THE FULL ARTICLE — from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), general editor James Orr — public domain, printed whole.

es-pi':

"Espy" in modern English means "to catch sight of," rather than "to explore secretly." the Revised Version (British and American) therefore retains it in Ge 42:27, "He espied his money" (Hebrew ra'ah, "see"), while in Jos 14:7 "espy out the land" (the King James Version) becomes "spy out the land." the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "watch" for "espy" in Jer 48:19, and "searched out" for "espied" in Eze 20:6, with a gain in accuracy of rendering

(compare the context).