TR: shalach → apostello (Send / Commission)¶
The Chain¶
Hebrew OT LXX (Greek OT) Greek NT
────────── ────────────── ────────
שָׁלַח (shalach) → ἀποστέλλω (apostello) → ἀποστέλλω (apostello)
H7971, 790x in OT LXX co-occ: 443x 130x in NT
"send away/forth" primary translation "send forth" (with authority)
OT Usage (Hebrew)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| H7971 | שָׁלַח (shalach) | 790v | send, send away, let go, put forth, stretch out |
| H7972 | שְׁלַח (shelach) | 14v | Aramaic cognate: send, put |
| H7973 | שֶׁלַח (shelach) | 8v | missile weapon, dart, sprout (noun derivative) |
Key OT passages: - Exo 3:10 — "I will send thee unto Pharaoh" — divine commissioning of Moses - Isa 6:8 — "Whom shall I send?" — prophetic commissioning - Mal 3:1 — "I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way"
LXX Bridge¶
| Hebrew | Greek Translation | Co-occ | PMI Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| shalach (H7971) | ἀποστέλλω (G649) | 443x | 29.09 | Primary — authoritative sending |
| shalach (H7971) | ἐξαποστέλλω (G1821) | 210x | 25.59 | Piel "send away" — release/dismiss |
| shalach (H7971) | ἐκτείνω (G1614) | 38x | 12.03 | "Stretch out" — hand-extending sense |
| shalach (H7971) | ἐλεύθερος (G1658) | 12x | 10.99 | "Free" — manumission/release sense |
| shalach (H7971) | ἀποστάσιον (G647) | 4x | 7.84 | "Bill of divorcement" — divorce sense |
Reverse bridge — G649 apostello ← Hebrew:
| Hebrew Source | Co-occ | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| H7971 shalach | 443x | Dominant source (82%+) |
| H4397 mal'ak (messenger) | 57x | Indirect — messenger as object of sending |
| H7972 shelach (Aramaic) | 11x | Aramaic cognate |
Semantic differentiation in translation: The LXX translators split shalach's broad semantic range into distinct Greek words. ἀποστέλλω captures the core "commission and send on a mission" sense. ἐξαποστέλλω handles the Piel "send away, release, let go" sense (prominent in Exodus Pharaoh passages and Leviticus scapegoat). ἐκτείνω takes over the "stretch out the hand" physical gesture. This differentiation sharpens what is a single Hebrew verb into specialized Greek terms.
NT Usage (Greek)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| G649 | ἀποστέλλω (apostello) | 130v | send forth with commission/authority |
| G1821 | ἐξαποστέλλω (exapostello) | 11v | send away, send forth |
| G652 | ἀπόστολος (apostolos) | 79v | apostle — "one sent" (noun derivative) |
| G651 | ἀποστολή (apostole) | 4v | apostleship — "the office of being sent" |
Key NT passages: - Jhn 1:6 — "There was a man sent (apostello) from God, whose name was John" - Luk 4:18 — "He hath sent (apostello) me to preach deliverance to the captives" (quoting Isa 61:1) - Jhn 3:17 — "God sent (apostello) not his Son into the world to condemn the world" - Rom 10:15 — "How shall they preach, except they be sent (apostello)?"
TODO(need G649 study)
Direct OT→NT Quotations¶
| NT Verse | Quotes OT | Shared Word | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark 1:2 | Mal 3:1 | shalach → apostello | "I send my messenger before thy face" |
| Luke 4:18 | Isa 61:1 | shalach → apostello | "He hath sent me to preach deliverance" |
| Acts 3:20 | (allusion to prophetic pattern) | shalach → apostello | "He shall send Jesus Christ" |
| John 20:21 | (echo of prophetic commissioning) | shalach → apostello | "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you" |
Continuity and Shifts¶
What stays the same across testaments: - The core pattern of authoritative divine commissioning persists: God sends prophets in the OT, God sends the Son and apostles in the NT - The "sent with a message" pattern: prophets are sent to speak God's words (Jer 7:25), apostles are sent to preach the gospel (Rom 10:15) - The word consistently implies the sender's authority invested in the one sent
What shifts: - NT narrows the usage: apostello in the NT almost exclusively means authoritative commissioning — the "let go/release" sense (shalach Piel) is absent, handled by ἀπολύω (apolyo) instead - The noun ἀπόστολος (apostolos) — "apostle" — becomes a technical title in the NT with no direct Hebrew equivalent; the OT uses shalach as a verb without a corresponding agent-noun for "one who is sent" - The Leviticus scapegoat "sending away" (shalach Piel → LXX ἐξαποστέλλω) has no direct NT verbal parallel; the NT uses different vocabulary for the sin-bearing and removal concepts
Generated from: gather_trace_data.py, search_strongs.py (--lxx-map, --hebrew-source) Last updated: 2026-05-05