The first occurrence.

And God said: “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the seas, and over the winged creatures of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” Gen 1:26

The primitive root.

Strong’s H7287 רדה radah; a primitive root meaning, “to subdue.”

resh ר = head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
dalet ד = door, thus enter, move, hang
hey ה = man w/raised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath

The story: As a man (resh) walks back and forth (dalet) over the grapes to tread out the juice, so one who has dominion subdues his people to his influence (hey).

INDEX OF HEBREW ROOTS

The first occurrence.

And God said: “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the seas, and over the winged creatures of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” Gen 1:26

The primitive root.

Strong’s H1823 דמות demuwth; a concrete noun meaning, “likeness, similitude,” from Strong’s H1819 דמה damah, a primitive root meaning, “to resemble.”

dalet ד = door, thus enter, move, hang
mem מ ם = the water, thus chaos, mighty, blood
hey ה = man w/raised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath

The story: The flowing back and forth (dalet) of blood (mem), that is, the blood of the father, produces a son which reveals (hey) his own likeness.

INDEX OF HEBREW ROOTS

The first occurrence.

And God said: “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the seas, and over the winged creatures of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” Gen 1:26

The primitive root.

Strong’s H6754 צלם tselem; a concrete noun meaning “image,” from an unnamed, unused primitive root meaning, “to shade.”

tsadey צ ץ = trail, thus a man concealed, journey, chase, hunt
lamed ל = shepherd’s staff,  thus teach, yoke, to, bind
mem מ ם = water, thus chaos, mighty, blood

The story: Concealed (tsadey) authority (lamed) advancing with might (mem). The root was originally a military term used in connection to a concealed military party which progresses to its objective. Thus “to shadow, shade,” as an army takes advantage of the concealment keeping to the shadows affords. An image is to the original as a shadow cast has the same outline and semblance.

INDEX OF HEBREW ROOTS