Evident. — That is to say, manifest before the eyes of all.
Sprang. — Better, hath arisen out of Judah. In every other place in the New Testament this word is applied to the rising of the sun, the light, the day-star (2 Peter 1:19), or the clouds (Luke 12:54); and in the prophecies of Numbers 24:17 and Malachi 4:2 the same word is used. On the other hand, the word also denotes the springing up of plants (Isaiah 44:4; Ezekiel 17:6), and a word closely connected with it occurs in the LXX. in the Messianic prophecy of “the Branch” (Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 3:8). The latter meaning seems much more suitable here.