Meaning
Branch a symbol of kings descended from royal ancestors (Ezek 17:3, 10; Dan 11:7); of prosperity (Job 8:16); of the Messiah, a branch out of the root of the stem of Jesse (Isa 11:1), the "beautiful branch" (4:2), a "righteous branch" (Jer 23:5), "the Branch" (Zech 3:8; 6:12).
Disciples are branches of the true vine (John 15:5, 6). "The branch of the terrible ones" (Isa 25:5) is rightly translated in the Revised Version "the song of the terrible ones," i.e., the song of victory shall be brought low by the destruction of Babylon and the return of the Jews from captivity.
The "abominable branch" is a tree on which a malefactor has been hanged (Isa 14:19). The "highest branch" in Ezek 17:3 represents Jehoiakim the king.
