Espy (Hastings' Dictionary)

The verb to ' espy ' occurs only six times in AV, Gn 42'", Jos 14', Jer 48", Ezk 20», To 11», 1 Mac 5**, while the mod. form to ' spy ' is found eighteen times, and RV turns ' espy ' of Jos 14' into 'spy.' The word is apparently of Teutonic origin (Old High Ger. spehon), though it is con- nected with Lat. specere, to look, Gr. aKiTrro^iai, and entered Eng. through the Old Fr. espier. 1.

The most common and the oldest meaning is to inspect (secretly) a place, as Nu 21^'^ ' Moses sent to spy out Jaazer,' when the Heb. is Sj-i, except Nu 13"- " (Tn), and the Eng. is always '.spy (Jos 14' AV 'espy') out,' except Jos 2' 'to spy secretly' (O'ln w^no, RV 'as spies secretly'), and Ezk 20° ' a land that I had espied for them ' {^r^h •rnrr-i-sK). Once the ref. is not to land but to liberty, Gal 2* ' false brethren . . who came in privily to spy out our liberty' (Tindale's tm. ; Wye.

'to asjiie oure fredom,' Gr. (tarocricoTr^o-oi). 2. but we also find the sense of keep ivatch, as Jer 48" ' O, inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy ' ("55;). 3. More fren. is the idea of suddenly perceiving anything, as Gn 42-'' ' And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass pro- vender in the inn, he e.spied his money ' ; so Ex 2", 2 K 9" 13^1 23'" (all hnt 'see'). 4. Fm.

ally, simply to discover ot perceive, as 2 K 23" 'All the abomina- tions that were spied in the land of Judah . . did Josiah put away ' ("!!<■]). Cf. Barlowe, Dialogs (Lunn's ed. p. 73), ' Woulde God they were as prest to remoue ye balk out of their owne eyes, as they be prompte to aspye a lytle mote in other mens.' The subst. is always plu. 'spies,' except Sir ll" 'spy.' The Heb. is generally D-^;-!n (Gn 42»- "■ '<• 16. 34. 81.

S4_ Jos (ja 1 s 26^, 2 S l,')'") ; also wy^V (Jg 1«, RV 'watchers'), Dirii (Nu 21', RV ' Atharim ' as place-name, wh. see). The Gr. words are KardirKOTros (Sir ll", 1 Mac 12«, He U»»), the usual LXX tr. of mirnggllim ; and iyKddei-ot (Lk 20, lit. ' sent down into, and so, as I'lummer, ' suborned to lie in wait.' The word is not found elsewhere in NT). J. Hastings.