verb
exapostelamō
Strong’sG1821
I send forth
stem exapostel-14 times in the New Testamentin 4 of 27 books5 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
ἐξαποστέλλω means, most commonly, to send forth or dispatch someone or something on a mission or errand 124. It is used of sending a person, such as an apostle or messenger 13, of sending a promise or the Spirit 1, and of a word or message being sent out 13.
It also carries the closely related sense to send away, dismiss 12. This covers dismissing or sending a person off to another place 1, and, more pointedly, sending someone away empty-handed 13. The same underlying idea of sending someone away is used elsewhere in the Greek Bible for a husband divorcing his wife and for expelling someone from a garden 3.
In addition, the word can mean to destroy, as in destroying fortifications by fire, a sense found in the Greek Bible outside the New Testament 3.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
ἐξ-απο-στέλλω
[in LXX freq., chiefly for שָׁלַח pi.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1821 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
future -στελῶLXX: perfect ἐξαπέσταλκα Refs 2nd c.BC+:—dispatch, πρεσβευτάς Refs 2nd c.BC+; βιβλίον τινί Refs 2nd c.BC+:—passive, to be dispatched, Philipp. cited in Refs 4th c.BC+; ὑπό τινων Refs; ἐξαπεσταλμένοι μάχεσθαι Aristeas 13; also ἡμῶν ὁ λόγος -εστάλη NT
2 send forth, [δαίμων] -στέλλων ὕδατα καὶ ἀνέμους Refs
3 of prisoners, send before a tribunal, ἐ. τινὰ δέσμιον πρός τινας Refs 2nd c.BC+, etc.: —passive, Refs 2nd c.BC+
II send away, dismiss, e.g. a prisoner, Refs 2nd c.BC+; ἐ. τινὰ κενόν send away empty-handed, NT; divorce a wife, LXX; expel, ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσονLXX
III discharge a projectile, Refs 2nd c.BC+
IV destroy, ὀχυρώματα ἐν πυρί LXX
V emit, display, φαντασίαν Refs 5th c.AD+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| exapostelamōἐξαποστέλλω | happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular | send | 1× |
| exapostelamiἐξαποστελῶ | will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular | send | 1× |
| exapostelataἐξαπέστειλεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | sent | 6× |
| exapostelalaἐξαπέστειλαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | sent … away | 5× |
| exapostelitaἐξαπεστάλη | happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular | sent | 1× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 172, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 14 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | exapostelamō1×ἐξαποστέλλω | exapostelame | exapostelami1×ἐξαποστελῶ | exapostelama | exapostelamē | exapostelamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | exapostelasō | exapostelase | exapostelasi | exapostelasa | exapostelasē | exapostelaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exapostelatō | exapostelate | exapostelati | exapostelata6×ἐξαπέστειλεν | exapostelatē | exapostelatelē |
| we 1st person plural | exapostelanō | exapostelane | exapostelani | exapostelana | exapostelanē | exapostelanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | exapostelavō | exapostelave | exapostelavi | exapostelava | exapostelavē | exapostelavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | exapostelalō | exapostelale | exapostelali | exapostelala5×ἐξαπέστειλαν | exapostelalē | exapostelalelē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | exapostelomō | exapostelome | exapostelomē | exapostelomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | exapostelosō | exapostelose | exapostelosē | exaposteloselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exapostelotō | exapostelote | exapostelotē | exapostelotelē |
| we 1st person plural | exapostelonō | exapostelone | exapostelonē | exapostelonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | exapostelovō | exapostelove | exapostelovē | exapostelovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | exapostelolō | exapostelole | exapostelolē | exapostelolelē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | exapostelimi | exapostelima |
| you 2nd person singular | exapostelisi | exapostelisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exaposteliti | exapostelita1×ἐξαπεστάλη |
| we 1st person plural | exapostelini | exapostelina |
| ye 2nd person plural | exapostelivi | exaposteliva |
| they 3rd person plural | exapostelili | exapostelila |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | exapostelameiō | exapostelameia | exapostelameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | exapostelaseiō | exapostelaseia | exapostelaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exapostelateiō | exapostelateia | exapostelateiē |
| we 1st person plural | exapostelaneiō | exapostelaneia | exapostelaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | exapostelaveiō | exapostelaveia | exapostelaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | exapostelaleiō | exapostelaleia | exapostelaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | exapostelomeiō | exapostelomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | exaposteloseiō | exaposteloseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exaposteloteiō | exaposteloteiē |
| we 1st person plural | exaposteloneiō | exaposteloneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | exaposteloveiō | exaposteloveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | exaposteloleiō | exaposteloleiē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | exapostelimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | exaposteliseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exaposteliteia |
