| Thu, 26 Dec 2024 15:13:48 -0600 Yom Chamishi, Chodesh Aser'i 23, 6024 — יום חמישי חדש עשרי כג ו׳כד |
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| Karaite Date |
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Yom Chamishi, Chodesh Aser'i 23, 6024 יום חמישי חדש עשרי כג ו׳כד |
| Talmudic Date |
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Yom Chamishi, Chodesh Kislev 25, 5785 יום חמישי חדש כסלו כה ה׳תשפה |
| LETTER | LETTER NAME | TRANSLITERATION | PRONUNCIATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| א | Aleph | Not rendered at the beginning or the end of a word; otherwise marked by ' | Orig. the glottal stop. Now silent in the middle of words if it has no vowel; otherwise it is pronounced according to the accompanying vowel sign. |
| בּ | Bet | b | b |
| ב | Vet | v | bh, v |
| גּ | Gimel | g | Pronounced like g in get |
| ג | Gimel | gh | Orig. pronounced — with a slight aspiration of the sound — like gh. |
| דּ | Dalet | d | d |
| ד | Dalet | dh | Orig. pronounced like th in this. |
| ה | He | h | h |
| ו | Vav | v | v |
| ז | Zayin | z | z |
| ח | Het | Chet | Pronounced like ch in Scot. loch |
| ט | Tet | t | An emphatic t |
| י | Yud | y | y |
| כּ ךּ at the end of a word. |
Kaph | k | k |
| כ ך at the end of a word. |
Khaph | kh | kh |
| ל | Lamed | l | l |
| מ ם at the end of a word. |
Mem | m | m |
| נ ן at the end of a word. |
Nun | n | n |
| ס | Samekh | s | s |
| ע | Ayin | ' | A strong guttural sound, like a deep aw. |
| פּ | Pe | p | p |
| פ ף at the end of a word. |
Phe | ph | f |
| צ ץ at the end of a word. |
tzade, tzadhe or sadhe | tz | tz Occasionally pronounced like an emphatic s |
| ק | Quf | q | an emphatic k |
| ר | Resh | r | r |
| שׁ | Shin | sh | sh |
| שׂ | Sin | s | s |
| תּ | Taw or Tav | t | t or hard 'th' |
| ת | Thaw or Thav | th | Orig. pronounced like th in thing, |
| VOWELLED LETTER | VOWEL NAME | PRONUNCIATION |
|---|---|---|
| אָ | KAMATZ — קָמָץ | AH long vowel; as the "a" in father |
| אֳ | HATAF KAMATZ — חֲטַף קָמָץ | AH reduced long vowel; like o in gone; a schwa sound, with just a hint of the aw as in saw. |
| אַ | PATACH — פַּתַח | AH, UH short vowel sound; like a in father or a as in was |
| אֲ | HATAF PATACH — חֲטַף פַּתַח | AH, UH reduced vowel; a schwa sound, with just a hint of the e as in met |
| אֶ | SEGOL — סֶגוֹל | EH short vowel; like the e as in met |
| אֱ | HATAF SEGOL — חֲטַף סֱגוֹל | EH reduced vowel; A schwa sound, with just a hint of the e as in met |
| בְ | SHEVA — שְׁוָא | EH vowel or STOP; at end of a syllable: silent; In middle of syllable: a schwa sound, like the a as in alone |
| אִ | HIRIQ — חִירִיק | EE short vowel; i as in machine |
| אִי | HIRIQ-MALAY — חִירִיק מָלֵא | EE short vowel |
| לֺ | CHOLAM CHASER — חֹלָם חָסֵר | OH long vowel; like the o in the word alone.
The dot is to the upper left of the letter (with the Lamed, to the left of the upper stem, with other letters like the Het, it appears at the above left [חֹ]). |
| וֺ | CHOLAM MALAY — חֹלָם מָלֵא | OH long vowel |
| וּ | SHURUK — שׁוּרוּק | OO long vowel; like oo in the word moon.
