Remnant

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

Leftovers or remainders, whether of daily food ( Ruth 2:14,18 ), food at the Passover ( Leviticus 7:16,18 ), anointing oil ( Leviticus 14:17 ), or even and especially people who survive a major disaster. A remnant of people is what is left of a community following a catastrophe (e.g., Noah's family after the flood,  Genesis 6:5-8:22; Lot's family after the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah,  Genesis 19 those who remained in the land after the deportations of 597 b.c.,   Ezra 9:8;  Jeremiah 24:8;  52:15; those left behind under Gedaliah,  Jeremiah 40:6,11 ,  15; or the Jews who came out of exile  Ezra 9:8,13;  Zechariah 8:6,11-12 ). Terms for remnant in the Old Testament derive from six roots and occur some 540 times (forms of Heb. sr, ytr, plt, srd  ; Gk., leimma, hypoleimma, loipos, kataloipos ). Remnant, frequently in the sense of residue or refugee, takes on theological hues when it becomes the object of God's address and/or action.

Sociologically the remnant could be described variously as refugees, a community subgroup, or a sect. Canonically one may find language of remnant in the Pentateuch, in historical books (e.g., of groups subjugated or not yet subjugated), in the prophets, and in the New Testament. Historically, an illustration of remnant are the seven thousand in Israel who in times of apostasy of the Ahab/Jezebel era had not defected from the Lord ( 1 Kings 19:9-18 ). Theologically, remnant language clusters in several Old Testament books, the authors of which lived at some hinge point in history: Isaiah (37:31-32) and Micah (4:7; 7:18) near the time of Israel's collapse; Jeremiah (11:23; 50:20) and Zephaniah (2:7-9) near the time of Judah's fall; and Paul near the time of the emergence of the church ( Romans 11:5 ). Remnant language is associated with both judgment and salvation.

Remnant and the Oracle of Judgment . The language of remnant in announcements of judgment was used to emphasize the totality of the judgment—whether of non-Israelites or Israelitesso that no trace, no remnant would in the end remain. Obadiah, whose book targets Edom, asserts, "There will be no survivors from the house of Esau" (v. 18). Damascus will become a ruinous heap, and the remnant of Syria will cease ( Isaiah 17:3 ). Most conclusive is the statement against Babylon, which combines the ideas of reputation ( name ) and remnant, perhaps as an idiom for total destruction: "I will cut off from Babylon her name and survivors (sa'ar)" ( Isaiah 14:22; cf.  2 Samuel 14:7 ). For Israel especially language of remnant was also invoked to disabuse any who might consider themselves exceptions to the predicted casualties. Should there be temporary survivors of a catastrophe, such as Nebuchadnezzar's siege, they would ultimately not be spared ( Jeremiah 21:7 ). Such news of total destruction was evidence of God's determination to proceed in judgment, but the news was intended to persuade vacillating persons to spare their lives by defecting to the Babylonians ( Jeremiah 21:8-9 ).

The name Shear-Jashub ("a remnant will return, "  Isaiah 7:3 ), often thought to be seminal to the prophets' thought on remnant, is, even in context, ambiguous in meaning. Did the expression portend misfortune, or did it convey that all was not lost? The expression, "a remnant will return, " when applied later to Israel, became, even if marginally, a message of hope ( Isaiah 10:20-23;  37:31-32; =  2 Kings 19:30-31 ).

Remnant and Oracles of Salvation . Oracles of salvation may follow immediately on the heels of announcements of judgment, and paradoxically, both entail a remnant. In  Amos 9 the destruction is said to be total (vv. 1-4,10b); still there is a glimmer of hope: "I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob" (v. 8b). One frequent proposal at reconciling these opposites is to resort to the theory of editorial splicing, which softens the severity of the message but does not deal with the theological dissonance. A more acceptable answer takes God's justice into account. God will destroy the sinful kingdomnot a territory, but the aggregate of wicked leaders. All these shall perish. But not all the populace is equally guilty, and while the pious do not escape the effects of the destruction, God in his justice spares them; they become the remnant. Paradigms for wholesale destruction in which some are nevertheless spared exist in the story of Noah's family in the flood and Lot's escape from Sodom.

