Branch

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Genesis 49:22 (b) The word refers to the beneficent relationships of Joseph which were to extend beyond the boundaries of his own land, and of his own people. It gives us a picture of the Lord Jesus whose grace, love and mercy were to extend beyond the boundaries of Israel to all people on earth.

 Proverbs 11:28 (b) The righteous will flourish from his union with GOD as a branch flourishes from its union with the vine.

 Isaiah 4:2 (a) The prosperity of Israel in the day of the Lord is compared to the beautiful growth and rich fruit of the branch of a fruit tree. Christ also is called "the branch" in five Scriptures. In each of these passages He is called the branch for a different reason. In this particular Scripture CHRIST is the branch springing from the Father to reveal in His life, His actions and His words the beauty and the glory of the Father. CHRIST is more beautiful than all of the things which He has made. He is the express image of the beauty of the unseen GOD.

 Isaiah 9:14 (a) Here the branch represents the affiliations, relationships and associations of the people. The entire "plant" of Israel was to be cut down.

 Isaiah 11:1 (a) The Lord JESUS is compared to a branch of the tree, and Jesse is the trunk of the tree, for Jesse was in the direct line of CHRIST, one of His ancestors. The Lord JESUS came from Jesse, and yet as the root down out of sight, He was before Jesse, and Jesse came from Him. The branch here reveals the eternal character of CHRIST. He is like the Father in this respect. The branch is always of the same character, appearance, substance and essence as that from which it comes. So CHRIST in every respect is exactly like His Father. He was before Jesse in His deity, and He came from Jesse in His humanity.

 Isaiah 17:9 (b) Several lessons may be learned from this branch. One is that the cities of Israel would be completely destroyed. There will be ruin but not extermination. Another lesson may be that some of the principal men of Israel will be left alive to continue the testimony of Israel.

 Isaiah 60:21 (b) Israel here is represented as a remnant. The tree is largely gone, and only a small branch remains. The Lord will plant that branch so that it may become a tree again.

 Jeremiah 23:5 (b) Again CHRIST Himself is compared to a branch, David being the tree, and the Lord JESUS springing out of the line of David. It reveals His union with David. (See  Jeremiah 33:15) In this place also CHRIST is represented as being exactly like His Father in His righteous character. He is absolutely holy and pure, as is GOD the Father. This branch has all the characteristics of the tree (the Father) in being perfectly sinless, perfectly righteous in every thought, word and deed.

 Jeremiah 33:16 (b) Strangely enough in this Scripture Israel is said to have the same name and the same character as the branch of  Jeremiah 23:5. You will note that the passage records "this is the name whereby SHE will be called." The reason for this is that the bride always takes the name of the one she marries and becomes a partaker of his character, his riches in glory, and his position. The queen rules in equality with the king. The passage reveals the wonderful union between CHRIST and His church. It reminds us of the marvelous truth of imputed righteousness. See  Romans 4:6.

 Ezekiel 17:22 (b) The word in this passage indicates the king of the country, the one who is the highest among the people.

 Zechariah 3:8 (a) This gives us another picture of the beauty of Christ Jesus our Lord. GOD Himself is the tree and the Lord JESUS is the branch. The type in this passage represents CHRIST as being the servant of GOD who will do everything that the Father wants done, and in the way the Father wishes to have it done. By His words and His work He reveals exactly the character and conduct of the Father. The branch is of course, as in the previous references, exactly the same in essence, in substance, in character, and in appearance as His Father.

 Zechariah 6:12 (a) Again the Holy Spirit is revealing to us that the Lord JESUS, the branch, is the one who carries out exactly and in detail the will of His Father. What the Saviour did in building His church is exactly what the Father wanted done. He is a priest upon His throne. The priest is from the tribe of Levi, and the king is from the tribe of Judah. No one in Israel could be both a priest and a king, for the tribes were not permitted to cross with each other. The Saviour brought in a new dispensation. GOD the Father made Him head of the church, and also the King of the Kingdom of GOD. This was GOD's will. It is beautifully illustrated in the picture of the branch and the tree.

 John 15:2 (a) This branch is a picture of the Christian, who, because he is joined to Christ Jesus the vine, lives the kind of a life that CHRIST the vine lived. The branch lives because the vine lives. (  John 14:19) When any person trusts Christ Jesus with his soul and receives Him (  John 1:12), he becomes at once a member of GOD's church, a part of CHRIST's body. The Holy Spirit accomplishes this miracle. Uzziah tried to be both a priest and king, and GOD smote him with leprosy as a punishment. (  2 Chronicles 26:16) King Saul tried to be both a priest and a king, and GOD punished him by taking away the Kingdom of Israel from him. (  1 Samuel 13:9).