The Shuruk is always [וּ] the Vav (right) with the dagesh (left). |
| אֻ | KUBUTZ — קֻבּוּץ | OO short vowel; like oo in the word moon
The Kubutz is the three dots, beginning under the left side of the Hebrew letter, and proceeding diagonally down to the right. |
| אֵ | TSERE — צֵרֵי | AY long vowel; like the ey in the word they |
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"The Hebrew Bible is punctuated with an elaborate system of stylized inflections that delineate the most subtle nuances of meaning. For centuries this system was a purely oral tradition. Only the consontal text was written down: the inflection had to be memroized. By the seventh century, the rabbis who considered themselves guardians of the sacred text became concerned that the correct melodic inflections were in danger of being forgotten. They therefore devised a set of symbols that would punctuate the text and indicate the proper motif to which each and every word was to be chanted. The ta'amey ha-mikra do more than merely indicate which syllable of each word is to be accented. For that function alone, one symbol would have been enough. not thirty. The Te'amim function as an elaborate punctuation system. a means of parsing the syntax of classical Hebrew. ..." "On the page we could resolve the [accent] ambiguity if we had some form of detailed punctuation indicating which words are connected and which words are separated by a pause." "The Masoretic system provides just such a system. There are two basic types of punctuation marks:"
Source: Joshua R. Jacobson, 'Chanting the Hebrew Bible', (Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, Copyright 2002), p23. |
| Five (5) Levels for Accents (In Order Of Importance) |
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1) Level 1, known as the Emperor Level.
Only two accents are in this category:
a) Ethnacta, with some exceptions, expresses the logical end of the first half of a verse; and b) Siluk, which is found in the last word of each and every verse in the Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible! |
| 2) Level 2, known as the King Level. |
| 3) Level 3, known as the Duke Level. |
| 4) Level 4, known as the Count Level. |
| 5) Level 5, known as the Servant Level. |
| ACCENTED LETTER | ACCENT NAME | INFORMATION
(Work In Progress) |
|---|---|---|
| בגדֽ׃ | SILUK — סִילֽוּק | Siluk / Silluq (soph pasuq): Level 1, known as "Emperor" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
"Every verse in the Bible contains a siluk. The sign appears exclusively and consistently on the last word of each verse. [In the last word of the verse] It is found under the first letter of the stressed syllable." Silluq is the ta'am placed on the last word in a verse, under the stressed syllable. Following the word marked with silluq, there is a sop pasuq, written as 2 dots (:). Silluq has the value emperor/D1 and is the strongest pausal ta'am, generally associated with pausal forms. The only conjunctive ta'am which may precede silluq is merkha as seen in the end of Geneseis 1:1 (וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃). Being the final ta'am in each verse, silluq is said to govern the verse. Most commonly, the unit governed by Silluq: Marking the last tone-syllable of a verse (placed just ahead of the soph passuq) |
| בגדֽ | METEG — מֶתֶגֽ | Meteg is a conjunctive cantillation symbol.
It looks the same as a siluk, but the meteg indicates a secondary accent of a word. It is possible for a word to have both a siluk and a meteg. The ta'am closer to the end of the word is siluk; the other one is meteg. |
| בג֑ד | ETHNACHTA — אֶתְנַחְתָּ֑א | Ethnachta / Atnakh: Level 1, known as "Emperor" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
Found in the semantic middle of a verse, at the main pause within a verse. Verses with five or more words will always have an ethnachta accent. It represents the last word at the end of the FIRST HALF of a verse. The ethnatchta is placed under the first letter of the stressed syllable. The symbol resembles a vertical line resting on top of a convex semicircle. The end of the first independent clause of a verse is punctuated with ethnachta. The end of the second independent clause is punctuated with siluk. Ethnacthta: Marking the principal division of the verse — the logical mid–point Ethnachta/Atnah is the only other emperor/D1 accent — like silluq often found in conjunction with pausal forms. It is found in most verses and marks the primary division. It appears, like silluq, only once per verse. In general Ethnachta/Atnah takes only one conjunctive accent: munach. |
