[font="Verdana]The Rabbinic concept of the shaliach had a function that was more legal than religious (to serve documents, collect money, carry information), was applied generally to human representation (whether individuals or groups), and lasted for only a limited period.[/font]
[font="Verdana]
[/font]
[font="Verdana]The Old Testament notion of a shaliach also differs from the rabbinic conceptions of that term and appears to be of more significance for understanding the New Testament term “apostle.” The “sending” and commissioning of the great prophetic figures Moses and Isaiah ([url="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=ex+3:10"]Exodus 3:10[/url];
Isaiah 6:8 where the Hebrew verb for sending,
shalach, is translated by
apostello in the
Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, as divine spokesmen surely influenced the New Testament word, “apostle.” We may also note that the same “sending” terminology is applied to other noteworthy characters such as Elijah (
2 Kings 2:2,
2 Kings 2:4,
2 Kings 2:6), Jeremiah (
Jeremiah 1:7), and Ezekiel (
Ezekiel 2:3-4). As a reference to a divine spokesman, Old Testament ideas of a “sent one” are certainly in line with the New Testament term “apostle.” Compare
Jeremiah 7:25.[/font]
[font="Verdana]
[/font]
[font="Verdana]
[/font]