chal.cha.lah denotes distress or trembling in scenes of invasion, calamity, and overwhelming fear.

The attested use describes distress and trembling in the face of disaster: it is present as Egypt falls and Cush is threatened, fills the speaker in Isaiah’s vision, and is absent from the lions’ dwelling in Nahum.

1. Distress or trembling amid calamity · dominant

   In Ezekiel 30:4 and Ezekiel 30:9, the feminine singular noun occurs as Egypt faces the sword and Cush is made to tremble; the APB renders the surrounding clauses with "anguish." In Isaiah 21:3, it fills the speaker’s loins as pangs seize him, while Nahum 2:11 places it in the statement that none makes the lions tremble.

   Ezekiel 30:4Ezekiel 30:9Isaiah 21:3Nahum 2:11

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB uses "anguish" in Ezekiel 30:4, Ezekiel 30:9, and Isaiah 21:3, while Nahum 2:11 has "makes them tremble." This variation confirms the verses’ scenes of distress or fear without fixing a separate English equivalent in each clause.