Bible Dictionary
DESCRY
To descry, in older English, means to explore or examine. In Judges 1:23 it describes the house of Joseph sending men to spy out Bethel.
Definition
To descry, in older English, means to explore, examine, or investigate. It does not mean merely to see something from a distance.
Biblical Usage
Judges 1:23 says that the house of Joseph sent men to descry Bethel. The Revised Version correctly expresses the sense as sending them to spy out the city.
Historical Background
The English word came through French from Latin. The underlying verb means to explore or examine, which explains the revised translation “sent to spy out.”
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>de-skri': This word like "describe" came into the English through the French descrire (Latin, describere); it occurs only in the King James Version of Jud 1:23: "And the house of Joseph sent to Bethel." tur the verb thus translated, signifies "to explore" or "examine," and the Revised Version (British and American) correctly renders "sent to spy out."</p>