Since acceptance with God is not based on merit, one dimension of remnant theology is its message of God's grace ( Isaiah 1:9;  Amos 5:15 ). Judgment, whereby all is destroyed, is not the last word. Beyond judgment is God's readiness, because of his loyal love, to continue with his people. It is too mechanical to think of wrath and grace within God vying with each other for the upper hand, but given that hypothetical scenario, the message is that God's grace triumphs in the end.

The remnant is future-oriented. What pros- pects has the remnant that becomes, as in the exile, the carrier of God's promise? The prospect was for the exiles to be gathered together and to return to the homeland ( Jeremiah 23:3;  31:7-9;  Micah 2:12-13;  4:6-7 ). The exodus from the exile, like the exodus from Egypt, was accompanied with miracles ( Isaiah 11:11-16 ). The solution to the tension between God's earlier unchangeable promise and Israel's sad history lies in the remnant. Those returning with Zerubbabel ( Haggai 1:12,14;  Zechariah 8:6,11 ,  12 ) and those returning at the time of Ezra ( Ezra 9:13-15 ) regarded themselves as that remnant. Isaiah had graphically depicted the Assyrian takeover with the image of God cutting down the tall trees and lopping off boughs with "terrifying power" ( Isaiah 10:28-34; NRSV ). Equally graphic was to be the recovery as "the outcasts of Israel" and the "dispersed of Judah" would be gathered together. Also, there would emerge a shoot (remnant?) from the stump of Jesse ( Isaiah 11:1 ). Upon this shoot, customarily interpreted as the Messiah, rests the sevenfold spirit (vv. 2-3a) with the promise that he would rule in righteousness (v. 5). The eschatological picture of the cessation of all hostilities among humans and among animal leans on the existence of a remnant. In the prophet's mouth, remnant language for Israel is hope-engendering.

The remnant was the recipient of other promises: granting of pardon ( Micah 7:18-20 ); God's everlasting love ( Jeremiah 31:2 ); taking root ( 2 Kings 19:30; cf.  Isaiah 37:31-32 ); removal of enemies and becoming established like a lion in the forest ( Micah 4:7-9 ); the Lord's promise to be a garland of glory for the remnant ( Isaiah 28:5-6 ); and a grant by God for the people to possess all things ( Zechariah 8:6 ).

The texts announcing salvation for the remnant raise the question of the relation of the remnant to its base group. Jeremiah addresses this question for his situation: God's future lay with those who had been taken to Babylon (the good figs), not with those who stayed in the land (the bad figs,  Jeremiah 24 ). The Qumran community saw itself as the "remnant of thy people [Israel]" (1QM14.8-9; cf. CD 2.11). Paul clarified the relationship between the remnant, those who accepted the gospel, and the larger body of unbelieving Jews, by noting: (1) that the remnant represented the ongoing activity of God with the chosen people, "a remnant chosen by grace" ( Romans 11:5 ) since it is the spiritual Israel; (2) that the function of the Jewish remnant, to which are not attached the Gentile believers, is to serve as a vehicle of retrieval or recovery for the larger Jewish community; and (3) that the exclusion of the larger is for a limited time ( Romans 11:11-32 ).

One might ask, of course, how it is that God holds with the remnant, which is usually the small rather than the large body, the minority rather than the majority. Where is God's ultimate triumph? One answer is to examine the larger sweep of salvation history. The story of the primeval history was discontinued in favor of the election of Abram, a remnant, so to speak, from the larger group. Similarly the New Testament story discontinued the story of mainstream Israel and related the story of the faithful remnant. This remnant, however, received from Jesus a mission that was world-embracing ( Matthew 28:18-20 ). The remnant was called to redemptive activity. The Book of Revelation depicts, as does the primeval history, a great diversity of people, people now in God's presence. The remnant has accomplished God's purpose. Questions on the order of majority/minority may be misplaced. By God's measure, more on the order of righteousness, his triumph is not in doubt ( Zephaniah 3:11-13 ). The doctrine of the remnant is in part that failure of a larger body will not impair God's purposes.

Because the criterion is not ethnicity but righteousness, the Scripture applies "remnant" language to peoples other than Israel. In a pivotal text Amos speaks of a remnant of Edom, interpreted by James as referring to all humankind, which will come under the saving umbrella of David ( Amos 9:12 ). Philistines, like Judah, are envisioned as a "remnant for our God."

Elmer A. Martens

See also The Church; Israel

Bibliography . J. C. Campbell, Scottish Journal of Theology 3 (1950): 78-85; R. E. Clements, Pauline Studies, pp. 106-21; W. Guenther and H. Krienke, NIDNTT, 3:247-54; G. F. Hasel, ISBE, 4:130-34; E. W. Heaton, JTS 3 (1952): 27-39; V. Herntrich and G. Schrenk, TDNT, 4:194-214; B. F. Meyer, JBL 84 (1965): 123-30; J. Watts, Perspectives in Religious Studies 15 (1988): 109-29.

Holman Bible Dictionary

yether she' ar she' rith pelitah r sheruth kataleimma leimma loipos

Several activities of everyday life are associated with these words. Objects or people may be separated from a larger group by selection, assignment, consumption (eating food), or by destruction. What is left over is the residue, or, in the case of people, those who remain after an epidemic, famine, drought, or war.

Noah and his family may be understood as survivors, or a remnant, of a divine judgment in the flood ( Genesis 6:5-8;  Genesis 7:1-23 ). The same could be said of Lot when Sodom was destroyed ( Genesis 18:17-33;  Genesis 19:1-29 ); Jacob's family in Egypt ( Genesis 45:7 ); Elijah and the 7,000 faithful followers of the Lord ( 1 Kings 19:17-18 ); and Israelites going into captivity ( Ezekiel 12:1-16 ). They were survivors because the Lord chose to show mercy to those who had believed steadfastly in Him and had been righteous in their lives.

About 750 B.C. Amos found that many people in Israel believed that God would protect all of them and their institutions. With strong language he tore down their mistaken ideas ( Amos 3:12-15;  Amos 5:2-3 ,Amos 5:2-3, 5:18-20;  Amos 6:1-7;  Amos 9:1-6 ). Divine judgment would be poured out on all Israel. He corrected the tenet that everyone would live happily and prosper ( Amos 9:10 ) with the doctrine that only a few would survive and rebuild the nation ( Amos 9:8-9 ,Amos 9:8-9, 9:11-15 ). This new life could be realized if one and all would repent, turn to the Lord, and be saved ( Amos 5:4-6 ,Amos 5:4-6, 5:14-15 ).

Hosea's book does not use the remnant terminology, but the concept of the Lord's mercy extended to those experiencing judgment is present in several places ( Hosea 2:14-23;  Hosea 3:4-5;  Hosea 6:1-3;  Hosea 11:8-11;  Hosea 13:14;  Hosea 14:1-9 ) including calls to repentance and descriptions of what the remnant may enjoy in life.

The Book of Micah has much the same emphasis. After announcements of judgment, the Lord proclaimed that people would be assembled like sheep and led by the Lord ( Micah 2:12-13 ) as their king ( Micah 4:6-8 ). The Messiah would give special attention to them ( Micah 5:2-5 ,Micah 5:2-5, 5:7-9 ). The climax of the book is an exaltation of God as the one who pardons and removes sin from their lives after the judgment had passed ( Micah 7:7-20 ).

The remnant doctrine was so important to Isaiah that he named one of his sons Shear-Jashub, meaning “A Remnant Shall Return” ( Isaiah 7:3 ). The faithful would survive the onslaughts of the Assyrian army ( Isaiah 4:2-6;  Isaiah 12:1-6 ) as illustrated by the remarkable deliverance of the few people in Jerusalem from the seige of the city by the Assyrians ( Isaiah 36-38 ).