| בגד־ | MAQQEF — מַקֵּף | In Biblical Hebrew, two (or more) short words may be joined together with a symbol resembling a hyphen. The Hebrew name for this symbol is maqqef ( מַקֵּף). After two words are joined together, they are considered to be one compound word with only one ta'am. |
| בגד֒ | SEGOL_ACCENT — סֶגּוֹל֒ | Segol Accent / Segholta: Level 2, known as "King" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
Postpositive. It is used in the first half of a verse and occurs after the Zarqa. Also known as Segholta. Segolta (like an inverted segol above and following the word) and Shalsheleth (with shalsheleth gadol above the final syllable and the vertical stroke legarmeh following the word): Marking a subordinate division before the 'Ethnachta. Segol (Hebrew: סְגוֹל also known as Segolta, with variant English spellings), is a cantillation mark found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. The Segol occurs together with a preceding Zarka, sometimes with a Munach preceding one or both. The Segol group is considered to be a disjunctive. It occurs in place of the Katan group or a Zakef gadol. It is the strongest disjunctive group ahead of the Etnachta group. The Hebrew word סְגוֹל translates into English as bunch, referring to a bunch of grapes. This is reflected in its appearance as a three–dot symbol. |
| בג֓ד ׀ | SHALSHELET — שַׁלְשֶׁ֓לֶת | Shalshalet / salselet: Level 2, known as "King" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
It is used when the Segholta (Segol Accent) could appear but there is no Zarqa. It is found 7 times in the Bible. The Shalshelet (Hebrew: שַׁלְשֶׁ֓לֶת is a cantillation mark found in the Torah. It is one of the rarest used, occurring just four times in the entire Torah, in Genesis 19:16, 24:12, and 39:8, and in Leviticus 8:23. The four words accented with the shalshelet mark all occur at the beginning of the verse; each word containing the shalshelet mark will be followed by a vertical line before the following word (that vertical bar is the same in appearance as that known as Legarmeh or Paseq). The Hebrew word ש שַׁלְשֶׁ֓לֶת translates into English as chain. This shows the connection of the worlds by the links of a chain. The symbolism of the Shalshelet is that the subject of the story is wrestling with his inner demons and is undergoing some hesitation in his actions. |
| בג֔ד | ZAQEF_QATAN — זָקֵף קָט֔וֹן | Zaqef qatan / zaqef katan: Level 2, known as "King" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
The most common disjunctive accent, it subdivides a Silluq or Ethnachta portion
of a verse. It usually has one or two servi in front of it.
Zaqeph qaton is stronger than Zaqeph gadol and more frequently employed to indicate the subordinate divisions both before and after the 'Ethnachta. Zakef Katan (Hebrew: זָקֵף קָט֔וֹן literally 'upright small'; various romanizations), often referred to simply as katan, is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. The note is the anchor and final one of the Katon group, which also can include the Mapach, Pashta, Munach, or Yetiv. It is one of the most common cantillation marks. There is no limit to the number of times the Katan group can appear in a verse, and often, multiple Katan groups appear in succession. The most times in succession the group occurs is four. |
| בג֕ד | ZAQEF_GADOL — זָקֵף גּד֕וֹל | Zaqef gadol / zaqep gadol: Level 2, known as "King" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
A variant of the Zaqeph Qaton, but much less common.
Zakef Gadol (Hebrew: זָקֵף גּד֕וֹל, with variant English spellings) is a cantillation mark that is commonly found in the Torah and Haftarah. It is represented by a vertical line on the left and two dots one on top of the other on the right. The Zakef gadol is one of two versions of the Zakef trope. The other is the Zakef katan, part of the Katan group. A zakef segment, which includes either a zakef gadol or katan, will either be followed by another zakef segment or the Etnachta group, usually starting with a Mercha. |
| בג֖ד | TIFCHA — טִפְחָ֖א | Tifcha / tifkha: Level 2, known as "King" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
The main pause of a short verse or a minor disjunctive in a small unit before Silluq and Ethnactha. It will have no servi or one, often the Merka. Tiphchah: Marking the subordinate disjunctive just prior to silluq and 'Ethnachta. Tifcha (Hebrew: טִפְחָ֖א, also spelled Tifkha, Tipcha and other variant English spellings) is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books that are chanted. In Sephardic and Oriental traditions, it is called Tarcha, meaning "dragging" or "effort". The Tifcha is found in both the Etnachta group as the second member of that group, and in the Sof passuk group, though the melody varies slightly in each. While it is a weak sound, it is considered to be stronger than a Tevir — The first word of the Torah בראשית (Bereshit) is on a Tifcha. |
