Commentaire sur La Genèse 35:5

חתת means terror.

They began their journey. As long as they were behind the walls of Shechem they were safe, but now they were in need of the “terror of Elokim”.

ויסעו, ויהי חתת אלוקים על הערים, They departed; the fear of the Lord was on the cities in their region. Perhaps the Torah informs us here of the surprising fact that although the departure of Jacob's family from Shechem must have been perceived by the local inhabitants as a flight, they were so overcome with the fear of the Lord that they did not pursue them. Alternatively: although by the time the local inhabitants became aware of it, Jacob's family had long gone and thereby escaped their determination to attack them, they were so afraid of the Lord that they decided not to give chase.