Exploring the Meaning of Exapostello in Greek

ἐξαποστέλλω expresses the act of sending out or away, whether a person is dispatched, dismissed, or released for a purpose. In the passages where it appears, the verb frames movements that range from rejection (being sent away empty) to mission (being sent out to a place or people) and divine intervention (an angel sent out).

Occurrences

Mark 16:8: “They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.”

Here the idea of going out is tied to an urgent departure: the women exit the tomb area and flee, driven by “trembling and astonishment.” The movement is not portrayed as a calm relocation but as a rapid withdrawal shaped by fear and shock; their silence (“They said nothing to anyone”) matches the suddenness of the exit.

Luke 1:53: “He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.”

In this line the sending away is an act of reversal. The verb describes dismissal with an outcome attached: the rich are not merely made to leave, but leave “empty,” in direct contrast to the hungry who are “filled.” The motion away underlines a changed status rather than a change of address: those who appeared secure depart without what they expected to have.

Luke 20:10: “At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty.”

The owner’s sending is purposeful and timed (“At the proper season”): the servant is dispatched to receive fruit. The second sending—done by the farmers—turns the servant’s mission into a failed return; “sent him away empty” links expulsion with deprivation and contempt, reinforcing the farmers’ refusal to give the owner his due.

Luke 20:11: “He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.”

The repetition intensifies the pattern. The owner again dispatches a servant, and again the farmers force a departure. The added detail—“treated him shamefully”—colors the sending away as a deliberate humiliation; the dismissal is not neutral but part of a hostile response that ensures the servant leaves without fruit and without honor.

Acts 7:12: “But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers the first time.”

The verb marks a practical, life-sustaining dispatch. Jacob’s hearing leads to action: the fathers are sent out toward Egypt because grain is available there. “The first time” highlights this as an initial mission, a deliberate outward movement prompted by need and news.

Acts 9:30: “When the brothers knew it, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him off to Tarsus.”

The sending off follows protective community action. The brothers escort him to Caesarea and then send him onward to Tarsus; the verb carries the sense of arranging a departure to a safer or more suitable location. It portrays a coordinated transfer rather than an individual decision to travel.

Acts 11:22: “The report concerning them came to the ears of the assembly which was in Jerusalem. They sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch,”

This sending out is an official response to information received. The “assembly…in Jerusalem” acts on a report by dispatching Barnabas; the purpose is implied by the report and the destination named. “To go as far as Antioch” frames the sending as a commission with a defined extent, not merely a casual visit.

Acts 12:11: “When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.””

The verb here belongs to divine agency: “the Lord has sent out his angel.” The sending is connected directly to rescue—“delivered me out of the hand of Herod”—so the act of dispatch is portrayed as effective intervention. The angel’s being sent out explains the deliverance and contrasts with the threatening expectations Peter mentions.

Acts 13:26: “Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you.”

The object sent is not a person but “the word of this salvation.” The verb depicts a directed communication: the word is dispatched “to you,” identifying the audience and implying intentional outreach. The sending out portrays the message as arriving with purpose, as something actively conveyed rather than passively discovered.

Acts 17:14: “Then the brothers immediately sent out Paul to go as far as to the sea, and Silas and Timothy still stayed there.”

The sending out is urgent (“immediately”) and strategic. Paul is moved on “as far as to the sea,” while others remain; the verb captures a deliberate separation of roles and locations. The sending thus functions as a protective or tactical relocation, emphasizing prompt action by the community.

Acts 22:21: ““He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.’””

This occurrence ties the verb to a commissioning that includes distance and direction. “I will send you out far from here” emphasizes removal from the present setting, and “to the Gentiles” specifies the target of the mission. The sending out is framed as authoritative speech that initiates departure (“Depart”) and assigns a field of work.

Galatians 4:4: “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,”

The sending out here is anchored in timing (“the fullness of the time”) and in the identity of the one sent (“his Son”). The phrases that follow (“born to a woman, born under the law”) place the sending within human birth and life under a defined condition; the verb highlights that this entrance is not accidental but the result of God’s decisive dispatch.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, ἐξαποστέλλω consistently carries the idea of movement initiated by an agent—someone causes another to go out or away, or causes something to be directed outward. The agent varies: individuals (Jacob), a group acting corporately (“the brothers,” “the assembly…in Jerusalem”), hostile opponents (“the farmers”), and God (“the Lord,” “God”). This range shows the verb’s flexibility: it can describe ordinary logistics, communal decision-making, rejection, and divine action without changing its basic sending-force.

Several occurrences underline the social weight of being sent away. In Luke 1:53 the rich are “sent…away empty,” where dismissal signals reversal and lack. In Luke 20:10–11 the servants are “sent…away empty” after being beaten and shamed; the sending away is the farmers’ way of refusing accountability and asserting control. In these settings, the verb does more than move a character offstage—it marks a relational verdict: the one sent away departs without what was sought or deserved.

Other occurrences emphasize purposeful dispatch. Acts 11:22 presents sending as a measured response to a report, assigning Barnabas a destination “as far as Antioch.” Acts 7:12 shows Jacob sending out the fathers in response to news of grain, a mission shaped by need. Acts 22:21 and Galatians 4:4 heighten the commissioning aspect: one is sent out “to the Gentiles,” the other is sent out when “the fullness of the time came.” In both, the verb frames a directed outward movement with a defined scope and intention.

The verb can also describe protective relocation within a community under pressure. Acts 9:30 and Acts 17:14 depict believers taking initiative to move a person along—“sent him off to Tarsus,” “sent out Paul…to the sea”—with immediacy and coordination. Here sending out functions as a practical means of preserving life and sustaining the work by relocating the vulnerable person, while others remain.

Finally, Acts 13:26 extends the verb to an immaterial object: “the word of this salvation is sent out to you.” This usage portrays proclamation as something dispatched toward hearers, parallel to the sending of persons. Acts 12:11 likewise connects sending to effect: the Lord’s sending out of the angel is linked to concrete deliverance. In both, the outward movement is not merely spatial; it results in arrival—of help, or of a message—with consequences for those addressed.

Imagery

The scenes attached to ἐξαποστέλλω create a consistent outward motion: fleeing from a tomb (Mark 16:8), dismissals that leave someone “empty” (Luke 1:53; Luke 20:10–11), journeys begun by hearing news (Acts 7:12), and purposeful departures arranged by communities (Acts 9:30; Acts 11:22; Acts 17:14). Alongside these stand the most elevated uses, where God sends out an angel for rescue (Acts 12:11), sends out a saving word to an audience (Acts 13:26), sends a messenger “far from here” (Acts 22:21), and sends out his Son at the right time (Galatians 4:4). The verb’s imagery is thus consistently directional—outward from a source toward a destination—while the surrounding context supplies whether that outwardness feels like flight, rejection, mission, or deliverance.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).