| בג֗ד | REVIA — רְבִ֗יע | Revia / rebia: Level 3, known as "Duke" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
Used to divide sections governed by Zaqeph, Segholta, or Tifta. It can have up to three servo. Rebia': Most often this accent marks the quarter points of a verse. Sometimes it identifies a key word or topic for a verse or section of a verse. At times it introduces a quotation in dialogue. The Rivia (רְבִ֗יע) is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other biblical texts. The Aram word רְבִיעַי has its Hebrew counter partרְבִיעִי, Rivi'i, with other variant English spellings. Its meaning is 'the fourth'. Rivia is considered to have medium strength. It is stronger than a Pashta or Tevir, but weaker than a Zakef or Tipcha. The Rivia can occur either by itself, or following one or two Munachs. When there are two Munachs prior to a Rivia, the first Munach has a long melody, and the second one is short. When there is one Munach, it is short. |
| בגד֘ | ZARKA — זַרְקָא֘ | Zarka / zarqa: Level 3, known as "Duke" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
Postpositive. It occurs in the first half of the verse in a unit governed by Segholta. Zarka or zarqa (Hebrew: זַרְקָא֘, with variant English spellings) is a cantillation mark found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. It is usually found together with the Segol, with a Munach preceding either or both. The symbol for a Zarka is a 90 degrees rotated, inverted S. The Hebrew word זַרְקָא֘ translates as "throwing" and the melody is ascending in Moroccan and Sefardic tradition (with two or one retracements respectively) and descending in the Ashkenazic. Zarka is part of the Segol group. In this group, Zarka is the connector and Segol is the separator. |
| בגד֙ | PASHTA — פַּשְׁטָא֙ | Pashta / pasta: Level 3, known as "Duke" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
Pashta (Hebrew: פַּשְׁטָא֙) is a common cantillation mark found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. It is part of the Katan group. Its mark symbol is identical to that of the Kadma. While Kadma and Pashta use the same symbol, Pashta is distinct from Kadma in the placement of the symbol. Kadma is always placed on the accented syllable, while Pashta is placed on the last letter as well as on the accented syllable, if it's not the last. The Hebrew word פַּשְׁטָא֙ translates into English as stretching out. |
| בגד֙֨ | SHENE_PASHTIN — שְׁנֵי֙֨ פַּשְׁטִין֙֨ | |
| בגד֚ | YETIV — יְ֚תִב | Yetiv / yetib: Level 3, known as "Duke" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
Yetiv (יְ֚תִב) is a cantillation mark found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. It is found in the Katon group in some occurrences in lieu of the more common Mahpach-Pashta clause, generally on one- or two-syllable words. Yetiv occurs in the Torah 356 times. The Hebrew word יְ֚תִב translates into English as sitting. |
| בג֛ד | TEVIR — תְּבִ֛יר | Tevir / tebir: Level 3, known as "Duke" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
Do not confuse with the conjunctive Merka which lacks the dot.
Tevir (Hebrew:תְּבִ֛יר, with variant English spellings including T'vir and Tebir) is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other Hebrew biblical books. It can be found independently or it can follow any number of other cantillation marks, very commonly a Mercha or Darga. The Hebrew word תְּבִ֛יר translates into English as broken. |
| בג֜ד | GERESH — גְּרִ֜ישׁ | Geresh / geres: Level 4, known as "Count" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
A minor disjunctive that is subordinate to Revia, Pashta, or Zarqa. Geresh (Hebrew: גְּרִ֜ישׁ, with variant English spellings) is a cantillation mark found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. It is most often found together with the Kadma, in which case the pair is known as Kadma-V'Azla, but it can also be found independently, in which case it is referred to as Azla Geresh or simply as Geresh. The Geresh occurs 1733 times in the Torah in the Kadma-V'Azla pair, and 1112 times separately. The Hebrew word גְּרִ֜ישׁ translates into English as driving out. |
| בג֝ד | GERESH_MUQDAM — גְּרִ֜ישׁ מוּקְדָם | Geresh Muqdam: Level 4, known as "Count" Level, A Disjunctive te'am. |
| בג֞ד | GERESHAYIM — גְּרִישִׁ֞יִם | Gereshayim / garsayim: Level 4, known as "Count" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
Gershayim (Hebrew: גְּרִישִׁ֞יִם, with variant English spellings) is a cantillation mark that is found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew word גְּרִישִׁ֞יִם translates into English as double geresh. |
