Part of Speech: Verb
Strong's Number: H7971
Original Word: shalah?
Usage Notes: "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 1Sa 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 shalah? 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 (2Sam 11:14), and send instructions (Gen 20:2).
Shalah? can refer to shooting arrows by sending them to hit a particular target: "And he sent out arrows, and scattered them …" (2Sam 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 …" Exod. (Psa.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 (1Sam 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 …" (2Sam 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). Shalah? 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 shalah? 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 Psa 81:12: "So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust…." Shalah? 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."
Usage Number: 2
Part of Speech: Noun
Original Word: Mishlah?
Usage Notes: 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 mishlah? here (cf. Deut 28:20).
Other nouns are related to shalah?. Shillûh?îm occurs 3 times and means "presents" in the sense of something sent out to or with someone (1Kings 9:16). Mishlôah? 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). Shelah? means "something sent forth as a missile," and it can refer to a sword or a weapon. Shelah? occurs 8 times (2Chron 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.
