Original Word: שָׂרִיד
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: sariyd
Pronunciation: sah-REED
Phonetic Spelling: (saw-reed')
KJV: X alive, left, remain(-ing), remnant, rest
NASB: survivor, survivors, remnant, who survived, left, remains, survived
Word Origin: [from H8277 (שָׂרַד - remained)]

1. a survivor

alive, left, remain remnant, rest

From sarad; a survivor -- X alive, left, remain(- ing), remnant, rest.

see HEBREW sarad

Word Origin
from sarad
Definition
a survivor
NASB Translation
left (1), remains (1), remnant (2), survived (1), survivor (13), survivors (8), who survived (2).

I. שָׂרִיד noun masculine^{Jeremiah 47:4} survivor (from a defeat, etc.); — absolute ׳שׂ Isaiah 1:9 +; suffix שְׂרִידוֺ Job 27:15 Kt; plural שְׂרִידִים Joshua 10:20; Joel 3:5; construct שְׂרִידֵי Jeremiah 31:2; suffix שְׂרִידָיו Obadiah 14 + Job 27:15 Qr (van d. H. also Kt); —

1 survivor (often "" מָּלִיט): especially ׳עַד בִּלְתִּי הִשְׁאִיר לוֺ שׂ Numbers 21:35; Joshua 8:22 (both J E), Deuteronomy 3:3; Joshua 10:33; Joshua 11:8; 2 Kings 10:11 (all D); more simply, ׳שׂ ׳לֹא הִשׁ Deuteronomy 2:34; Joshua 10:28,30,37,39,40 (all D); ׳הוֺתִיר לָנוּ שׂ ׳י Isaiah 1:9; לֹא יִהְיֶה לְ ׳שׂ Jeremiah 42:17; Jeremiah 44:14; Obadiah 18; ׳אֵין שׂ Job 18:19; וְהֶאֱבִיד מֵעִיר ׳שׂ Numbers 24:19 (JE); עַם שְׂרִידֵי חָ֑רֶב Jeremiah 31:2, plural also Joshua 10:20 (subject of שָֽׂרְדוּ), Joel 3:5; Obadiah 14; Job 27:15 (see above); singular also Judges 5:13 (obscure, for לְ ׳שׂ read perhaps יִשְׂרָאֵל GFM Now compare Bu), Jeremiah 47:4; Lamentations 2:22.

2 of things: לְאָכְלוֺ ׳אֵין שׂ Job 20:21, i.e. nothing has escaped his greed; בְּאָהֳלוֺ ׳(אֵשׁ) יֵ֫רַע שׂ Job 20:26.

Meaning and Core Idea

שָׂרִיד (sarid) designates an individual or a group that has out-lived a crisis—war, judgment, exile, plague, or any other calamity. The word therefore carries a dual note of devastation and deliverance. Wherever it appears, the context is one of sweeping loss out of which a few remain alive, whether by sovereign mercy or by human ruthlessness that leaves “no survivor.”

Geographic and Literary Distribution

Approximately twenty-eight occurrences span the historical books (especially Joshua), the prophetic writings, and a small handful in Kings and Chronicles. The heaviest concentration is in Joshua 8–11, where the conquest narratives repeatedly record that Joshua “left no survivors” (for example, Joshua 10:40). Later texts employ the same term to foretell the near annihilation of sinful Israel or the nations (Isaiah 10:19; Jeremiah 42:17), to warn the Edomites against handing over Judah’s “survivors” (Obadiah 1:14), or to promise that a purified remnant will inherit the land (Zephaniah 2:7, 2:9).

Historical Contexts of Use

1. Conquest of Canaan. Twelve of the twenty-eight uses occur in Joshua. After Ai was trapped, “They struck them until no survivor or fugitive remained” (Joshua 8:22). The same verdict follows the southern and northern campaigns (Joshua 10:20, 28–40; 11:8, 11, 14). Here שָׂרִיד underscores the totality of divine judgment on entrenched evil as Israel enters the promised land.

2. Israel’s Civil and Royal Upheaval. When Jehu uprooted the house of Ahab, “he left him no survivors” (2 Kings 10:11, 17). The word surfaces again in Chronicles to describe the subjected Canaanite labor force (2 Chronicles 8:8). Both passages confirm that the concept is not limited to foreign enemies; the same standard faces covenant breakers inside Israel.