| בגד׀ | LEGARMEH — לְגַרְמֵהּ ׀ | Legarmeh: Level 4, known as "Count" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
Legarmeh is a count accent that can be preceded by up to two conjunctive accents. The first is merkha and the second is munach, or azla. Legarmeh usually serves to divide the revia unit, but can also divide units governed by geresh, pashta, tevir, and pazer. |
| בג֟ד | QARNE_FARAH — קַרְנֵ פָרָ֟ה | Karne parah (Hebrew: קַרְנֵ פָרָ֟ה, also spelled Qarnei Farah and other variant English spellings) is a cantillation mark found only once in the entire Torah (Book of Numbers Numbers] 35:5), and once in the Book of Esther, immediately following the identically unique Yerach ben yomo. The symbol of the Karne para is that of the Telisha ketana and gedola together. The melody, likewise, is that of these two more common cantillation sounds put together. The Hebrew words קַרְנֵ פָרָ֟ה translate into English as cow's horns. |
| ב֠גד | TELISHA_GEDOLA — תַּלִישָׁא גְּ֠דוֹלָה | Telisha Gedola / telisa gedola: Level 4, known as "Count" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
Prepositive. Does not mark tone. Telisha (Hebrew: תַּלִישָׁא) is one of two cantillation marks found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. There are two versions of the Telisha: Telisha ketana (תַּלִישָׁא קְטַנָּה֩) and Telisha gedola (תַּלִישָׁא גְּ֠דוֹלָה), the latter of which has a longer melody and higher peak. The Telisha trope can occur independently or can follow a Pazer or one of several other trope sounds. The Telisha ketana must be followed by a Kadma. The Telisha gedola can be found in the Torah 266 times. The Telisha ketana occurs 451 times. |
| בגד֩ | TELISHA_KETANA — תַּלִישָׁא קְ֩טַנָּה | Telisha Ketana / telisa qetanna: Level 5, known as "Servant" Level, A Conjunctive te'am.
The Telisha Qetanna is postpositive and so it does not mark the tone syllable. It is followed by Telisha Gadol. Telisha (Hebrew: תַּלִישָׁא) is one of two cantillation marks found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. There are two versions of the Telisha: Telisha ketana (תַּלִישָׁא קְטַנָּה֩) and Telisha gedola (תַּלִישָׁא גְּ֠דוֹלָה), the latter of which has a longer melody and higher peak. The Telisha trope can occur independently or can follow a Pazer or one of several other trope sounds. The Telisha ketana must be followed by a Kadma. The Telisha gedola can be found in the Torah 266 times. The Telisha ketana occurs 451 times. |
| בג֡ד | PAZER — פָּזֶר | Pazer: Level 4, known as "Count" Level, A Disjunctive te'am.
Pazer (Hebrew: פָּזֶר ) is a cantillation mark found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. The pazer is generally followed by a Telisha ketana or gedola; on rare occasions when it is followed by another Pazer. The Pazer is used to prolong a word significantly during the reading. This places strong emphasis on the meaning of the particular word. The Hebrew word פָּזֶר translates into English as distribute or disseminate. This relates to the high number of notes in its melody. In a mystical interpretation, it shows the distribution of divinity. |
| בג֣ד | MUNAH — מֻנַּ֣ח | Munah / munach: Level 5, known as "Servant" Level, A Conjunctive te'am.
The Munach (Hebrew: מֻנַּ֣ח , also spelled Munah or Munakh), translating to English as "to rest," is a common cantillation sound. In Sephardi and Oriental traditions it is often called Shofar holekh. It is marked with a right angle below the corresponding word. The munach is normally a short note. But when it is the first of two munachs followed by a Rivia, it has a longer melody. In this case it may also be called legarmeh ( מֻנַּ֣ח לְגַרְמֵ֣הּ׀ ). Munah is a conjunctive accent mark. It looks like a backward "L" and is found under a word. It joins the marked word to the following word (marking a construct chain, verb with subject, or a noun and adjective that go together). |
| בגד֤ | MAHAPAKH — מַהְפַּ֤ךְ | Mahapakh / mehuppak: Level 5, known as "Servant" Level, A Conjunctive te'am.
Mahapakh (Hebrew מַהְפַּ֤ךְ, with variant English spellings) is a common cantillation mark found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. It is part of the Katan group, and it frequently begins the group. The symbol for the Mahapakh is ( ֤ ). Mahapakh is always followed by a Pashta. This is because Mahapakh is a conjunctive, showing a connection with the word that follows. When the Mahapakh is found, the ֤ is placed under the syllable that is most heavily stressed. The variant Yetiv trope uses the same ֤ symbol as the Mahapakh, but does not have a Pashta that follows. |
| בג֥ד | MERKHA — מֵרְכָ֥א | Merkha / mercha: Level 5, known as "Servant" Level, A Conjunctive te'am.
