na.ham describes a loud animal-like roar and the groaning of people in distress.

The attested uses chiefly depict a loud roar in lion, bear, and sea imagery; the same verb also describes people groaning amid ruin or at the end of bodily strength.

1. Roaring or growling in threatening imagery · dominant

   The Qal imperfect forms in Isaiah 5:29 and Isaiah 5:30 occur in clauses comparing the sound to lions and to the sea; the APB renders these clauses with “roar,” “growl,” and “roaring.” The Qal active participle in Proverbs 28:15 stands in the comparison of a wicked ruler to a “roaring lion” and a rushing bear.

   Isaiah 5:29Isaiah 5:30Proverbs 28:15
2. Human groaning in suffering or decline · common

   The Qal sequential perfect forms address people who groan: in Proverbs 5:11 the APB renders the end-of-life clause “you will groan” when flesh and body are finished, while in Ezekiel 24:23 it renders people who rot away in iniquities and “groan, each man toward his brother.”

   Proverbs 5:11Ezekiel 24:23

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the verb with “roar,” “growl,” and “roaring” in the animal and sea comparisons, and with “groan” for human suffering. These renderings confirm the clauses’ overall presentation rather than fixing a separate English equivalent in every case.