halal, “to praise,” strong’s H1984

The first occurrence.

The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. Gen 12:15

The primitive root.

Strong’s H1984 הלל halal, a primitive root meaning, “to praise.” The 3-letter root is hey + lamed + lamed.

hey ה = man w/ raised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
lamed ל = shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
lamed ל = shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind

The story: Exclaiming at something wonderful (hey) toward (lamed, in the sense of guiding) another (the second lamed) or himself, as the negative spin on the verb is to be boastful.

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