Mercha (Hebrew: מֵרְכָ֥א, also spelled Merkha and other variant English spellings) is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books that are chanted. Mercha is found in several trope groups, though the melody varies from one use to the next. It is the beginning of the Etnachta group, can be found either once or twice preceding the Sof passuk, or can occasionally precede the Pashta in the Katon group or a Tevir. Mercha appears in the Torah 9117 times — the second most of any trope sounds. Only Tipcha occurs more often. Merkha is the only conjunctive ta'am which may precede a silluq, as in וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (end of Genesis 1:1). |
| בג֦ד | MERKHA_KEFULA — מֵרְכָא כְּפוּלָ֦ה | Merkha kefula: Level 5, known as "Servant" Level, A Conjunctive te'am.
Mercha kefula (מֵרְכָא כְּפוּלָ֦ה, with variant English spellings) is a rare cantillation mark that occurs 5 times in the Torah (once in Genesis, once in Exodus, once in Leviticus, and twice in Numbers) and once in the Haftarah (for Behaalotecha and for the intermediate Shabbat for Chanukah, in the Book of Zechariah.) The Hebrew words מֵרְכָא כְּפוּלָ֦ה translate into English as double mercha. This name is given since the mark that is used appears like two merchas. |
| בג֧ד | DARGA — דַּרְגָּ֧א | Darga: Level 5, known as "Servant" Level, A Conjunctive te'am.
A less common conjunctive. Darga (Hebrew: דַּרְגָּ֧א) is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books. The symbol for the darga resembles a backwards Z. The darga is usually followed by a Tevir. It is most often found in places where a Tevir clause has two words that are closely related. The Hebrew word דַּרְגָּ֧א translates into English as step. With the Hebrew word tevir meaning "broken," the combination of darga tevir means "broken step." Darga can also be followed by a Munach Rivia, and can (rarely) be followed by a Mercha Kefula, an altogether rare trope. |
| בג֨ד | QADMA — קַדְמָ֨א | Also called Azla. It looks just like the Pashta but while the PAshta is postpositive, the qadma (Azla) is not.
Kadma (Hebrew קַדְמָ֨א, with variant English spellings) is a common cantillation mark found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. It can be found by itself preceding certain trope groups, or together with a Geresh, in which case, the pair is known as "Kadma-V'Azla." Kadma has the same symbol as the Pashta, though Kadma is distinct from Pashta in the placement of the symbol. In a Kadma, the symbol is always placed on the accented syllable, while Pashta is placed on the last letter and also on the accented syllable if the last syllable is not the accented one. |
| בגד֪ | YERAH_BEN_YOMO — יָרֵחַ בֶּן יוֹמ֪וֹ | Yerach ben yomo (Hebrew: יָרֵחַ בֶּן יוֹמ֪וֹ, with variant English spellings, also known as Galgal), is a cantillation mark that appears only one time in the entire Torah (Numbers 35:5), and once in the Book of Esther. In these occurrences, it is followed immediately by a Karne parah, another mark that is found only once in the entire Torah. The symbol for this trope is an upside-down Etnachta. The Hebrew words translate into English as day-old moon. Its alternate name גלגל translates into English as sphere. |
| בגד֫ | OLE — עוֹלֶה֫ | Ole (Hebrew: עוֹלֶה֫) a cantillation mark found in Psalms, Proverbs, and Job (the אמ''ת books). Ole is also sometimes used as a stress marker in texts without cantillation. |
