Κατάλειμμα denotes what remains after others have been removed—what is deliberately preserved rather than lost. The word therefore carries the double notion of scarcity and divine intention: something small in quantity yet precious in God’s plan.

Septuagint Witness

Although absent from the Greek New Testament, κατάλειμμα appears in the Septuagint to translate “remnant” in several strategic passages:
• 2 Kings 19:31 – “For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion.”
• Isaiah 10:22 – “Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return.”
• Isaiah 37:32; Micah 2:12; Ezekiel 14:22 and other prophetic contexts likewise use the term.

In each case the remnant theme intersects judgment with hope: while the majority fall under chastisement, God preserves a minority through whom His promises advance.

The Remnant Motif Through Scripture

Old Testament narrative traces a continual thinning and preserving: Noah’s family amid the flood (Genesis 6–9), the seven thousand who had not bowed to Baal (1 Kings 19:18), the exiles returning from Babylon (Ezra 2). The New Testament continues the motif with cognate terms: “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5). Κατάλειμμα thus sits within a seamless biblical thread showing that God’s redemptive purposes never hinge on majority strength but on covenant fidelity.

Historical and Post-Exilic Significance

Following the Babylonian captivity the language of “remnant” became a rallying point for national identity and spiritual renewal. By the first century, Jewish expectation linked the faithful remnant to Messianic hope. Early Christian writers read the prophetic κατάλειμμα texts as foreshadowing the gathering of both Jewish and Gentile believers into one redeemed body.

Theological Themes

1. Covenant Preservation – God’s promises to Abraham, David, and the prophets cannot fail; the remnant provides the continuing vessel.
2. Divine Sovereignty and Grace – the existence of a remnant is attributed to God’s choosing, not human merit.
3. Eschatological Assurance – prophetic passages foresee a purified people residing securely in a renewed Zion (Isaiah 11:11; Micah 5:7–8).

Practical Implications for Ministry

• Encouragement in Seasons of Decline – leaders can remind congregations that numerical or cultural marginalization does not negate God’s work.
• Call to Faithfulness – the remnant motif summons believers to holiness, knowing that God preserves those who cling to Him.
• Mission Focus – because God preserves a people from every nation, evangelism proceeds with confidence that the harvest contains those whom the Lord is keeping for Himself (Acts 18:10).

Related Terms and Distinctions

• ἐκλογή (election) stresses the divine choice behind the remnant.
• λείμμα (remnant) in Romans 11:5 is a shortened form without the κατά- prefix; the nuance of “left behind” remains.
• ὑπόλειμμα also means “what is left over” but often in non-theological contexts.

Concluding Summary

Κατάλειμμα encapsulates the biblical conviction that God always preserves a people for His name. From the prophets to Paul’s teaching on grace, the remnant stands as a living testimony that judgment does not have the final word; mercy does. For believers today, the term offers both sober realism and unshakable hope: whatever the external circumstances, the Lord will unfailingly keep His preserved few, and through them manifest His unfailing promises to the many.