Many remnant passages are closely tied with the future king, the Messiah, who would be the majestic ruler of those who seek his mercies ( Isaiah 9:1-7;  Isaiah 11:1-16;  Isaiah 32:1-8;  Isaiah 33:17-24 ). These passages have a strong eschatological thrust, expecting future generations to be the remnant. Other passages looked to the generation of Isaiah's day to provide the remnant. Numerous statements in the latter part of the book have an evident futuristic orientation. In that future, there would be a new people, a new community, a new nation, and a strong faith in one God. This remnant would be personified in the Suffering Servant ( Isaiah 53:1 ).

Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah thus raised a chorus. Only a few would survive judgment events, basically because they repented and rested their future on the compassion of their Lord. An important segment of the remnant would be those who were afflicted ( Isaiah 14:32 ). Later, Zephaniah spoke of the humble and the lowly as the ones who would find refuge among the remnant ( Zephaniah 2:3;  Zephaniah 3:12-13 ).

Jeremiah announced that Judah would be destroyed for rebelling against the Lord of the covenant. The political, religious, and social institutions of the state would be eliminated; many would lose their lives; others would be taken into Exile for seventy years. In the Exile, those who believed in the one true God would be gathered for a return to the Promised Land. God would create a new community. Statements of hope and promise for the remnant are concentrated in  Jeremiah 30-33 .

Ezekiel agreed with Jeremiah that the remnant of Judah taken to Babylon would be the source of people fit for the Lord's new community. These few would participate in a new Exodus and settle in the Promised Land around a new Temple ( Ezekiel 40-48 ).

Zechariah spoke in glowing terms of how the remnant, the returned exiles to Jerusalem, would prosper ( Zechariah 8:6-17;  Zechariah 9:9-17;  Zechariah 14:1-21 ). Ezra recognized the people who had returned to Jerusalem as members of the remnant, but in danger of re-enacting the sins of the past ( Ezra 9:7-15 ).

In the New Testament, Paul quoted ( Romans 9:25-33 ) from Hosea and from Isaiah to demonstrate that the saving of a remnant from among the Jewish people was still part of the Lord's method of redeeming His people. There would always be a future for anyone among the covenant people who would truly turn to the Lord for salvation (9–11).

George Herbert Livingston

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

A. Nouns.

She'êrı̂yth ( שְׁאֵרִית , Strong'S #7611), “rest; remnant; residue.” The idea of the “remnant” plays a prominent part in the divine economy of salvation throughout the Old Testament. The “remnant” concept is applied especially to the Israelites who survived such calamities as war, pestilence, and famine—people whom the Lord in His mercy spared to be His chosen people: “For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this” (2 Kings 19:31; cf. Ezra 9:14).

The Israelites repeatedly suffered major catastrophes that brought them to the brink of extinction. So they often prayed as in Jer. 42:2: “Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:).”

Isaiah used the word she'êrı̂yth 5 times to denote those who would be left after the Assyrian invasions: “For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this” (Isa. 37:32).

Micah also announced the regathering of the Jewish people after the Exile. Thus Micah prophesied: “I will surely assemble them together, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel …” (2:12). In Mic. 4:7 he predicted: “And I will make her that halted a remnant and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.” In 5:7-8 and 7:18, Micah announces a similar idea.

Jeremiah discussed the plight of the Jews who fled to Egypt after Jerusalem’s capture by Nebuchadnezzar: “Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the King of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah.… Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael … wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?” (Jer. 40:11, 15).

Zephaniah, a seventh-century prophet, identified the “remnant” with the poor and humble (2:3, 7; 3:12-13). Zechariah announced that a “remnant” would be present at the time of the coming of the Messiah’s kingdom (12:10-13:1; 13:8-9).

She'âr ( שְׁאָר , Strong'S #7605), “rest; remnant; residue.” Isaiah describes the “remnant” of Israel: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth” (Isa. 10:20). Notice that a twofold theme emerges from most prophetic passages concerning the “remnant”: (1) A “remnant” will survive when the people are subjected to punishment, and (2) the fact that a “remnant” does survive and does remain contains a note of hope for the future. Isa. 10:21 announces: “The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.” In Isa. 11:11, the prophet proclaims: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his peoplewhich shall be left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.” See also Remainder.