| בגד֬ | ILUY — עִלּוּי֬ | The Illuy or Iluy (Hebrew: עִלּוּי֬) is a Trope (from Yiddish טראָפּ "trop") in the Judaic Liturgy. It is one of the cantillation marks used in the three poetic books: Job, the Book of Proverbs, and the Psalms. Accordingly, it is a special mark belonging to the Ta'amei Sifrei Emet (meaning, the accent signs of the books of truth). |
| בגד֭ | DEHI — דֶּחִי֭ | |
| בגד֮ | ZINOR — צִנּוֹר֮ | Postpositive. Called Zarqa outside of the Three. In the Three, it occurs in a unit governed by Ole weYored. It generally does not mark the end of a poetic line. |
| בגד֮ | TZINORIT — צִנּוֹרִת֮ | Tsinnorit (Hebrew צִנּוֹרִת֮) is a cantillation mark in the Hebrew Bible, found at the 3 poetic books, also known as the אמת books (Job or אִיוֹב in Hebrew, Proverbs or מִשָׁלֵי, and Psalms or תְהִלִים). It looks like a 90-degrees rotated, inverted S, placed on top of a Hebrew consonant. Tsinnorit is very similar in shape to Zarka (called tsinnor in the poetic books), but is used differently. It is always combined with a second mark to form a conjunctive symbol: * Tsinnorit combines with (merkha to form merkha metsunneret, a rare variant of merkha that serves mainly sof pasuq. * Tsinnorit combines with mahapakh to form mehuppakh metsunnar, also a rare mark, variant of mahapakh that serves mainly azla legarmeh but appears also in the other contexts where mahapakh and appear. This mark has been wrongly named by Unicode. Zarqa/tsinnor corresponds to Unicode "Hebrew accent zinor", code point U+05AE (where "zinor" is a misspelled form for tsinnor), while tsinnorit maps to "Hebrew accent zarqa", code point U+0598. |
| בגדֿ | RAFE — רָפֶהֿ | In Hebrew orthography the rafe or raphe (Hebrew: רָפֶהֿ, pronounced [ʁaˈfe], meaning "weak, limp") is a diacritic (ֿ), a subtle horizontal overbar placed above certain letters to indicate that they are to be pronounced as fricatives. It originated with the Tiberian Masoretes as part of the extended system of niqqud (vowel points), and has the opposite meaning of dagesh qal, showing that one of the letters בּגדכפת is to be pronounced as a fricative and not as a plosive, or (sometimes) that a consonant is single and not double; or, as the opposite to a mappiq, to show that the letters ה or א are silent (mater lectionis). The rafe generally fell out of use for Hebrew with the coming of printing, although according to Gesenius (1813) at that time it could still be found in a few places in printed Hebrew Bibles, where the absence of a dagesh or a mappiq was noticeable. (e.g. Exodus 20:13,14,15; Deuteronomy 5:13,17,18,19; 2 Samuel 11:1; Isaiah 22:10; Jeremiah 20:17; Psalm 119:99; Zechariah 5:11) In some siddurs (e.g. those printed by ArtScroll) a diacritical symbol, typographically the same as the rafe, but utterly unrelated, is used to mark instances of "moving sheva" (Shva Na). The rafe is similar in function to the buailte (dot above, denoting lenition) in the old-style Irish alphabet. |
| בגד׀ | PASEQ — פֶּסֵק ׀ | Paseq (= restraining, dividing) is neither an independent accent, nor a constituent part of
other accents, but is used as a mark for various purposes. Paseq is clearly recognizable in five old rules:
as a divider between identical letters at the end and beginning of two words; between identical or very similar
words; between words which are absolutely contradictory ( as God and evil-doer); between words which
are liable to be wrongly connected; and lastly, between heterogeneous terms, as 'Eleazar the High Priest, and Joshua'.
But the assumption of a far-reaching critical importance in Paseq is at least doubtful.
