she.lach denotes an armed missile or weapon in conflict scenes, while its plural construct form occurs for orchard shoots.

The attested use is predominantly military: the singular noun occurs with weapons held by guards, missiles made for defense, and scenes of death or attack. A distinct plural construct use in Song of Songs 4:13 refers to shoots in an orchard.

1. Armed missile or weapon · dominant

   The singular noun occurs in armed settings: in 2 Chronicles 23:10 and Nehemiah 4:17 the APB renders people holding a "weapon" while guarding or building, and in 2 Chronicles 32:5 it renders the making of "missiles in abundance" alongside shields. Job 36:12 explicitly speaks of passing away "by a missile," while Job 33:18 and Joel 2:8 place the form in clauses concerning death by the sword and falling upon weapons.

   2 Chronicles 23:102 Chronicles 32:5Job 33:18Job 36:12Joel 2:8Nehemiah 4:17
2. Orchard shoots · rare

   In Song of Songs 4:13, the plural construct form occurs in the clause describing an orchard of pomegranates and choice fruits; the APB renders the phrase "Your shoots are an orchard."

   Song of Songs 4:13

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the term with "weapon," "missiles," "missile," and "shoots" in the supplied verses; Job 33:18 instead has "sword." These renderings confirm the clauses' settings rather than establish a separate rendering in every verse.