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Κλάδος (Strong'S #2798 — Noun Masculine — klados — klad'-os )

from klao, "to break" (cp. klasma, "a broken piece"), properly a young tender shoot, "broken off" for grafting, is used for any kind of branch,  Matthew 13:32;  21:8;  24:32;  Mark 4:32;  13:28;  Luke 13:19; the descendants of Israel,  Romans 11:16-19,21 .

2: Κλῆμα (Strong'S #2814 — Noun Neuter — klema — klay'-mah )

akin to klao, "to break," denotes "a tender, flexible branch, especially the shoot of a vine, a vine sprout,"  John 15:2,4-6 .

3: Στοιβάς (Strong'S #4746 — Noun Feminine — stoibas | stibas — stoy-bas' )

from steibo, "to tread on," primarily denoted "a layer of leaves, reeds, twigs or straw, serving for a bed;" then "a branch full of leaves, soft foliage," which might be used in making a bed, or for treading upon,  Mark 11:8 .

4: Βαΐον (Strong'S #902 — Noun Neuter — baion — bah-ee'-on )

of Egyptian origin, frequent in the papyri writings, denotes "a branch of the palm tree,"  John 12:13 .

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Branch . 1 . The great variety of Heb. words rendered by our ‘branch’ may be gathered from the following list of passages, in each of which a different term is used:   Genesis 40:10 ,   Exodus 25:33 ,   Numbers 13:23 ,   Isaiah 16:8;   Isaiah 27:10 ,   Jeremiah 11:16 ,   Zechariah 4:12 ,   Psalms 104:12 ,   Job 15:32;   Job 18:16 . In the following verses RV [Note: Revised Version.] or RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] adds or substitutes another word:   Isaiah 18:5 (‘spreading branches’)   Isaiah 25:6 (‘song’),   Ezekiel 17:3;   Ezekiel 17:22 (‘top,’ ‘lofty top’),   Psalms 80:15 (‘Heb. son ’: RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] of   Genesis 49:22 , in like manner has ‘Heb. daughters ’),   Proverbs 11:28 (‘leaf’)   Job 8:16 (‘shoot’). In the NT four Greek words are translated ‘branch,’ but RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] points out that ‘layers of leaves’ are meant at   Mark 11:8 , and at   John 12:13 palm -branches are in question. 2 . ‘Branch’ is used figuratively for human offspring (  Job 15:32 ), especially for the scion of a royal house (  Daniel 11:7 ); also for persons in lofty station (  Isaiah 9:14 ). The Heb. netser , properly signifying ‘sprout’ or ‘shoot,’ but rendered ‘branch’ (  Isaiah 11:1 ), is a designation of the Messianic king; not improbably this was in the Evangelist’s mind when he wrote   Matthew 2:23 . We have the same English term at   Jeremiah 23:5;   Jeremiah 33:15 , where another word, tsemach , is a title of the Messiah, intimating that this ‘shoot’ should arise out of ‘the low estate’ of the restored remnant.   Zechariah 3:8;   Zechariah 6:12 , following Jeremiah, actually makes Tsemach a proper name. The Targ. on Jer. and Zech. unhesitatingly substitutes for it ‘the Messiah.’

J. Taylor.

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

Many figures of speech in Scripture used to illustrate spiritual truth are taken from agriculture. One such set of ideas has to do with limbs, secondary stems, or new growth on vines, bushes, and trees. More than twenty Hebrew and Greek words are employed to connote this growth; they have been translated variously as a "branch, " "shoot, " "sprout, " "tendril, " or "twig."

When olive trees, indigenous to Israel, are cut down, new trees grow from the shoots that sprout from the base and root system. It was not uncommon for the prophets to depict the Messiah as a new shoot or branch growing from David's stock, even though that "tree" would be cut off. Isaiah proclaims that "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit" (11:1). Jeremiah announces that one day in the future the Lord will raise up for David a "righteous Branch, " who will reign as the rightful heir to the throne (23:5). Zechariah notes that this royal Branch will be the one who will rebuild the temple (6:12-13).

Israel is often referred to as a vine. The Lord brought Israel, the vine, out of Egypt and planted it in the promised land. As the Lord blessed the vine, it prospered and "sent out its boughs to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River" ( Psalm 80:11 ). The fruit that the vine produced, however, was an embarrassment to the Lord and steps were taken against it (see  Isaiah 5:1-7 ). More often, however, the prophets use the analogy of the vine and branches to describe Israel's future restoration ( Isaiah 60:21;  Hosea 14:6 ).

