First occurrence
So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life. Gen 3:24
The primitive root
Strong’s H7931 שכן shakan, a primitive root meaning, “to settle down, to dwell.” According to Gesenius, the 3-letter root is shin + kaph + nun, but the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon says the shin was transposed from an original sin or samech over time.
sin ס = the thorn, thus grab, hate, protect
kaph ך, כ = the open palm, thus bend, open, allow, tame
nun ן, נ = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
The story: A protected (sin) covering (kaph, in the sense of the father’s open palm covering the head of his son when conferring the blessing) under which one continues (nun); i.e., one’s permanent dwelling place rather than a temporary booth.
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