amar, “to say,” strong’s H559

First occurrence

And God said, “Let there be light;” and there was light. Gen 1:3

The primitive root

Strong’s H559 אמר amar, a primitive root meaning, “to say.” The ancient pictographs are aleph + mem + resh.

aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
mem מ, ם = the water, thus chaos, mighty, blood
resh ר = the head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man

The story being told seems to be power (aleph) over chaos (mem) in the beginning (resh). The root appears to be referring to its first use in Scripture:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was unformed and void,  and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light;” and there was light. Gen 1:1-3

God exerted power over chaos in the beginning, when He said – amar, its first use in Scripture – “Let there be light.”

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