the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Send
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or A. Verb.
Shâlach (שָׁלַח, Strong's #7971), “to send, stretch forth, get rid of.” This verb occurs in the Northwest Semitic languages (Hebrew, Phoenician, and Aramaic). It occurs in all periods of Hebrew and in the Bible about 850 times. Biblical Aramaic uses this word 14 times.
Basically this verb means “to send,” in the sense of (1) to initiate and to see that such movement occurs or (2) to successfully conclude such an action. In Gen. 32:18 the second emphasis is in view—these animals are “a present sent unto my lord Esau.” In Gen. 38:20 the first idea is in view: When “Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend … , he found her not”; it never reached its goal. In 1 Sam. 15:20 Saul told Samuel about the “way which the lord sent” him; here, too, the emphasis is on the initiation of the action.
The most frequent use of shâlach suggests the sending of someone or something as a messenger to a particular place: “… He shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence” (Gen. 24:7); God’s angel (messenger) will be sent to Nahor to prepare things for the successful accomplishment of the servant’s task. One may also “send a word” by the hand of a messenger (fool); one may send a message (Prov. 26:6), send a letter (2 Sam. 11:14), and send instructions (Gen. 20:2).
Shâlach can refer to shooting arrows by sending them to hit a particular target: “And he sent out arrows, and scattered them …” (2 Sam. 22:15). In Exod. 9:14 God “sends” His plague into the midst of the Egyptians; He “sends” them forth and turns them loose among them. Other special meanings of this verb include letting something go freely or without control: “Thou givest thy mouth to evil …” (Ps. 50:19).
Quite often this verb means “to stretch out.” God was concerned lest after the Fall Adam “put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life” (Gen. 3:22). One may stretch forth a staff (1 Sam. 14:27) or a sickle (Joel 3:13).
For the most part the intensive stems merely intensify the meanings already set forth, but the meaning “to send away” is especially frequent: “… Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, for David had sent him away …” (2 Sam. 3:22, NIV). That is, David “let him go” (v. 24, NIV). God sent man out of the garden of Eden; He made man leave (Gen. 3:23—the first occurrence of the verb). Noah sent forth a raven (Gen. 8:7). Shâlach can also mean to give someone a send off, or “to send” someone on his way in a friendly manner: “… And Abraham went with them to bring them on the way [send them off]” (Gen. 18:16). In Deut. 22:19 the word is used of divorcing a wife, or sending her away.
This verb can signify “to get rid of” something: “They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their [labor pains]” (Job 39:3). It can also be used of setting a bondservant free: “And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty” (Deut. 15:13). In a less technical sense shâlach can mean to release someone held by force. The angel with whom Jacob wrestled said: “Let me go, for the day breaketh” (Gen. 32:26). Yet another nuance is “to hand someone over,” as in Ps. 81:12: “So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust.…” Shâlach can also mean to set something afire, as in “set the city on fire” (Judg. 1:8).
In the passive sense the verb has some additional special meanings; in Prov. 29:15 it means “to be left to oneself”: “… But a child left to himself [who gets his own way] bringeth his mother to shame.”
B. Nouns.
Mishlach means “outstretching; undertaking.” This noun occurs 7 times. The word refers to an “undertaking” in Deut. 28:8: “The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee.…” The phrase “that thou settest” embodies the meaning of michach here (cf. Deut. 28:20).
Other nouns are related to shalah. Schilluchim occurs 3 times and means “presents” in the sense of something sent out to or with someone (1 Kings 9:16). Mishloach is found 3 times and refers to “the act of sending” (Esth. 9:19, 22) or “the place hands reach when stretched forth” (Isa. 11:14, RSV). Shelach means " something sent forth as a missile,” and it can refer to a sword or a weapon. Shelach occurs 8 times (2 Chron. 32:5; Job 33:18; Neh. 4:17). The proper noun shiloah appears in Isa. 8:6 and refers to a channel through which water is sent forth.
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Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Send'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/s/send.html. 1940.
