Properly, an overhanging , i.e. (by implication) an excess , superiority , remainder ; also a small rope (as hanging free)
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H3499 is a Hebrew noun for what remains, the rest or residue, an excess or superiority, and in a distinct concrete branch a hanging cord or bowstring. Ezekiel 34:18 rebukes powerful sheep who consume good pasture and then trample what remains, and who drink clear water before muddying the rest for others.
Reader summary
Full entry for יֶתֶר (H3499) · Open the biblical lexicon
H3499 is a Hebrew noun for what remains, the rest or residue, an excess or superiority, and in a distinct concrete branch a hanging cord or bowstring. Ezekiel 34:18 rebukes powerful sheep who consume good pasture and then trample what remains, and who drink clear water before muddying the rest for others.
The BSB source-word alignment has 101 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include As for the rest (43), and the rest (9), the rest (5), has left (3), . . . (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 49:3. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Kings (24), 1 Kings (14), 2 Chronicles (10), Jeremiah (6).
H3499 is a Hebrew noun for what remains, the rest or residue, an excess or superiority, and in a distinct concrete branch a hanging cord or bowstring. Ezekiel 34:18 rebukes powerful sheep who consume good pasture and then trample what remains, and who drink clear water before muddying the rest for others. Isaiah 38:10 records Hezekiah grieving that he will be deprived of the remainder of his years, giving honest language to life felt as prematurely shortened.
First Kings 11:41 refers readers to the rest of Solomon's acts recorded elsewhere, illustrating the term's ordinary narrative function. Genesis 49:3 uses excess or preeminence in Jacob's description of Reuben's firstborn status, while Psalms can use the word for a bowstring. H3499 opens teaching on leftovers, unrecorded remainder, excess, limited years, status, and stewardship of shared resources.
It corrects attempts to turn every remainder into a prophetic remnant or every excellence into divine approval, and it confronts people who spoil what remains after satisfying themselves.
H3499 most frequently marks the rest of people, deeds, objects, time, or resources. Related senses include excess, preeminence, and a cord. Historical formulas often mean simply the remaining acts, while prophetic and poetic settings may give the remainder moral or symbolic force.
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
Self-serving leaders are rebuked for taking good pasture and clean water while trampling and muddying what remains for the flock.
I said, “In the prime of my life I must go through the gates of Sheol and be deprived of the remainder of my years.”
Hezekiah laments the prospect of losing the remainder of his years in the prime of life.
As for the rest of the acts of Solomon—all that he did, as well as his wisdom—are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?
The narrator points to another source for the rest of Solomon's acts and wisdom beyond the selected account.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. Overhanging excess that both remains and exceeds; captures surplus, superiority, and what dangerously protrudes beyond normal bounds
Overhanging excess that both remains and exceeds; captures surplus, superiority, and what dangerously protrudes beyond normal bounds
properly, an overhanging, i.e. (by implication) an excess, superiority, remainder; also a small rope (as hanging free) BDB: remainder Usage: abundant, cord, exceeding, excellancy(-ent), what they leave, that hath left, plentifully, remnant, residue, rest, string, with.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 102 lexical occurrence verses.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
H3499 directs attention beyond the first and most visible portion. Biblical historians repeatedly refer to the rest of a king's acts, acknowledging that their theological narratives select rather than reproduce every event. That formula encourages humility about what a text has chosen to tell without licensing invented details about what it omits. Isaiah's lament makes the remainder personal.
Hezekiah grieves years he believes he will not receive, showing that faith can name the pain of interrupted life rather than treating longevity as an entitlement or early death as simple spiritual failure. Ezekiel gives the word its sharpest pastoral force. Leaders pictured as strong sheep take good pasture and clear water, then trample and muddy what remains for weaker animals.
Their sin includes not only consumption but degradation of the common remainder. Resources left behind must still be usable by others. Genesis uses an excess sense for Reuben's expected preeminence, yet the following rebuke shows that status and strength do not guarantee enduring honor. H3499 therefore supports careful stewardship, honest lament, narrative modesty, and concern for residual effects.
It must not be turned into a generic promise that a faithful remnant will always survive every crisis. Sometimes the word simply means the rest, a cord, or excess, and context supplies the theology.
Ezek.34.18
H3499 covers remainder or rest, surplus or excellence, and a concrete cord or string. Many occurrences appear in routine formulas about the rest of a king's acts, while object and genre signal whether excess, remnant, residue, or cord is intended.
The New Testament also speaks of leftovers, remaining time, survivors, faithful remnants, and leaders accountable for the flock. Canonical comparison is possible, but later remnant theology should not be read into every ordinary occurrence of H3499.