Jesse was the father of David, king of Israel, and an ancestor of Jesus Christ. He is named in the Book of Mormon only within Isaiah’s prophecy as quoted by Nephi: a rod is to come forth out of the stem of Jesse and a branch grow out of his roots (2 Nephi 21:1), and in that day a root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign of the people, to which the Gentiles shall seek (2 Nephi 21:10). The record gives no account of Jesse’s own life or deeds.