The first occurrence.
By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations. Gen 10:5
The primitive root.
Strong’s H1471 gowy, a concrete noun meaning, “nation;” from the same root as Strong’s H1465, gevah, a concrete noun meaning, “the back, body;” from Strong’s H1460, gev, a concrete noun meaning, “the middle, (thus) belly, midst;” from Strong’s H1342 גאה ga’ah, a primitive root meaning, “to be lifted up, to be exalted.” The 3-letter root is gimel + aleph + hey.
gimel ג = the foot, thus foot, walk, gather
aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
hey ה = man w/ raised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The story: To lift (gimel, i.e. something is lifted so that it can be carried by walking to another place) strongly (aleph) on high (hey, as the man’s upraised arms are held aloft).
Something concrete lifted up on high is a mass, or an amassed, thing. The body is the physical mass of the person; many bodies amassed together form a nation.
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