B. Verb.

Shâ'ar ( שָׁאַר , Strong'S #7604), “to remain, be left over.” This verb and its noun derivatives occur about 220 times in the Old Testament.

Noah and his family were a “remnant” delivered by the Flood: “… And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark” (Gen. 7:23). In the days of Elijah, when God’s chosen people in the northern kingdom had fallen into apostasy, the Lord announced: “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal …” (1 Kings 19:18).

In the pre-exilic period, this remnant idea is stressed by Isaiah. Isaiah tells of the judgment on the earth from which a remnant will “remain”: “Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left” (Isa. 24:6). Isa. 4:3 refers to a “remnant” which shares holiness: “And it shall come to pass, that he that is left [ shâ'ar ], and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy.…”

In the writing prophets, the idea of the “remnant” acquired a growing significance. Yet the idea may be found as early as the Pentateuch. The idea of “those being left” or “having escaped,” especially a portion of the Israelite people, may be traced back to Deut. 4:27: “And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you” (cf. Deut. 28:62). In these passages, Moses warns that if Israel failed to live up to the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant, the Lord would scatter them among the nations, and then He would regather a “remnant.”

In Neh. 1:2-3, the condition of the “remnant” of Israel is described: “… And I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, the remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach.…”

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

This word occurs only twice as a substantive in the English NT, both instances being in the Epistle to the Romans.

1.  Romans 9:27, ὑπόλειμμα (WH[Note: H Westcott-Hort’s Greek Testament.], ὑπόλιμμα with א AB Eus. The Textus Receptusreads κατάλειμμα with later authorities. The latter variant probably originated in the desire to make St. Paul’s word correspond exactly with that of the passage in  Isaiah 10:22, which he is here quoting from the Septuagint: ‘And Isaiah crieth concerning Israel, If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved’ (Septuagint, τὸ κατάλειμμα αὐτῶν σωθήσεται).

The Apostle is expressing, in language adapted from the OT, his conviction that only a remnant of the Jews will be saved, a conviction forced upon him by the repeated experiences of his missionary journeys. This sad outlook on the immediate present is afterwards modified by his prophetic forecast of the ultimate return of the whole people, when ‘all Israel shall be saved’ ( Romans 11:26).

The passage in Isaiah is one of central significance. The prophet is convinced that the Assyrians, the instruments of God’s punishment, will overthrow not only Samaria but Jerusalem. As a State, Judah will be destroyed. The only survivors will be the ‘remnant,’ the group of true-hearted believers who submit to God’s word spoken by the prophet. We have here for the first time the dissociation of the religious from the national life, the conception of a Church as free from political associations. Of this ‘remnant’ the prophet says that it ‘shall return’ (יָשׁוּב). The Septuagintrendering, σωθήσεται, lends itself more directly to St. Paul’s reference to the Messianic salvation. To show, as he does here, that not only the calling of the Gentiles, but also the partial rejection of the Jews, was foretold in the prophetic writings, was both a ground of assurance to himself and an effective answer to Jewish criticism.

2.  Romans 11:5, λεῖμμα (WH[Note: H Westcott-Hort’s Greek Testament.], λίμμα): ‘Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.’ The comparison here is with the ‘seven thousand men’ who during the religious persecution of Ahab’s reign had not ‘bowed the knee to Baal’ ( 1 Kings 19:18). The reference, as in  1 Kings 9:27, is to the small body of faithful believers who constituted the true Israel, in contrast with the recreant and disobedient majority. The ‘remnant’ in the time of Elijah and that in the time of Isaiah are prototypes of the believing minority of Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah.

Literature.-The Commentaries on Romans in loc.; F. Delitzsch, Jesaia2, Leipzig, 1869, on  Isaiah 10:22; G. F. Cehler, Theology of the OT, Eng. translation, Edinburgh, 1874-75, ii. 381 ff.; G. A. Smith, Expositor’s Bible, ‘Isaiah,’ London, 1888-90, i. 126 ff.

