Aramaic word · H7972

שְׁלַח

shelach

to send

To send. It is used of a king sending officials, letters or envoys, and of God sending an angel. The form here is passive ('was sent').

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 14 times in 14 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to send

1a) (P'al)

1a1) to send, send out

1a2) to be sent

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Daniel 5:24

Range of meaning

To send. It is used of a king sending officials, letters or envoys, and of God sending an angel. The form here is passive ('was sent').

Against the English

Most versions render it 'sent', which is accurate. The difference is whether the verb stays passive (KJV, WEB, YLT, NASB-type versions) or becomes active with God as subject (BSB, NIV, NLT).

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 3:2: Nebuchadnezzar 'sent' to gather his officials. Daniel 3:28: God 'sent his angel' to rescue the three young men. Daniel 6:22: 'my God sent his angel' to shut the lions' mouths. Ezra 4–7 uses it for official letters and envoys sent between the Persian court and Judea.

Where it appears

Ezra · 10

  1. Ezra 4:11 שְׁלַ֣חוּ they sent

    (This is the text of the letter they sent to him.) To King Artaxerxes, From your servants, the men west of the Euphrates:

  2. Ezra 4:14 שְׁלַ֖חְנָא we have sent

    Now because we are in the service of the palace and it is not fitting for us to allow the king to be dishonored, we have sent to inform the king

  3. Ezra 4:17 שְׁלַ֣ח he sent

    Then the king sent this reply: To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of your associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates: Greetings.

  4. Ezra 4:18 שְׁלַחְתּ֖וּן you sent

    The letter you sent us has been translated and read in my presence.

  5. Ezra 5:6 שְׁלַ֞ח he sent

    This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.

    Here: 'He sent.' The verb is singular, matching the first and senior sender, Tattenai; the others are added after it as co-senders.

  6. Ezra 5:7 שְׁלַ֣חוּ they sent

    The report they sent him read as follows: To King Darius: All peace.

  7. Ezra 5:17 יִשְׁלַ֥ח let him send

    Now, therefore, if it pleases the king, let a search be made of the royal archives in Babylon to see if King Cyrus did indeed issue a decree to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.

  8. Ezra 6:12 יִשְׁלַ֣ח he will stretch out

    May God, who has caused His Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out with diligence.

    Here: "Will stretch out". The form points to the future: whoever ever does this.

  9. Ezra 6:13 שְׁלַ֞ח he had sent

    In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.

  10. Ezra 7:14 שְׁלִ֔יחַ [you are] sent

    You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand.

Daniel · 4

  1. Daniel 3:2 שְׁלַ֡ח he sent

    Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.

  2. Daniel 3:28 שְׁלַ֤ח he has sent

    Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

    Here: "He sent," a completed act. The verb is the one for dispatching an envoy, and it fits the next word, "messenger."

  3. Daniel 5:24 שְׁלִ֖יַחַ it was sent out

    Therefore He sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

    Here: 'Was sent', a passive verb. It is the word for sending an official envoy or messenger. No agent is named, but the phrase 'from before him' leaves no doubt who did the sending. The hand is God's messenger.

  4. Daniel 6:22 שְׁלַ֣ח he sent

    My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”

    Here: 'Sent.' A completed action. God acted from outside the sealed den, the way a king sends an envoy. The same wording appears in Nebuchadnezzar's praise in 3:28: 'who sent his angel and rescued his servants.'

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.