Overlay (To) - Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words
Usage Number: 1
Part Of Speech: Verb
Strong's Number: H6822
Original Word: sapâ
Usage Notes: "to overlay, spy, keep watch." This word is found in both biblical and modern Hebrew, and some scholars suggest that it exists in Ugaritic. Sapâ is found in the text of the Hebrew Bible about 37 times. It occurs for the first time in the Old Testament in the so-called 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" (Psa. 66:7), it is much more than a casual look. Perhaps in most uses, the connotation of "to spy" would be the most accurate.
Usage Number: 2
Part Of Speech: Participle
Usage Notes: The participial form of sapâ is often used as a noun, sopeh, meaning "watchman," or one whose task it is "to keep close watch" (2 Sam. 13:34).