A Rod Out of the Stem of Jesse

In Isaiah 11:1-2: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him — the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." Who is Jesse? According to the Encyclopedia Biblica, Jesse stands for Ismāʿīl — Jesse is a contraction of Ismāʿīl. It goes on to say that the changes proper names undergo in the mouths of small children account for a large number of these abbreviations. Who could guess, to take modern examples, that Bob and Dick arose out of Robert and Richard? Such forms were particularly common in later times, and there are many more in the Talmud, which also exhibits various other kinds of abbreviation. Bob, in this way, stands for Robert — one wonders how small children made that drastic a change. But in any case, Jesse stands for Ismāʿīl.

So now that Jesse is known to be Ismāʿīl, the verse bears revisiting: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse" — meaning, from the descendants of Ismāʿīl — "and a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." This prophecy cannot fit anyone except Muhammad (peace be upon him), because he was the most prominent descendant of Ismāʿīl (peace be upon him).