asah, “to do,” strong’s H6213

First Occurrence

And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. Gen 1:7

The Primitive Root

Strong’s H6213 עשה asah, a primitive root meaning, “to do.” The modern three-letter root is ayin + shin + hey. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon tells us that the shin was transposed from an original sin over time because of their similar sounds. So the original ancient pictographs were ayin + sin + hey.

ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
sin ס = the thorn, thus grab, hate, protect
hey ה = man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath

The story being told is of man’s first work in watching (ayin) for thorns and thistles (sin) which would seek to take over his crops:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground …” Gen 3:17-19

The addition of the hey adds the element that a man is to do with all his might, whatever his hand finds (hey, i.e., pointing out what has been discovered) to do:

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. Ecc 9:10

THE ANCIENT HEBREW LEXICON | INDEX OF HEBREW ROOTS