em, “mother,” strong’s H517

First occurrence

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. Gen 2:24

The primitive root

Strong’s H517 אם em, a primitive noun (with no verbal root) meaning “mother.” The pictographs are aleph + mem.

aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
mem מ, ם = the water, thus chaos, mighty, blood

According to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, ancient people used to put animal hides in a pot of boiling water, and skim off the thick substance that formed at the surface, to use as glue. Thus the strong (aleph) water (mem) is the glue that holds together, as the mother is the glue that holds the family together. By the way, the ancient method of making “strong water” is still the basis of glue production today.

THE ANCIENT HEBREW LEXICON | INDEX OF HEBREW ROOTS