Jesus uses the analogy of the relationship of the vine to the branches to describe his relationship with his disciples: "I am the vine; you are the branches" ( John 15:5 ). The branches derive their very existence and ability to produce fruit from the vine. Detached, the branches cease to live or produce. Likewise, apart from Christ, an individual has neither spiritual life nor fruit.

In Romans 11Paul draws attention to grafting a branch into a stock. Normally, a farmer takes a wild root or stock and grafts into it a cultivated scion. That was not the case with Israel, the cultivated olive tree; the branches broken off were replaced by wild olive shoots, in other words, Gentile believers. When the Deliverer from Zion comes, however, it will be easy for him to restore Israel to its rightful position (vv. 25-27).

Glenn E. Schaefer

See also Name And Titles Of Jesus Christ; Messiah

Bibliography . W. J. Beecher, The Prophets and the Promise  ; R. Brown, The Gospel According to John  ; R. L. Harris, Baker's Dictionary of Theology  ; W. Kaiser, Toward an Old Testament Theology  ; S. Mowinckel, He That Cometh .

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

"The branch of Jehovah" ( Isaiah 4:2), the sprout of Jehovah, Messiah ( Jeremiah 23:5;  Jeremiah 33:15;  Zechariah 3:8;  Zechariah 6:12;  Luke 1:78 margin). Fruit bearing, so as to "fill the face of the world with fruit" ( Isaiah 27:6). He is at once a "branch" and a "root" ( Isaiah 11:1;  Isaiah 53:2). "The root and offspring (offshoot) of David" ( Revelation 22:16), the Brother of man and the Source of manhood.  Luke 2:7 shows the depressed state of David's royal line, represented by Joseph and Mary, at the time when Jesus was born "out of the stem of Jesse" (the stump cut close to the roots at that time); "a root out of a dry ground." Perfect purity and grace were wrapped up under the root's seemingly unattractive scales. Sin had dried up the life of the humanity out of which He sprang.

Degenerate human nature, even Judaism, could never have produced Him. Though rooted in the dry ground of earth, He had a heavenly and self derived life. Believers being such "as He is in this world" ( 1 John 4:17) are also "branches" in Him the living vine, yielding fruit instinctively, spontaneously, naturally, their love corresponding to His (John 15), "the branch of My planting" ( Isaiah 60:21). "An abominable branch," a useless sucker cut away by the husbandman; else the tree's branch on which a malefactor was hung, and which was buried with him. "They put the branch to their nose" ( Ezekiel 8:17), expressing insolent security; they turn up their nose with scorn, or rather they held up a branch of tamarisk to their nose at daybreak, while singing hymns to the rising sun.

King James Dictionary

BR'ANCH, n.

1. The shoot of a tree or other plant a limb a bough shooting from the stem, or from another branch or bough. Johnson restricts the word to a shoot from a main bough but the definition warranted neither by etymology nor usage.

A division of a main stem, supporting the leaves and fructification.

An arm of a tree sprouting from the stem.

2. Any arm or extended part shooting or extended from the main body of a thing as the branch of a candlestick or of an artery. Hence, from similitude, a smaller stream running into a large one,or proceeding from it. Also, the shoot of a stag's horn an antler. 3. Any member or part of a body, or system a distinct article a section or subdivision as, charity is a branch of christian duty. 4. Any individual of a family descending in a collateral line any descendant from a common parent or stock. 5. Branches of a bridle, two pieces of bent iron which bear the bit, the cross chains and the curb. 6. In architecture, branches of ogives are the arches of Gothic vaults, traversing from one angle to another diagonally, and forming a cross between the other arches, which make the sides of the square, of which these arches are diagonals. 7. A warrant or commission given to a pilot. 8. A chandelier.

BR'ANCH, To shoot or spread in branches to ramify, as a plant, or as horns.

1. To divide into separate parts, or subdivisions, as a mountain, a stream, or a moral subject to ramify. 2. To speak diffusively to make many distinctions or divisions in a discourse. 3. To have horns shooting out.

BR'ANCH, To divide as into branches to make subordinate divisions.

1. To adorn with needle work, representing branches, flowers, or twigs.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): (v. i.) To divide into separate parts or subdivision.

(2): (n.) A warrant or commission given to a pilot, authorizing him to pilot vessels in certain waters.

(3): (a.) Diverging from, or tributary to, a main stock, line, way, theme, etc.; as, a branch vein; a branch road or line; a branch topic; a branch store.

(4): (n.) A shoot or secondary stem growing from the main stem, or from a principal limb or bough of a tree or other plant.

(5): (n.) Any division extending like a branch; any arm or part connected with the main body of thing; ramification; as, the branch of an antler; the branch of a chandelier; a branch of a river; a branch of a railway.

