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Overlay, Spy

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

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A. Verb.

Tsâphâh (צָפָה, Strong's #6822), “to overlay, spy, keep watch.” This word is found in both biblical and modern Hebrew, and some scholars suggest that it exists in Ugaritic. Tsâphâh is found in the text of the Hebrew Bible about 37 times. It occurs for the first time in the Old Testament in the socalled Mizpah Benediction: “The Lord watch between me and thee …” (Gen. 31:49). The meaning in this context is “to watch” with a purpose, that of seeing that the covenant between Laban and Jacob was kept. Thus, the statement by Laban is more of a threat than a benediction. Similarly, when God’s “eyes behold the nations” (Ps. 66:7), it is much more than a casual look. Perhaps in most uses, the connotation of “to spy” would be the most accurate.

B. Participle.

The participial form of tsâphâh is often used as a noun, tsopeh, meaning “watchman,” or one whose task it is “to keep close watch” (2 Sam. 13:34).