Isaiah 17:6

Gleaning grapes. Heb. ‘oleloth, the “gleaning,” either of grapes or of olives, but not of grain. Here reference is to the gleaning of an olive tree, as the remainder of the verse makes plain. The idea is once more of a remnant that will escape the general destruction, this time in Israel. Even though judgment would come and the nation as a whole would suffer a devastating blow, a few of the people would escape, like the olives in the topmost branch of a tree after the branches have been violently shaken. This concept of a remnant remaining appears again and again throughout the book of Isaiah, as in chs. 10:20-22; 11:11, 16; 37:4, 32. The “remnant” is always the group that survives a time of divine retribution upon Judah for its transgressions. Presumably, the remnant has learned obedience and can be counted on to remain true to God.