el, “unto, into,” strong’s H413

The first occurrence.

And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. Gen 1:9

The primitive root.

Strong’s H413 אל el, a primitive particle meaning, “motion, toward.” The pictographs are aleph + lamed.

aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
lamed ל  = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind

The story: The strength of the ox (aleph) under the yoke (lamed) is applied in motion toward a goal: plowing a furrow, or turning a grindstone or mill.

THE ANCIENT HEBREW LEXICON | INDEX OF HEBREW ROOTS