Lexical Summary geza: Stem, stock, trunk Original Word: גֶּזַע Strong's Exhaustive Concordance stem, stock From an unused root meaning to cut down (trees); the trunk or stump of a tree (as felled or as planted) -- stem, stock. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom an unused word Definition a stock, stem NASB Translation stem (1), stock (1), stump (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [גֶּ֫זַע] noun masculineJob 14:8 stock, stem (Late Hebrew id., compare Syriac  stem, trunk) — construct גֶּזַע Isaiah 11:1; suffix גִּזְעוֺ Job 14:8, גִּזְעָם Isaiah 40:24; — stock, stem of a tree Job 14:8 ("" שֹׁרֶשׁ); figurative ישׁי ׳ג 'stem of Jesse Isaiah 11:1 ("" שֹׁרֶשׁ); ׳שֹׁרֵשׁ בָּאָרֶץ ג Isaiah 40:24 ("" נטע, זרע). Topical Lexicon Botanical and Literal Sense גֶּזַע denotes the standing portion of a tree once it has been cut down—the stump or trunk that remains rooted in the earth. In ancient Near Eastern agriculture this remnant was familiar: after felling, a stump could sprout again when nourished by fresh rains (cf. Job 14:9). Thus the word naturally evokes both the vulnerability and the latent vitality found in creation. Symbolic Usage Because the stump is what endures when the visible tree is gone, Scripture employs גֶּזַע as a vivid emblem of survival through judgment and of new beginnings wrought by divine power. The image works in two complementary directions: it can highlight human frailty before God’s purposes, or proclaim the invincible persistence of those purposes when all seems lost. Hope Beyond Death: Job 14:8–9 Job laments that even a felled tree retains “hope,” whereas humanity, once cut down by death, seems to have none. “Though its stump (gēzaʿ) grows old in the ground and a stock dies in the soil, at the scent of water it will bud” (Job 14:8–9). The stump here dramatizes the sharp tension between Job’s suffering and his inarticulate expectation of resurrection. While Job views the tree’s renewal as an almost ironic contrast to human mortality, the broader canonical context transforms the scene into foreshadowing: if God can coax life from a lifeless stump, He can and will raise the righteous. Messianic Hope: Isaiah 11:1 “Then a shoot will spring from the stump (gēzaʿ) of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). After the Assyrian axe fells arrogant cedars (Isaiah 10:33–34), even the Davidic dynasty appears reduced to a stump. Yet from that very remnant God brings forth the Messiah. Isaiah’s picture safeguards both continuity and newness: the promised King is fully rooted in Jesse’s line, yet His emergence is a fresh creative act of the Spirit (Isaiah 11:2). The Gospel writers trace Jesus’ lineage to David, present Him as the Spirit-anointed shoot, and record His ministry as the fruit-bearing fulfillment of this prophecy (e.g., Luke 3:23–38; Acts 13:22–23). Human Frailty and Divine Sovereignty: Isaiah 40:24 “Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem (gēzaʿ) taken root in the ground, when He blows on them and they wither” (Isaiah 40:24). World rulers may resemble towering trees, but their stumps cannot withstand the breath of the Almighty. The term underscores the transience of earthly power against the backdrop of God’s everlasting word (Isaiah 40:8). What appears strong and enduring—an empire’s stump—proves fragile when God decrees its fall. Intertestamental and New Testament Echoes Second Temple literature and the Dead Sea Scrolls expand Isaiah’s stump imagery into a broader expectation of a Davidic redeemer. The New Testament then identifies Jesus as “the Root of David” (Revelation 5:5) who fulfills the Isaianic promise. Paul cites Isaiah 11 in Romans 15:12, applying the hope of the stump and its shoot to the inclusion of the Gentiles, thereby demonstrating that the life-giving power symbolized by גֶּזַע extends beyond ethnic Israel to all who believe. Ministry Application 1. Perseverance: Congregations battered by setback or persecution can remember that God brings shoots from stumps. Apparent endings are often the soil for unexpected beginnings. Forms and Transliterations גִּזְעָ֑ם גִּזְעֽוֹ׃ גזעו׃ גזעם מִגֵּ֣זַע מגזע giz‘ām giz‘ōw giz·‘ām giz·‘ōw gizAm gizO mig·gê·za‘ migGeza miggêza‘Links Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 14:8 HEB: וּ֝בֶעָפָ֗ר יָמ֥וּת גִּזְעֽוֹ׃ NAS: in the ground And its stump dies KJV: in the earth, and the stock thereof die INT: the dry dies stump Isaiah 11:1 Isaiah 40:24 3 Occurrences |
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