The first occurrence.
And Mizpah; for he said, YHVH watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another. Gen 31:49
The primitive root.
Strong’s H6822 צפה sapah, a primitive root meaning, “to look up or out,” that is, peering into the distance as a watchman. The 3-letter root is tsadey + pey + hey.
tsadey צ, ץ = the trail, thus a man concealed, journey, chase, hunt
pey פ, ף = the mouth, thus open, blow, scatter, edge
hey ה = man w/ raised arms, thus exclaim, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The story: To watch (tsadey, as a hunter watches the trail for game) for what the mouth (pey) will reveal (hey); that is, to wait expectantly for an answer. The verbal form is often, “to watch;” the concrete noun, a watchtower, and the abstract concept, expectation.
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