The Remnant and the Trace in Biblical Tradition

The biblical motif of the remnant appears in prophetic oracles of restoration to address problems of theodicy in covenant religion. This essay argues that the category of trace in the work of Jacques Derrida and other modern thinkers provides a conceptual model for the biblical remnant and that theories of the trace belong to biblical tradition. The remnant and the trace share dynamics of past and future, presence and absence, with respect to history, language, and texts. By examining the remnant motif in Micah and other books of the Hebrew Bible together with the category of trace in modern thought, the essay identifies an approach to time in biblical prophets distinct from historical, sacred, or messianic time. And by examining "trace" in the work of Derrida and others, the essay also demonstrates the biblical inheritance of modern theory.