Jesse

Isai (also Jesse; Hebrew יִשַׁי Jišaj, in pausal form יִשָׁי Jišāj; Greek Ἰεσσαί Iessaí) is a biblical person from the Old Testament of the Bible; translated his name means gift of God. He was, according to biblical tradition, the father of King David (Ruth 4:17 EU; 1 Chr 2:13-15 EU; Mt 1:5-6 EU; Lk 3:32 EU) and an Efratite from Bethlehem (1 Sam 16:1, 18 EU; 1 Sam 17:12 EU).

Jesse was the son of Obed and a grandson of Boaz and Ruth. According to the 1st Book of Samuel he had eight sons; David was the youngest son. According to the 1st book of Chronicles there were only seven sons: Eliab, Abinadab, Shima, Netanel, Raddai, Ozem and David. His daughters are named Zeruiah and Abigaiil.

Isai and his clan lived in Bethlehem. Christianity traces the family tree of Jesus back to this root Jesse described in the book of Isaiah. The spelling Jesse can be found in many Christmas carols (e.g. in Es ist ein Ros entsprungen).

According to the biblical account in 1 Samuel, Samuel set out for Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse's sons as king on God's behalf. Unexpectedly, God chose David. Somewhat later, King Saul, who had fallen out of favor with YHWH, had David brought to his court with his father's consent. Later, Jesse and his wife were brought by David to the Moabite royal court to protect them from Saul's persecution.

Bible passages

• 1 Samuel 16:1-23 EU; 1 Samuel 22:3 EU; Ruth 4:22 EU; 1 Chronicles 2:13-16 EU; Isaiah 11:10 EU; Matthew 1:6-16 EU; Romans 15:12 EU