Dawson Walker.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Λοιπός (Strong'S #3062 — Adverb — loipos — loy-poy' )

an adjective (akin to leipo, "to leave") signifying "remaining," is used as a noun and translated "the rest" in the RV, where the AV has "the remnant,"  Matthew 22:6;  Revelation 11:13;  12:17;  19:21 . See Other , Residue , REST (the).

2: Λεῖμμα (Strong'S #3005 — Noun Neuter — leimma — lime'-mah )

"that which is left" (akin to leipo, "to leave"), "a remnant," is used in  Romans 11:5 , "there is a remnant," i.e., there is a spiritual "remnant" saved by the gospel from the midst of apostate Israel. While on one sense there has been and is a considerable number, yet, compared with the whole nation, past and present, the "remnant" is small, and as such is an evidence of God's electing grace (see ver. 4). In the Sept.,  2—Kings 19:4 .

3: Ὑπό (Strong'S #5259 3005 — Preposition — hupolemma — hoop-o' )

hupo, "under," signifying "diminution," and No. 2, is used in  Romans 9:27 : some mss. have kataleimma, which has virtually the same meaning (kata, "down, behind"), "a remnant," where the contrast is drawn between the number of Israel as a whole, and the small number in it of those who are saved through the Gospel. The quotation is chiefly from the Sept. of  Isaiah 10:22,23 , with a modification recalling  Hosea 1:10 , especially with regard to the word "number." The return of the "remnant" is indicated in the name "Shear-Jashub," see  Isaiah 7:3 , marg. The primary reference was to the return of a remnant from captivity to their own land and to God Himself; here the application is to the effects of the gospel. There is stress on the word "remnant."

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

Although the nation Israel as a whole was God’s people, only a minority of the people ever truly believed. While the majority carried out their rituals without any attitude of genuine repentance or faith, there were always the few who were truly devoted to God. This faithful minority is consistently referred to as the remnant. Israel may have been God’s people in the national sense, but the remnant were God’s people in the spiritual sense. They were the true Israel ( Romans 9:6-7;  Romans 9:27).

When God’s people of Old Testament times rebelled against him, the prophets announced God’s judgment upon them. Time and again the prophets declared that God had rejected his unfaithful people but would preserve the faithful remnant. One task of the prophets was to build up and encourage the remnant ( 1 Kings 19:18;  Isaiah 1:9;  Isaiah 8:16-19;  Isaiah 10:20-23;  Isaiah 28:5;  Jeremiah 15:19-21).

The prophets saw that events were heading towards a judgment far greater than anything the people had met previously. The nation would be conquered, Jerusalem destroyed and the people taken into captivity. But God would still preserve a remnant, so that after a time in captivity, some would return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, the city and the nation ( Ezra 9:13-15;  Isaiah 11:11-12;  Isaiah 11:16;  Micah 2:12).

After the return, the people as a whole again became unfaithful to God, but there was always a remnant of faithful believers. From this remnant the Messiah eventually came ( Micah 5:2-3;  Micah 5:7-8;  Zechariah 8:11-12;  Malachi 3:16-18;  Matthew 1:18-21;  Luke 1:5-7;  Luke 2:25-38).

Still the majority of Israel rebelled against God, this time rejecting the Messiah. But a remnant received him. This faithful minority of old Israel became the nucleus of the new people of God, the Christian church ( Luke 24:44-49;  John 20:20-22;  Acts 1:13-15;  Acts 2:1-4).

Within a few years the church consisted largely of non-Jews. Within it, however, were the believing Jews, the faithful remnant, the spiritual Israelites who believed in Jesus the Messiah and became part of his church ( Acts 13:43;  Acts 16:1;  Acts 17:2-4;  Acts 18:8;  Romans 2:28-29;  Romans 9:6-8;  Romans 11:1-5).

