Forefather Jesse, Forefather

Forefather Jesse was a resident of Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah, son of Obed, grandson of Boaz and Ruth the Moabitess. He was the father of eight sons, the youngest of whom became the future King David, anointed by the prophet Samuel. During King Saul's persecution of David, Jesse's family found refuge with the king of Moab; Scripture gives no further details of his death.

Isaiah's prophecy — "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) — became the basis of the widespread iconographic tradition of the "Tree of Jesse," depicting Christ's genealogy as a tree growing from the reclining figure of Jesse. Jesse is named in Christ's genealogy in the Gospels of Matthew (1:5-6) and Luke (3:32).

IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: Forefather Jesse of Bethlehem, father of King David, is an entirely different person from Hierarch Ise (Jesse) of Tsilkani, Bishop of Tsilkani, one of the Thirteen Syrian Fathers of Georgia (6th century; see the separate entry ise_of_cilcani) — they should not be confused despite the shared name.

He is commemorated in a dual capacity: as one of the Old Testament forefathers in the general Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (2nd Sunday before Nativity), and — given his direct position in Christ's genealogy in the flesh through his son David — also in the narrower Sunday of the Holy Fathers (the Sunday immediately before Nativity), similar to Forefather Judah (see iuda_praotets). The category has been corrected from righteous to forefather.