hayah, “to be,” strong’s H1961

The first occurrence.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Gen 1:2

The primitive root.

Strong’s H1961 היה hayah, a primitive root meaning, “to be.” The ancient pictographs are hey + yud + hey.

hey ה = the man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
yud י = the closed hand, thus work, throw, worship
hey ה = the man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath

The story: The Living One (hey) working (yud) produced another who has life as He has, another living one (hey).

Then YHVH God Elohiym [The Living One, hey] formed man of the dust of the ground, [the closed hand representing working, taking action, yud] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [a second living one was brought into existence, hey]. Gen 2:7

The hey pictograph is interesting with a wide range of applications. The man has his arms upraised. He can be looking at something and pointing it out, so looking, behold, revelation or wonderment. It is also associated with a sharp or long intake of breath. He can be exclaiming, so excitement or emotion, rapid breathing. He can be worshiping, so introspection, deep breathing. Here, since the accepted meaning of hayah is “to be,” I think the hey indicates breathing, in the sense that breath is a characteristic of life and thus existence.

THE ANCIENT HEBREW LEXICON | INDEX OF HEBREW ROOTS