| we 1st person plural | exapostelineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | exaposteliveia |
| they 3rd person plural | exapostelileia |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | exapostelasōr | exapostelasar | exapostelasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exapostelatōr | exapostelatar | exapostelatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | exapostelavōr | exapostelavar | exapostelavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | exapostelalōr | exapostelalar | exapostelalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | exapostelosōr | exapostelosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exapostelotōr | exapostelotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | exapostelovōr | exapostelovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | exapostelolōr | exapostelolēr |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | exapostelisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exapostelitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | exapostelivar |
| they 3rd person plural | exapostelilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | exapostelamoiō | exapostelamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | exapostelasoiō | exapostelasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exapostelatoiō | exapostelatoia |
| we 1st person plural | exapostelanoiō | exapostelanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | exapostelavoiō | exapostelavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | exapostelaloiō | exapostelaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | exapostelomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | exapostelosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exapostelotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | exapostelonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | exapostelovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | exaposteloloiō |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | exapostelimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | exapostelisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | exapostelitoia |
| we 1st person plural | exapostelinoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | exapostelivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | exaposteliloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | exapostelarō | exapostelari | exapostelara | exapostelarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | exapostelorō | exapostelorē | ||
| acted on passive voice | exaposteliri | exapostelira |
Used as an adjective — participle, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | exapostelarōntos | exapostelarintos | exapostelarantos | exapostelarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | exapostelorōntos | exapostelorēntos | ||
| acted on passive voice | exapostelirintos | exapostelirantos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
exapostel is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
14 occurrences, every one of them listed
exapostelamō“send”happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular1×
Luke 24:49“send”kai idou mis exapostelamō tan epangelian tou patrou mu epi …And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But …
exapostelami“send”will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular1×
Acts 22:21… Poreuosōr, hoti mis eis ethneim makran exapostelami sin.… said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”
exapostelata“sent”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular6×
Mark 16:8“sent out”… Iēsus apo anatolau kai achri dusiau exapostelata dia autoiu tem hierem kai afthartem …So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone.
Luke 1:53“sent away”peinarōntoin empimplēata agatheiu kai ploutarōntoin exapostelata kenoin.He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.
Acts 7:12… de Iakōb arōnteim sitieim eis Aiguptan exapostelata toin patroin nu prōtem;… there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit.
Acts 12:11… generantos legata; Nun oidamē alēthōs hoti exapostelata tos kurios ton angelon autou kai …… for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from …
Galatians 4:4“sent forth”… de erchata tem plērōmem tou chronou, exapostelata tos theos ton huion autou, generanton …But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
Galatians 4:6hoti de avō huiois, exapostelata tos theos tem pneumem tou huiou …And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into …
exapostelala“sent … away”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural5×
Luke 20:10… ampelōnou dōali auto; tois de geōrgois exapostelala auton derarantois kenon.… the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.
Luke 20:11… tois de kakeinon derarantois kai atimazarantois exapostelala kenon.… and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.
Acts 9:30… adelfois katagala auton eis Kaisareian kai exapostelala auton eis Tarsan.… took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Acts 11:22“sent out”… arōntau en Ierousalēm peri autoiu, kai exapostelala Barnabon heōs Antiocheiau;… the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
Acts 17:14eutheōs de tote ton Paulon exapostelala tois adelfois poreuorō heōs epi tan …The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas …
exapostelita“sent”happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Acts 13:26… ni tos logos tau sōtērēau houtau exapostelita.… this message of salvation has been sent.