rods
The Shoot of Jesse
A major aspect of the vine imagery occurs in the biblical emphasis upon the “shoot of Jesse,” previously noted, which has been interpreted to refer to the coming messiah and which clearly was used as a scriptural “blueprint” in the creation of the Christ character. The relevant messianic verse at Isaiah 11:1 states:
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.