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שָׁלַח (sha.lach)

sha.lach

to send: depart

H7971 · Hebrew · Old Testament · 712 verses

H:V

Quick Reference

Language
Biblical Hebrew
Testament
Old Testament
Occurrences
712 verses
Root
—
Part of speech
H:V

Word Overview

The Hebrew verb shalach means to send someone away, out, or forth, but its scope extends far beyond simple dispatch. It covers a wide range of actions where an agent releases something into motion or directs it toward a destination. This includes sending people on missions, letting animals loose, casting objects aside, and even the physical act of stretching out a hand or limb.

A notable feature of this word is its use for natural growth, particularly when branches shoot forth from a plant, as seen in Isaiah 37:30. It also appears in legal contexts to describe the formal dismissal or divorce of a wife, emphasizing a decisive separation. The term carries the weight of authority, whether God sends a prophet like Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:4) or a king dispatches messengers.

Its versatility allows it to bridge the physical and the relational. When God sends a message, it is not merely information but an authoritative presence. Translators often render it as "send," "stretch out," or "let go" depending on context, capturing the dynamic movement inherent in the root. The word underscores that sending is an act of purposeful release into a new sphere.

Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).

What This Word Means for Your Faith

The word shalach describes a purposeful release into motion. It is not merely about movement but about direction and authority. When God sends, He initiates a journey with a specific destination in mind. This might look like sending messengers to deliver truth or guiding people toward new responsibilities. The act carries weight because the sender remains responsible for the mission’s outcome.

In our own lives, we often feel sent by circumstances beyond our control. Yet this word reminds us that even difficult transitions have a source and a purpose. God sends us out into the world with grace, just as He sent Lot from Sodom or Abraham’s servant to find a wife. These moments are not random; they are part of a larger story where every departure leads somewhere meaningful.

Trust that the One who sends you knows the way ahead. Whether you are stepping into a new role or leaving behind what is familiar, His sending is an act of care and intention. You are never truly alone in your journey because the Sender walks with you.

How it's translated

How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 712 verses where it appears, by frequency.

  • and/ he sent155×
  • he sent41×
  • and/ they sent24×
  • he has sent/ me16×
  • and/ he stretched out15×
  • send14×
  • and/ I will send13×
  • [am] about to send11×
  • I sent9×
  • you sent8×
  • he has sent8×
  • and/ she sent8×

Forms in the text

The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.

  • וַ/יִּשְׁלַ֤ח35×
  • וַ/יִּשְׁלַ֣ח30×
  • וַ/יִּשְׁלַ֨ח25×
  • וַ/יִּשְׁלַ֥ח18×
  • שָׁלַ֥ח17×
  • וַ/יִּשְׁלַח֩13×
  • וַ/יִּשְׁלַח֙13×
  • וַ/יִּשְׁלַ֞ח11×
  • וַ/יִּשְׁלַ֗ח11×
  • שְׁלָחַ֣/נִי10×
  • שָׁלַ֣ח8×
  • שָׁלַ֤ח7×

Key Verses

  • Genesis 3:23
    Therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.

    God sends Adam out of Eden, marking the first human displacement but also initiating a new phase of earthly stewardship.

  • Genesis 19:29
    When God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the middle of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

    God remembers Abraham and actively sends Lot out of destruction, showing that deliverance is an intentional act of grace.

  • Genesis 24:7
    Yahweh, the God of heaven—who took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, ‘I will give this land to your offspring—he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

    The servant trusts that Yahweh will send his angel to guide the mission, highlighting divine provision in human obedience.

  • Genesis 21:14
    Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a container of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder; and gave her the child, and sent her away. She departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

    Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away, illustrating the painful but necessary separation that accompanies God's promises.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Hebrew word shalach mean?

Shalach means to send, dispatch, or let go. It covers sending people on missions, releasing animals, stretching out limbs, and even dismissing someone formally. The core idea is purposeful movement from one place or state to another under authority.

How is shalach different from other words for 'send'?

While other verbs might simply mean to move something, shalach emphasizes the authority of the sender and the direction of the sent item. It often implies a mission or a decisive action that changes the recipient’s circumstances permanently.

Where does shalach appear in the Bible?

It appears frequently, such as when God sends Adam out of Eden (Genesis 3:23), when He sends Lot from Sodom (Genesis 19:29), and when Abraham’s servant seeks divine sending for his mission (Genesis 24:7). It is also used in legal contexts for divorce.

Every Occurrence (712 verses across 33 books)

Genesis 60 verses
Genesis 3:22

Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand,…

Genesis 3:23

Therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.

Genesis 8:7

and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth, until the waters were dried up from the earth.

