pe.cham denotes coal in scenes of smithing and in a comparison about fuel for fire and strife.

The term denotes coal used in connection with a smith's work in Isaiah 44:12 and Isaiah 54:16, and it also appears in Proverbs 26:21 as fuel in a comparison concerning the kindling of strife.

1. Coal as fuel for work or fire · dominant

   All three occurrences show the same singular absolute noun in contexts involving fuel. In Isaiah 44:12 the APB renders the smith as laboring “over the coals,” and in Isaiah 54:16 it describes a smith who blows “the fire of coals”; Proverbs 26:21 places it in the comparison, “Coal is for coals and wood for fire,” before describing kindled strife.

   Isaiah 44:12Isaiah 54:16Proverbs 26:21

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the term with “coals” in Isaiah 44:12 and Isaiah 54:16 and with “Coal” and “coals” in Proverbs 26:21. These are clause-level renderings rather than definitions.