Bible Names

Jesse: meaning of the name

Jesse means “gift; oblation; one who is.”
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869)boy name

Jesse in Hebrew and Greek

יִשַׁי H3448

Yishay (yee-shah'-ee) — Jishai, David's father

by Aramaic אִישַׁי; from the same as H3426 (יֵשׁ); extant;

Ἰεσσαί G2421

Iessaí — Jessæ (i.e. Jishai), an Israelite

of Hebrew origin (H03448);

Who named Jesse in the Bible

Jesse in Scripture

“Jesse” appears in 44 verses of the King James Version; here are the first 8.

  • Ruth 4:17

    And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

  • Ruth 4:22

    And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

  • 1 Samuel 16:1

    And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth–lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

  • 1 Samuel 16:3

    And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.

  • 1 Samuel 16:5

    And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

  • 1 Samuel 16:8

    Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.

  • 1 Samuel 16:9

    Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.

  • 1 Samuel 16:10

    Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these.