Jesse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Jesse (disambiguation).
Jesse or Yishai (Hebrew: יִשַׁי, Yíšay) is the father of the Biblical King David mentioned in the Books of Samuel of the Hebrew Bible. David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse" (ben yishai). Jesse was the son of Obed, and the grandson of Ruth. He is a Bethlehemite<ref>1 Samuel 16:1</ref>
In the Talmud it says Yishai was one of four men (the others are Benjamin, Amram, and Chileab) never to have committed a sin.
Yishai in Hebrew also means "gift." The "Geza of Jesse" is a plateau located just north of the valley of Jezreel in Israel said to have been originally cleared and settled by descendents of David.
The name Jesse is referenced in the Old Testament, believed by Christians to be the direct ancestor of Jesus Christ.
