First Occurrence
No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for YHVH God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground. Gen 2:5
The Primitive Root
Strong’s H5647 עבד abad, a primitive root meaning, “to labor, to do work, to serve as a bondsman.” The pictographs are ayin + bet + dalet.
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
bet ב = the house, thus house, household, family, in, within
dalet ד = the door, thus enter, move, hang
The story the pictographs are telling is of watching and knowing (ayin) what is needed by the family and household (bet), thus going in and out of the door (dalet) to provide for it. According to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, our English word “obey” comes from abad, to serve as a bondsman.
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