The reflection presented in this article aims at clarifying the uses that the concepts of “remnants of Israel” she’erit Yisrael), “holy community” (qehillah qedushah) and “Jewish nation” have been made of over time. The first two are exegetical notions ; the third notion refers to a historical phenomenon. The analysis therefore seeks to combine elements belonging to two different realms : theology (ahistorical) and history (anchored in time), in order to highlight the semantic shift that occurred in the historiography of the constitution of the Jewish fact in so-called Christian Europe and in the production of a definition of Jewish groups. This shift, which led to the modern conceptions of the notions of « community » and « nation », is related to the issue of collective redemption (the “remnants”) and holiness (“qedushah”) and thus captures the importance that Christian thought accords to the conservation of the remains of ancient Israel for their ultimate conversion.