3. Prophetic Warnings in the Assyrian and Babylonian eras. Isaiah predicts that arrogant Assyria will be thinned to the point that “the remaining trees of his forest will be so few that a child could write them down” (Isaiah 10:19). Jeremiah declares that Judeans fleeing to Egypt “will die by the sword, famine, and plague; not one of them will survive or escape” (Jeremiah 42:17). Micah laments that “there is no upright man among them” (Micah 7:2). In each case שָׂרִיד signals the razor-thin margin between life and extinction when divine judgment falls.

4. Oracles against the Nations. Obadiah warns Edom, “You should not hand over their survivors in the day of their distress” (Obadiah 1:14), while Zephaniah reverses the conquest formula: Moab and Ammon will be plundered, “and the remnant of My people shall possess them” (Zephaniah 2:9). The term moves from describing Judah’s foes to identifying Judah’s hope.

Theological Significance

1. Judgment Revealed. Repeated statements that “no survivor was left” expose the righteous severity of God’s wrath. Sin invites total destruction. The word’s stark finality brands every human attempt at self-preservation as futile when God decrees judgment.

2. Grace Preserved. Paradoxically, שָׂרִיד also protects the continuity of covenant history. Even after catastrophic loss, life persists. The very existence of a survivor testifies that God “in wrath remembers mercy.” Later prophets build on this residue of life to proclaim restoration, showing that God’s purposes cannot be nullified.

3. Remnant Motif. שָׂרִיד interlocks with other Hebrew terms for remnant (she’erit, pelitah). Together they form a tapestry in which God narrows His people down to a purified core, then rebuilds. Romans 9:27–29 and 11:5–7 draw directly on this motif, situating the believing remnant of Israel and the grafting in of Gentiles within the same saving plan.

Prophetic Tension: “No Survivor” and “A Survivor”

The word often appears with the negative particle—“no survivor.” Yet other passages anticipate “survivors” who will return or inherit. The tension is intentional: it forces the reader to reckon with both the certainty of judgment and the certainty of promise. The same term that closes the door on the impenitent opens a window for the repentant.

Ministry Implications

• Preaching. שָׂרִיד supplies vivid language for proclaiming both the seriousness of sin and the unbreakable faithfulness of God.
• Pastoral Care. Survivors of trauma can be reminded that their very survival resonates with Scripture’s testimony of God’s hand preserving a remnant for His glory.
• Missions. The remnant theme encourages evangelists to persevere; even when responses seem small, God is never without a “survivor” people.
• Church Discipline. Just as Israel’s conquest showed zero tolerance for persistent evil, the church may take courage to remove destructive sin, trusting God to keep a purified core.

Christological and New Testament Echoes

Though שָׂרִיד itself is an Old Testament term, its concept converges on Jesus Christ. At the cross He stands as the lone faithful One who survives judgment by passing through death and rising again. Paul’s discussion of the “remnant chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5) makes explicit what the prophets anticipated: the Messiah guarantees the survival of a people who bear His name.

Summary

שָׂרִיד encapsulates the razor edge between extinction and preservation. Whether announcing “no survivor” among the wicked or promising a “survivor” among the righteous, Scripture employs the term to magnify both God’s holiness and His steadfast love. The church today lives in the good of that tension—humbled by the reality that judgment could have left none alive, yet emboldened by the assurance that God will always keep a people for Himself.

וְהַשְּׂרִידִים֙ וְשָׂרִ֑יד וְשָׂרִיד֙ וּבַ֨שְּׂרִידִ֔ים ובשרידים והשרידים ושריד רִידָיו ריד רידיו שְׂרִ֣ידֵי שְׂרִידָ֖יו שָׂ֝רִ֗יד שָׂרִ֑יד שָׂרִ֔יד שָׂרִ֖יד שָׂרִ֣יד שָׂרִ֥יד שָׂרִֽיד׃ שָׂרִיד֙ שריד שריד׃ שרידי שרידיו rî·ḏāw Rid rîḏ ridav rîḏāw śā·rîḏ saRid śārîḏ śə·rî·ḏāw śə·rî·ḏê seriDav śərîḏāw śərîḏê seRidei ū·ḇaś·śə·rî·ḏîm ūḇaśśərîḏîm uVasseriDim vehasseriDim vesaRid wə·haś·śə·rî·ḏîm wə·śā·rîḏ wəhaśśərîḏîm wəśārîḏInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts