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 upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. Gen 2:5-6
The primitive root
Strong’s H5927 עלה alah, a primitive root meaning, “to go up, to ascend.” The pictographs are ayin + lamed + hey.
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
lamed ל = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
hey ה = man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
In ancient times when captives were taken as a spoil of war, they were first closely watched (ayin) to prevent their free movement or escape. To take them into exile, they were bound together by a yoke (lamed, as the yoke is a specialized staff) which was lifted up (hey, in the context of the upraised arms) on their shoulders. The primitive root then, is to go up or ascend, as the yoke ascends onto the shoulder of the captive.
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