exapostellō

Lexicographers treat ἐξαποστέλλω as a strengthened compound of ἀποστέλλω, the prefix reinforcing separation from the point of departure; LSJ records both "dispatch" and "dismiss, send away" in classical and Hellenistic usage. BDAG divides the thirteen New Testament instances into sending forth to a locale or on a mission (Acts 7:12; 9:30; 11:22; 12:11; 17:14; 22:21; Gal 4:4, 6) and sending away without provision (Luke 1:53; 20:10, 11), with an impersonal object at Acts 13:26 and in the Shorter Ending printed after Mark 16:8. The distribution is almost entirely Lukan and Pauline. The verb is heavily represented in the Septuagint, where it commonly renders שָׁלַח, including the piel "let go, release" of the Exodus narratives, which supplies much of the background for the dismissive use; Rengstorf's TDNT treatment of the ἀποστέλλω group sets out that relationship. The Gal 4:4 and 4:6 pair has drawn sustained christological discussion: Dunn argued that sending language of this type does not by itself entail the Son's pre-existence, while Fee and others read the parallel structure of the two clauses as presupposing it. That debate concerns the theological implication of the sentences rather than the lexical sense of the verb, which is not in doubt. Metzger's textual commentary sets out the manuscript evidence against the Shorter Ending of Mark.