new Exodus, this time not just from Egypt, but all the nations into which exile has scattered the faithful remnant.
Isaiah 11:12
And he will lift a banner for the nations, and he will gather those of Israel who have been scattered. He will gather from the four corners of the land those of Judah who have been driven away.
In Exodus 17:15, Moses built and alter and named it “Yahweh is my Banner” (נֵס). Previously in the book of Isaiah (5:26), Yahweh raised a banner (נֵס) for the nations, but the context there was judgment; the banner was a signal for foreign nations that would bring exile. Here, the banner is for salvation; the banner is the Davidic king himself, to which the exiles will come and inhabit a new, glorious resting place, mentioned in verse 10.
Isaiah 11:13
The jealousy of Ephraim will be turned back. The hostility of Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not be hostile to Ephraim.
Genesis 12–50 made it clear that Abraham’s family was riddled with the human rebellion, conflict, and violence is portrayed in Genesis 1–11. That’s the Genesis problem: human rebellion (Gen 1–11) is in Abraham’s family, too (Gen 12–50). There were signs of hope in the reconciliation of Jacob and Esau (Gen 33) and in the reconciliation of Judah and his brothers (Gen 45). The books of Samuel and Kings, however, portray brotherly violence swirling through the history of Israel and Judah. Isaiah 11:13 makes clear that when the Davidic Messiah arrives, sibling rivalry and violence will cease.
Isaiah 11:14
And they will fly on the wings of the Philistines in the west, and together they will plunder the people of the east, Edom and Moab, stretching out their hand, the sons of Amon will obeying them.
This verse is striking in light of the previous verses’ emphasis on brotherly reconciliation. It could be that 11:14 depicts “plundering” and “subjugation” of the people of the east in terms of violently eliminating enemies. I think each expression could also be understood in terms of reconciliation. The most difficult expression to understand in terms of reconciliation is יָבֹזּוּ, they will plunder, but in the Exodus Israel plundered (וַיְנַצְּלוּ, Exod 12:36) the Egyptians without violence.3
The ESV says, “They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab,” but neither put out nor against are explicit in the Hebrew. It simply says, “Edom and Moab stressing out their hand.” Could it be that the hand is outstretched for peace? Could it be parallel to Joseph’s hand on the neck of his brothers as they weep together and are reconciled?4
The last expression about the Ammonites obedience could also be understood in terms of reconciliation. Surely if Egypt and Assyria can be called “my people” (Isa 19:24–25), it’s not too difficult to imagine that the Ammonites can too.
Isaiah 11:15
And Yahweh will devote to destruction the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and he will wave his hand over the Euphrates with the heat of his Spirit. And he will strike it, making seven channels of water. He will march his people across in sandals.
Are there still any doubts that the underlying message, the theme, is related to Yahweh bringing about a new Exodus? Notice how the theme of reconciliation and peace in the previous verses is related to the Exodus motifs here. People are not being “devoted to destruction” (חרם), rather it’s the water that is the object of destruction. Yahweh stretches his hand, like Moses, over the great waters of the biblical imagination, the Euphrates in the north and the Red Sea in the south. They become seven channels of water as his people march across in sandals.
I imagine the seven streams or channels in terms of the river(s) of Eden. Note that there is a clear Eden/new creation motif at play in verse 15. It’s not just that Yahweh lifts his hand over water like Moses. It says that the waters are overcome by his רוּחַ, his breath/wind/spirit. I cannot read that line without thinking of the Spirit (רוּחַ) of God hovering over the deep in Genesis 1:2, splitting of water and creating the abundance of Eden.
Isaiah 11:16
And there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who are left from Assyria, as it was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.
The metaphor changes now from a focus on water-crossing to the image of a road, a highway from Assyria. But this image too is explicitly associated with the idea of a new Exodus. The people march back from exile on a road “like when they came up out of the land of Egypt.”
Conclusion
Even when all is truly lost, Isaiah 11 holds out a kaleidoscopic vision of hope rooted in Yahweh and his Messiah. In this chapter, so many of the hopes and promises of God are affirmed with vivid imagery filled out by the story of God that stretches from Genesis through Kings: new creation, the end of human rebellion and brotherly violence, reconciliation, new Exodus, a promised land (place of rest) that won’t be ruined with violence, and the Davidic king from Judah and Abraham. The subplot of renewing creation through Abraham’s family climaxes here with a “sprout from the stump of Jesse” bringing in the universal flourishing that was intended to flow out of God’s partnership with humanity in Eden.
- I talk more about the way Gen 1–11 portrays the connection between human rebellion and God’s judgment in this post. ↩
- The translations differ here on what verb to use with “his hand.” Normally the verb I’m translating “use” has a second verb that goes with it, creating an expression like “again do-x.” There’s no complementary verb here, and I don’t think it’s necessary to say there should be one. I think the gloss offered in The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew makes good sense—The Lord will use his hand to buy again … ↩
- The words for “plunder” are different in Exodus 12:36 and Isaiah 11:14, but the concepts overlap. ↩
- In this post, I explained how the words spoken about Judah in Genesis 49:8—“your hand will be on the neck of your enemies”—should be understood in terms of Joseph’s hand on the neck of his formerly hostile brothers, as they reconcile, in Genesis 45:15. ↩
Brian W. Davidson 
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