(6): (n.) Any member or part of a body or system; a distinct article; a section or subdivision; a department.

(7): (n.) One of the portions of a curve that extends outwards to an indefinitely great distance; as, the branches of an hyperbola.

(8): (n.) A line of family descent, in distinction from some other line or lines from the same stock; any descendant in such a line; as, the English branch of a family.

(9): (v. t.) To adorn with needlework representing branches, flowers, or twigs.

(10): (v. t.) To divide as into branches; to make subordinate division in.

(11): (v. i.) To shoot or spread in branches; to separate into branches; to ramify.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

From the vast importance of this word in Scripture, as it refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, it is marked by the prophet Zechariah in capitals. It seems, therefore, to demand our more particular attention. We find Christ spoken of, under the spirit of prophecy, by the Lord Jehovah in this character by three of the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. It will be profitable for the reader to consult the several passages. ( Isaiah 4:2 and  Isaiah 11:1;  Jeremiah 23:5 and  Isaiah 33:15;  Zechariah 3:8) The word Branch in the original is Netzer, which signifies, a city of plants. And to shew the correspondence to Christ, the Netzer, or Nazareth, where Jesus dwelt, was named from the same root. (See  Matthew 2:23) The parallel passage in  Zechariah 6:12 is to the same effect. Ezekiel, in allusion to the Lord Jesus, speaks of him under the similitude of the plants, like Nazareth, but describes him "as a plant of renown." ( Ezekiel 34:24-29)

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Branch. This word is often used figuratively in Scripture. A branch is a descendant from a tree the parent,  Isaiah 11:1; or it signifies one united to or dependent upon another. Thus, Christ is the vine; and his disciples are the branches.  John 15:5. Hence Paul's metaphor,  Romans 11:17-24, is easily understood. Beside the more general symbolical meaning, the term "branch" is sometimes specifically applied to the Messiah, as in  Jeremiah 23:5;  Jeremiah 33:15, where the promise runs that, from David's royal stock, a branch of righteousness, a righteous descendant, shall spring. And the same exalted personage is again predicted,  Zechariah 3:8;  Zechariah 6:12, the branch that shall grow and flourish, and become glorious, and endure for ever.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Ezekiel 17:3,10 Daniel 11:7 Job 8:16 Isaiah 11:1 Jeremiah 23:5 Zechariah 3:8 6:12

Disciples are branches of the true vine ( John 15:5,6 ). "The branch of the terrible ones" ( Isaiah 25:5 ) is rightly translated in the Revised Version "the song of the terrible ones," i.e., the song of victory shall be brought low by the destruction of Babylon and the return of the Jews from captivity.

The "abominable branch" is a tree on which a malefactor has been hanged ( Isaiah 14:19 ). The "highest branch" in  Ezekiel 17:3 represents Jehoiakim the king.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

One of the names that Israelites of Old Testament times gave to the expected Messiah was ‘the Branch’. This arose from the Israelite expectation that the Messiah was to come from the ‘tree’ of David’s dynasty ( Jeremiah 23:5;  Jeremiah 33:15; cf.  Isaiah 4:2;  Isaiah 11:1; see Messiah ).

After the Jews’ return from their Babylonian captivity, the name ‘branch’ was used in relation to Zerubbabel, the Jewish governor in Jerusalem. Zerubbabel was a descendant of David in the royal line that eventually produced Jesus the Messiah ( Haggai 2:21-23;  Zechariah 3:8-10;  Zechariah 6:11-13;  Matthew 1:12-16; see Zerubbabel ).

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Isaiah 9:14 Isaiah 19:15 John 15:1-8 Romans 11:16-21 Genesis 49:22 Job 8:16 Psalm 80:11 Job 8:16 Isaiah 9:14 Jeremiah 11:16 Ezekiel 15:2 Isaiah 11:1 Jeremiah 23:5 Jeremiah 33:15 Zechariah 3:8 Zechariah 6:12Messiah

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

As trees denote, in figurative language, great men and princes, so branches, boughs, and plants denote their offspring. Christ is called "the Branch," the "rod out of the stem of Jesse," and "branch out of his roots,"  Isaiah 11:1;  53:2;  Zechariah 3:8;  6:12; being a royal descendant of the princely house of David,  Jeremiah 23:5;  33:15 . The word branch also illustrates the union of believers with Christ,  John 15:5,6 . It is used in  Ezekiel 8:17 as a symbol of idolatrous worship, probably in allusion to the carrying of fragrant boughs in honor of idols.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

a title of Messiah: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a BRANCH shall grow out of his roots,"  Isaiah 11:1 . See also  Zechariah 3:8;  Zechariah 6:12;  Jeremiah 23:5;  Jeremiah 33:15 . When Christ is represented as a slender twig, shooting out from the trunk of an old tree lopped to the very root and decayed, and becoming itself a mighty tree, reference is made,