Morrish Bible Dictionary

This word constantly occurs in the O.T. in the sense of 'the rest of the people.' In every crisis in the history of Israel there has been a remnant: this was seen in the time of Ahab ( 1 Kings 19:18 ), and so too in the introduction of Christianity ( Luke 2:38 ), and that it will be so in the future is abundantly evident from the testimony of the prophets. There will be great prosperity in the land, and God will cause the remnant of His people to possess it.  Zechariah 8:12 : cf.  Revelation 12:17 . When God's people are unfaithful to His calling, He secures His own purpose in a remnant.

The prophetic language in the Psalms is not that of the mass of Israel, but of the remnant, in whom the Spirit of Christ speaks; and it is in the Psalms that the remnant is first seen as distinguished from the ungodly nation. The idea of a remnant is found also in the address to the church in Thyatira, and to that remnant ('the rest') it was said, "That which ye have already hold fast till I come."  Revelation 2:24,25 . They represent the faithful in the time of the supremacy of the apostate Popish system.

A remnant represents morally the original whole, and does not imply an inferior remaining portion. It is of God's grace that any are enabled to be stedfast to the original truth and calling during a general apostasy from it.

King James Dictionary

REM'NANT, n. contracted from remanent. See Remain.

1. Residue that which is left after the separation, removal or destruction of a part.

The remnant that are left of the captivity.  Nehemiah 1 .

2. That which remains after a part is done, performed, told or passed.

The remnant of my tale is of a length to tire your patience.

Where I may think the remnant of my thoughts.

REM'NANT, a. Remaining yet left.

And quiet dedicate her remnant life to the just duties of a humble wife. Little used.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( a.) A small portion; a slight trace; a fragment; a little bit; a scrap.

(2): ( a.) Remaining; yet left.

(3): ( a.) That which remains after a part is removed, destroyed, used up, performed, etc.; residue.

(4): ( a.) An unsold end of piece goods, as cloth, ribbons, carpets, etc.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

REMNANT . See Israel, p. 387 b .

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

rem´nant  : Remnant is the translation of יתר , yether , "what is left over" (  Deuteronomy 3:11;  Deuteronomy 28:54;  Joshua 12:4 , etc.); of שׁאר , she'ār , "the rest" ( Ezra 3:8 the King James Version;   Isaiah 10:20 ,  Isaiah 10:21 ,  Isaiah 10:22;  Isaiah 11:16 , etc.;  Zephaniah 1:4 ); more frequently of שׁארית , she'ērı̄th , "residue," etc. ( 2 Kings 19:4 ,  2 Kings 19:31;  2 Chronicles 34:9;  Ezra 9:14;  Isaiah 14:30 , etc.). As the translation of the last-mentioned two words, "remnant" has a special significance in the prophecies of Isaiah, as denoting "a holy seed," or spiritual kernel, of the nation which should survive impending judgment and become the germ of the people of God, being blessed of God and made a blessing (compare  Micah 2:12;  Micah 4:7;  Micah 5:7 ,  Micah 5:8;  Micah 7:18; also  Zephaniah 2:7;  Zephaniah 3:13;  Haggai 1:12 ,  Haggai 1:14;  Zechariah 8:6;  Joel 2:32 ). Paul, in  Romans 9:27 , quotes from  Isaiah 10:22 f, "the remnant ( katáleimma , "what is left over" shall be saved"; compare also  Romans 11:5 (where the word is leı́mma ) with  2 Kings 19:4 . Several other Hebrew words are less frequently translated "remnant": 'āhar , "after"; yāthar , "to be left over," etc.; in the New Testament (the King James Version) we have also loipós , "left," "remaining" ( Matthew 22:6;  Revelation 11:13 , etc.).

For "remnant" the Revised Version (British and American) has "overhanging part" ( Exodus 26:12 ), "rest" ( Leviticus 14:18 , etc.); on the other hand gives "remnant" for "posterity" ( Genesis 45:7 ), for "rest" ( Joshua 10:20;  1 Chronicles 4:43;  Isaiah 10:19 ), for "residue" ( Haggai 2:2;  Zechariah 8:11 ), etc.