Genesis 8:8

He himself sent out a dove to see if the waters were abated from the surface of the ground,

Genesis 8:9

but the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned into the ship to him, for the waters were on the surface…

Genesis 8:10

He waited yet another seven days; and again he sent the dove out of the ship.

Genesis 8:12

He waited yet another seven days, and sent out the dove; and she didn’t return to him any more.

Genesis 12:20

Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they escorted him away with his wife and all that he had.

Genesis 18:16

The men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way.

Genesis 19:10

But the men reached out their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door.

Genesis 19:13

for we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown so great before Yahweh that Yahweh has sent…

Genesis 19:29

When God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the middle of the overthrow,…

Genesis 20:2

Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

Genesis 21:14

Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a container of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her…

Genesis 22:10

Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to kill his son.

Genesis 22:12

He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not…

Genesis 24:7

Yahweh, the God of heaven—who took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who…

Genesis 24:40

He said to me, ‘Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you, and prosper your way. You shall take a wife…

Genesis 24:54

They ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed all night. They rose up in the morning, and he said,…

Genesis 24:56

He said to them, “Don’t hinder me, since Yahweh has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.”

Genesis 24:59

They sent away Rebekah, their sister, with her nurse, Abraham’s servant, and his men.

Genesis 25:6

but Abraham gave gifts to the sons of Abraham’s concubines. While he still lived, he sent them away from Isaac his son,…

Genesis 26:27

Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me, and have sent me away from you?”

Genesis 26:29

that you will do us no harm, as we have not touched you, and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you…

Genesis 26:31

They rose up some time in the morning, and swore an oath to one another. Isaac sent them away, and they departed from…

Genesis 27:42

The words of Esau, her elder son, were told to Rebekah. She sent and called Jacob, her younger son, and said to him,…

Genesis 27:45

until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send, and get you…

Genesis 28:5

Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and…

Genesis 28:6

Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take him a wife from there, and that as…

Genesis 30:25

When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country.

Genesis 31:4

Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock,

Genesis 31:27

Why did you flee secretly, and deceive me, and didn’t tell me, that I might have sent you away with mirth and with…

Genesis 31:42

Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have…

Genesis 37:13

Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” He said…

Genesis 37:14

He said to him, “Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again.”…

Genesis 37:22

Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he…

Genesis 37:32

They took the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this. Examine it,…

Genesis 38:17

He said, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She said, “Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?”

Genesis 38:20

Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand, but…

Genesis 38:23

Judah said, “Let her keep it, lest we be shamed. Behold, I sent this young goat, and you haven’t found her.”

Genesis 38:25

When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man who owns these.” She also…

Genesis 41:8

In the morning, his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt’s magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told…

Genesis 41:14

Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his…

Genesis 42:4

But Jacob didn’t send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers; for he said, “Lest perhaps harm happen to him.”

Genesis 42:16

Send one of you, and let him get your brother, and you shall be bound, that your words may be tested, whether there is…

Genesis 43:4

If you’ll send our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy you food;

Genesis 43:5

but if you don’t send him, we won’t go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is…

Genesis 43:8

Judah said to Israel, his father, “Send the boy with me, and we’ll get up and go, so that we may live, and not die,…

Genesis 43:14

May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am…

Genesis 44:3

As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.

Genesis 45:5

Now don’t be grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

Genesis 45:7

God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance.

Genesis 45:8

So now it wasn’t you who sent me here, but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his house, and…

Genesis 45:23

He sent the following to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded…

Genesis 45:24

So he sent his brothers away, and they departed. He said to them, “See that you don’t quarrel on the way.”

Genesis 45:27

They told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them. When he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry…

Genesis 46:5

Jacob rose up from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones, and their wives,…

Genesis 46:28

Jacob sent Judah before him to Joseph, to show the way before him to Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen.

Genesis 48:14

Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on…

Genesis 49:21

“Naphtali is a doe set free, who bears beautiful fawns.

Exodus 54 verses
Leviticus 10 verses
Numbers 26 verses
Deuteronomy 20 verses
Joshua 23 verses
Judges 36 verses
I Samuel 58 verses
II Samuel 53 verses
I Kings 38 verses
II Kings 65 verses
I Chronicles 16 verses
II Chronicles 28 verses
Ezra 1 verse
Nehemiah 13 verses
Esther 15 verses
Job 20 verses
Psalms 23 verses
Proverbs 12 verses
Ecclesiastes 1 verse
Song of Solomon 1 verse
Isaiah 30 verses
Jeremiah 77 verses
Lamentations 1 verse
Daniel 2 verses
Hosea 2 verses
Joel 2 verses
Amos 9 verses
Obadiah 3 verses
Micah 1 verse
Haggai 1 verse
Zechariah 7 verses
Malachi 4 verses