Mother: אם eym [H:517]
The Hebrew word for mother is אם eym [H:517]. In the original pictographic script this word was written as . The first letter, the [aleph], is a picture of an ox head representing strength [38]. The second letter, the [mem], is a representation of water [39]. The two letters give us the meaning of “strong water.” Ancient peoples would boil animal skins in water and as the skin broke down a sticky thick liquid formed at the surface of the water. They would remove this thick liquid and use it as a binding agent— glue or strong water.” The mother is the one who “binds” the family together.
Benner, Jeff A. The Living Words – Volume 1: A Study of Hebrew Words and Concepts from the Old and New Testaments. Virtualbookworm.com Publishing, 2007.
I remember when being sent to a funeral wake, someone told me that the passing of a mother is extremely hard because the mother holds the family together. Well, here it is in the ancient Hebrew! How amazing the original Hebrew is!
Brandon Gatzke