Apostle, Jewish (יִשְׁלַח / shalach)

Apostle, Jewish (יִשְׁלַח / shalach)

Apostle, Jewish (יִשְׁלַח / shalach)

Apostle, Jewish (יִשְׁלַח / shalach) –

In its Jewish context, shaliach can be a person “who, whether a man or woman, was the agent or emissary of the sender: the concept of shaliah shel’ adam kemoto [‘a person’s agent is as the person himself’] and thus fully representative of the sender. Inherent in this definition is the idea of being chosen as a representative of a higher power such as God or a king and of having the authority to transmit the message of the one who sent him. ¹Koelner, R. Y. (2022). Paul’s Letter to Titus: His Emissary to Crete, about Congregational Life (p. 22). Lederer Books: An Imprint of Messianic Jewish Publishers.

That’s fine, but the Bible also has examples where the “messenger” is an animal, such as:

Balaam’s Donkey 🔍