Properly, to swell up, i.e. be (causatively, make ) redundant
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H7604 describes someone or something remaining after others depart or are removed, and in causative settings it can describe deliberately leaving, preserving, reserving, or sparing a remainder. The verb can name an ordinary person still present, survivors after violence, what a ruler fails to remove, or people God reserves; survival itself does not determine innocence or favor.
Reader summary
Full entry for שָׁאַר (H7604) · Open the biblical lexicon
H7604 describes someone or something remaining after others depart or are removed, and in causative settings it can describe deliberately leaving, preserving, reserving, or sparing a remainder. The verb can name an ordinary person still present, survivors after violence, what a ruler fails to remove, or people God reserves; survival itself does not.
The BSB source-word alignment has 133 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include remained (11), leaving (8), left (7), was left (7), remain (6).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 7:23. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (18), 2 Kings (17), Joshua (17), Deuteronomy (9).
H7604 describes someone or something remaining after others depart or are removed, and in causative settings it can describe deliberately leaving, preserving, reserving, or sparing a remainder. The verb can name an ordinary person still present, survivors after violence, what a ruler fails to remove, or people God reserves; survival itself does not determine innocence or favor.
In 1Sam. 16. 11, jesse explains that the youngest son still remains with the sheep until Samuel insists that David be brought. In 1Kgs. 19. 18, god corrects Elijahs isolation by declaring that seven thousand in Israel have been reserved from Baal worship. H7604 opens teaching on remaining people and consequences after crisis, including divine preservation, overlooked faithfulness, ordinary absence, and the devastation of violent removal.
It corrects triumphal claims that survivors must be morally superior, as well as despairing claims that visible isolation proves no faithful witness remains. H7604 can be quiet or severe: David is still with the sheep when Samuel asks about the remaining son, God reserves thousands who have not bowed to Baal, and Baashas house-cleansing leaves no survivor from Jeroboams line.
For H7604, responsible teaching keeps lexical meaning, passage context, canonical synthesis, and present application distinguishable. The verb does not explain every survival, guarantee safety for faithful people, or permit communities to spiritualize the trauma of those left after violence and loss.
H7604 appears across passages that develop remaining, preservation, survivors, judgment, hidden faithfulness, and the moral weight of what is left behind. For H7604, the immediate setting decides which part of the range is active, so the witnesses must remain distinct rather than being merged into one formula.
And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
Jesse explains that the youngest son still remains with the sheep until Samuel insists that David be brought.
Nevertheless, I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
God corrects Elijahs isolation by declaring that seven thousand in Israel have been reserved from Baal worship.
As soon as Baasha became king, he struck down the entire household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone who breathed, but destroyed them all according to the word that the Lord had spoken through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite,
Baasha destroys the house of Jeroboam and leaves no survivor, fulfilling judgment through an act of severe dynastic violence.
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. Means "remain" by metaphor of swelling/overflowing; theologically crucial for "remnant"—God's preserved surplus after judgment
Means "remain" by metaphor of swelling/overflowing; theologically crucial for "remnant"—God's preserved surplus after judgment
properly, to swell up, i.e. be (causatively, make) redundant BDB: remain Usage: leave, (be) left, let, remain, remnant, reserve, the rest.
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 133 lexical occurrence verses.
שָׁאַר is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Affirms preserved continuity within covenant history.Isaiah 37:21-35
H7604 can be quiet or severe: David is still with the sheep when Samuel asks about the remaining son, God reserves thousands who have not bowed to Baal, and Baashas house-cleansing leaves no survivor from Jeroboams line. H7604 describes someone or something remaining after others depart or are removed, and in causative settings it can describe deliberately leaving, preserving, reserving, or sparing a remainder.
The selected witnesses keep the teaching concrete: 1Sam. 16. 11 shows that jesse explains that the youngest son still remains with the sheep until Samuel insists that David be brought. , while 1Kgs. 19. 18 shows that god corrects Elijahs isolation by declaring that seven thousand in Israel have been reserved from Baal worship.. 1Kgs. 15. 29 adds that baasha destroys the house of Jeroboam and leaves no survivor, fulfilling judgment through an act of severe dynastic violence..
H7604 opens teaching on remaining people and consequences after crisis, including divine preservation, overlooked faithfulness, ordinary absence, and the devastation of violent removal. It corrects triumphal claims that survivors must be morally superior, as well as despairing claims that visible isolation proves no faithful witness remains. A church teaching H7604 faithfully will name both the promise and the boundary carried by these contexts, attend to vulnerable hearers, and refuse to make the lexical item prove more than its passages support.
The verb does not explain every survival, guarantee safety for faithful people, or permit communities to spiritualize the trauma of those left after violence and loss.
1Sam.16.11
H7604 is a Hebrew verb for remaining or leaving a remainder; stem, subject, and object distinguish being left, leaving something behind, reserving people, and permitting residue to remain.
Old Testament narratives and prophets trace both judged remnants and gracious preservation. The New Testament develops remnant themes within Gods mercy and mission, but those theological uses must not be forced onto every ordinary H7604 occurrence.