Wikipedia's first sentence called it “common first name in many english speaking countries”. Today it says “figure described in the hebrew bible as the father of david”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Jesse is a common first name in many English speaking countries. This spelling is most often used as the male variant of the name, while Jessie (shortened from Jessica ) is the most common spelling for the female variant.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16140633.
The opening as it stood in 2010 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Jesse , Eshai or Yishai , ( Hebrew : יִשַׁי , Modern : Yishay , Tiberian : Yīšáy , meaning "God exists" or "God's gift"; Yessi ; Iessai ; ) is the father of the Biblical David , who became the king of the nation of Israel.His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse" ( ben yishay ).Jesse was the son of Obed and the grandson of Ruth .He was a Bethlehemite .Jesse lived in Bethlehem, in Judah, and was a farmer and breeder of sheep.Jesse began to be used as an English given name after the Protestant Reformation.Jesse is important in Judaism because he was the father of the most famous king of Israel, David .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 370679845.
The opening as it stood in 2015 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Jesse / ˈ dʒ ɛ s . iː / , Ishai or Yishai ( Hebrew : יִשַׁי , Modern : Yishay , Tiberian : Yīšáy , meaning "God exists" or "God's gift"; Yassa ; Eshai ; Iessai ; ) is the father of David , who became the king of the Israelites . His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse" ( Ben Yishai ). Jesse was the son of Obed and the grandson of Ruth and of Boaz .He lived in Bethlehem , in Judah, and was of the Tribe of Judah , he was a farmer, breeder and owner of sheep.He was a prominent resident of the town of Bethlehem. Jesse is important in Judaism because he was the father of the most famous king of Israel. He is important in Christianity , in part because he is in the Old Testament and mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus .Later rabbinic traditions name him as one of four ancient Israelites who died without sin, the other three being Benjamin , Chileab and Amram .Jesse is stated as having eight sons, including David the youngest.Among his grandchildren were the three sons of Zeruiah : Abishai , Joab and Asahel .One day the prophet Samuel came to Bethlehem sent by God, to anoint the next king of Israel.Ostensibly, his visit to Bethlehem was to offer a sacrifice to God.He used that excuse because he was afraid that King Saul might kill him if he suspected the true reason for his arrival in Bethlehem.Samuel offered a sacrifice with Jesse and then went to his house, where he sanctified him and his family.The prophet asked Jesse to present his sons.When Samuel saw Eliab, Jesse's eldest son, he was impressed by his stature and convinced that he must be God's anointed king, however God said to Samuel "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.Man look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV) When Jesse presented his second son Abinadab, God told Samuel "The Lord has not chosen this one either." (1 Samuel 16:8 NIV) This happened again with his third son Shammah, then his fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh son.Finally, Samuel enquired of Jesse if he had any other sons.Jesse told him that David the youngest was tending the flock.The prophet then asked for him, waited and when he came, God asked the prophet to anoint him as king over Israel .Some time later King Saul, suffering from depression and melancholy, asked Jesse for his son David to play the harp for him, since he had heard that David played the harp beautifully.Jesse sent his son along with some gifts for the king.The king was so taken with David's harp playing that he asked Jesse to keep him in his court to play for him whenever he was depressed.Later on Jesse sent his son David with gifts to be given to his older brothers who were to fight war against the Philistines in King Saul's army.Years later David fled to the desert away from Saul, who sought to kill David in order for him to stay in power and not have his throne be taken away from him.David, worried about the safety of his parents, went to Mizpah in Moab , to ask permission from the king to allow his father Jesse and his mother to stay under the royal protection of the king.They stayed there until David's fortunes took a turn for the better.Russian icon The name Jesse is referenced in the Old Testament , and in particular the passages of Isaiah , Chapter 11, Verses 1–3: 1.And there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2.And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3.And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; Also Chapter 11, Verse 10: 10.In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.These are two of the verses regarded by Christians as prophecy of the advent of Jesus, whom they consider to be the Christ and Messiah .These two prophesies are regarded by Bahá'ís to refer to Bahá'u'lláh , alleged to also have arisen from "the stump of Jesse".
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 667999448.
The opening as it stood in 2020 34 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Detail of Jesse from the stained glass window of All Saints Church, Hove , Sussex, England.Jesse / ˈ dʒ ɛ s i / , or Yishai ( – Yišay , in pausa – Yišāy , meaning "King" or "God exists" or "God's gift"; – Eshai ; – Iessaí ; ) is a figure described in the Bible as the father of David , who became the king of the Israelites . His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse" ( Ben Yishai ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 947460948.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Biblical figure; father of the Israelite king David For other uses, see Jesse (disambiguation) . Jesse ( / ˈ dʒ ɛ s i / ) or Yishai ( – Yīšay , in pausa – Yīšāy , meaning "King" or "God's gift"; – Eshai ; – Iessaí ; ), is a figure described in the Bible as the father of David , who became the king of the Israelites . His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse" ( Ben Yishai ). The role as both father of King David and ancestor of Jesus has been used in various depictions in art, e.g. as the Tree of Jesse or in hymns like " Lo, how a rose e'er blooming ." "Праведный Иессе́й, отец царя Дави́да" . azbyka.ru (in Russian) .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1173291149.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Biblical figure; father of the Israelite king David For other uses, see Jesse (disambiguation) . Jesse ( / ˈ dʒ ɛ s i / JESS -ee ) or Yishai is a figure described in the Hebrew Bible as the father of David , who became the king of the Israelites . His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse" ( Ben Yishai ). The role as both father of King David and ancestor of Jesus has been used in various depictions in art, poetry and music e.g. as the Tree of Jesse or in hymns like " Lo, how a rose e'er blooming ." "Праведный Иессе́й, отец царя Дави́да" . azbyka.ru (in Russian) . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1296716499. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “common first name in many english speaking countries”. Today it says “figure described in the hebrew bible as the father of david”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
common first name in many english speaking countries
Now
figure described in the hebrew bible as the father of david
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.