1. To the kingly dignity of Christ, springing up from the decayed house of David;

2. To the exaltation which was to succeed his humbled condition on earth, and to the glory and vigour of his mediatorial reign.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(represented by various Heb. and Greek words). As trees in Scripture denote great men and princes, so branches, boughs, sprouts, or plants denote their offspring. In conformity with this way of speaking, Christ, in respect of his human nature, is styled a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots ( Isaiah 11:1), that is, a prince arising from the family of David. This symbol was also in use among the ancient poets (Sophocles, Electra, 4: 18; Homer, Iliad, ii, 47, 170, 211, 252, 349; Pindar, Olymp. ii, 6, etc.). And so, even in our English tongue, the word Imp, which is originally Saxon and denotes a plant, is used to the same purpose, especially by Fox the martyrologist, who calls King Edward the Sixth an imp of great hope; and by Thomas Cromwell, earl of Essex, in his dying speech, who has the same expression concerning the same prince (Wemyss, Clavis Symbolica). "The prophet," as Lowth observes, "having described the destruction of the Assyrian army under the image of a mighty forest, represents, by way of contrast, the great person who makes the subject of this chapter as a slender twig, shooting out from the trunk of an old tree, cut down, lopped to the very root, and decayed, which tender plant, so weak in appearance, should nevertheless prosper. The aged trunk denoted the royal house of David, at that time in a forlorn and contemptible condition, like a tree of which nothing was left but a stump underground" ( Jeremiah 32:5;  Jeremiah 33:15;  Zechariah 3:8;  Zechariah 6:12). Christ's disciples are called branches with reference to their union with him ( John 15:5-6). Thus a branch is the symbol of kings descended from royal ancestors, as branches from the root ( Ezekiel 17:3;  Ezekiel 17:10;  Daniel 11:7). As only a vigorous tree can send forth vigorous branches, a branch is used as a general symbol of prosperity ( Job 8:16). From these explanations it is easy to see how a Branch becomes the symbol of the Messiah ( Isaiah 11:1;  Isaiah 4:2;  Jeremiah 23:15;  Zechariah 3:8;  Zechariah 6:12; and elsewhere). (See Messiah); (See Palm).

Branch is also used as the symbol of idolatrous worship ( Ezekiel 8:17), probably in allusion to the general custom of carrying branches as a sign of honor. Hence God complains by the prophet that the Jews carried branches as if they did him honor, but they held them to their noses like mockers; that is, they mocked him secretly when they worshipped him publicly; they came with fair pretences and wicked hearts. Dathe remarks that a writer on the religion of the Persians enumerates among the sacred furniture a bundle of twigs, called barsom in the old Persic language, which they hold in their hands while praying. Michaelis says that they held it before the face, opposite to the holy fire. Spencer also observes that the heathen, in the worship of their deities, held forth the branches of those trees which were dedicated to them. An abominable branch ( Isaiah 14:19) means a tree on which a malefactor has been hanged. In  Ezekiel 17:3, Jehoiachim is called the Highest Branch of the cedar, as being a king. Branches are mentioned in many other places in Scripture; in some cases as symbols of prosperity, in others of adversity ( Genesis 49:22;  Job 15:32; Psalm 8:11, 15;  Isaiah 25:5;  Ezekiel 17:6). (See Bough).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

As trees, in Scripture, denote great men and princes, so branches, boughs, sprouts, or plants denote their offspring. In conformity with this way of speaking, Christ, in respect of His human nature, is styled a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch out of His roots ( Isaiah 11:1) that is, a prince arising from the family of David.

A branch is the symbol of kings descended from royal ancestors, as branches from the root ( Ezekiel 17:3;  Ezekiel 17:10;  Daniel 11:7). As only a vigorous tree can send forth vigorous branches, a branch is used as a general symbol of prosperity ( Job 8:16). From these explanations it is easy to see how a branch becomes the symbol of the Messiah ( Isaiah 11:1;  Isaiah 4:2;  Jeremiah 23:15;  Zechariah 3:8;  Zechariah 6:12; and elsewhere). Branch is also used as the symbol of idolatrous worship ( Ezekiel 8:17), probably in allusion to the general custom of carrying branches as a sign of honor. An abominable branch ( Isaiah 14:19) means a tree on which a malefactor has been hanged. In  Ezekiel 17:3 Jehoiachim is called the highest branch of the cedar, as being a king.