Oversight (exercise, take) <1,,1983, episkopeo>
lit., "to look upon" (epi, "upon," skopeo, "to look at, contemplate"), is found in 1Pe 5:2 (some ancient authorities omit it), "exercising the oversight," RV (AV, "taking ..."); "exercising" is the right rendering; the word does not imply the entrance upon such responsibility, but the fulfillment of it. It is not a matter of assuming a position, but of the discharge of the duties. The word is found elsewhere in Heb 12:15, "looking carefully," RV. See LOOK. Cp. episkope in 1Ti 3:1 (see BISHOP, No. 2).