Paseq A sign for Pause and not for Melody The sign מ ׀ (a vertical line between words; originally a small line מ ׀) — פֶּסֵק (Aramaic: cutting off); a symbol for punctuation only and not for melody. It occurs only after conjunctive accents and indicates a pause. One should consider it an additional improvement in the system of accentuation, for it is a sign used to complete the punctuation system after the system of the melody was stabilized. With regard to its phonetic influence upon the pronunciation of the word it is also like a disjunctive in that it voids the fricative nature of בגדכפ''ת at the beginning of the following word; that is, it cancels the fricativeness which is caused by the conjunctive accent near it. A distinction should be made between a paseq which is wont to occur after any one of the conjunctives as opposed to the similar sign which goes with one of the disjunctives: šalšelet, munaḥ legarmeh, šalšelet gedola, ʾazlaʾ legarmeh, mahpaḵ legarmeḥ. With these disjunctives the sign is part of the accentuation. To distinguish between the two kinds, the masoretes arranged lists of the paseqs (פסיקָתָא) found in the Bible. The lists are not identical, but in general the number of paseqs reaches about 400. Already in Ben-Asher's Dikduke ha-Te'amim five rules for paseq were enumerated, and in effect it was possible to explain most of the paseqs in the Bible with the aid of a set of rules. Yet these rules did not always work, and one cannot explain why they were not applied in every instance. The five paseq rules of Ben-Asher may be sorted into two main categories of means for perfection: (1) In a unit of mostly two words, which according to the principle of dichotomy needs no further division, the paseq occurs nevertheless to indicate division for a definite, phonetic or punctuational-exegetic, reason: (a) a phonetic need – to separate between equal or similar consonants at the boundaries of adjacent connected words in order to avoid assimilation and, consequently, wrong joining of the words. Mostly the sonorants ל, מ, נ are involved, e.g. בָבֶ֨ל ׀ לְגַלִּ֧ים ׀ מְעוֹן־תַּנִּ֛ים (Jer. 51:37); (b) a punctuational need – to separate between a pair of identical or similar words, e.g., י֣וֹם ׀ י֑וֹם (Gen. 39:10), הִמּ֧וֹל ׀ יִמּ֛וֹל (Gen. 17:13); (c) an exegetic need – to separate between words, one of which is a name of God, which are joined according to the accentuation needs, but their conjunction is liable to allow for a different understanding, in which God's name would be profaned, e.g. אִם־תִּקְטֹ֖ל אֱל֥וֹהַּ ׀ רָשָׁ֑ע (Ps. 139:19) — "if Thou shall kill, O God, the wicked," (not "if you kill the wicked God"); (d) an exegetic need — to separate between words in order to avoid an understanding arising from the division of the accentuation and which seems either wrong, impossible or unacceptable, e.g. יִשְׁמַ֤ע ׀ אֵ֨ל (Ps. 55:20), עָשׂ֣וּ ׀ כָּלָ֑ה (Gen. 18:21). (2) in a unit of three words or more to separate words which should be separated according to the context, but for which proper disjunctives do not exist in the accentuation system to show this separation. This refers mainly to an additional division of the hemistichs of the smallest disjunctives — pazer, telišaʾ gedola and sometimes gereš — which cannot be further divided with accent signs: e.g. ר֣וּחַ ׀ בֵּֽין־הָאָ֣רֶץ וּבֵ֣ין הַשָּׁמַיִם וַתָּבֵא֩ אֹתִ֨י (Ezek. 8:3). Recently another early attempt to formulate rules for the occurrence of paseq was detected in Saadia Gaon's longer commentary to Exodus (Y. Ratzaby, Rav Saadya's Commentary on Exodus (Jerusalem 1998), pp. 224, 394–5), where he formulates five rules of his own, two of which do not coincide with Ben-Asher's rules (see Dotan, Paseq). However, all the above are not rules for the placement of the paseq, but categories according to which one can classify and understand most of the paseq occurrences. Yet there are many places in the Bible which come under these classifications and a paseq is not found there. A relatively small part of the paseqs are not explained even according to these classifications, and there is no doubt that hidden explanations and exegetical homilies played a part in the placing of the paseq, as with the accentuation signs. (source: ENCYCLOPEDIA.COM, 'Religion > Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps > Masorah,' accessed 7 Sep 2023, https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/masorah#_5.3.3.3.1.1_Paseq). |
| בגד׃ | SOF-PASUQ — סוֹף פָּסוּק׃ | The sof passuk (Hebrew: סוֹף פָּסוּק׃, end of verse, also spelled sof pasuq and other variant English spellings, and sometimes called סילוק silluq) is the cantillation mark that occurs on the last word of every verse, or passuk, in the Tanakh. Some short verses contain only members of the sof passuk group. The sof passuk can be preceded by the marks mercha, tipcha, and mercha in that order, including either all or some of these. However, these merchot and tipchot do not necessarily have the same melody as those in the etnachta group. Altogether, there are five possible arrangements how these can appear. |
| בגדׄ | UPPER_DOT — בֶּתׄ | |
| בגדׅ | LOWER_DOT — בֶּתׅ |
| Some notes from various sources (listed at bottom). |
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Introduction
"Ta'amei ha-miqra" or "te'amim", known in English as "accents", are signs written or printed in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh) above or below the words. They exist:
In general, each word in the Tanakh has one accent. This may be either a "disjunctive" (mafsiq), showing a division between that and the following word, or a "conjunctive" (meḥabber or mesharet), joining the two words (like a slur in music). The disjunctives are traditionally divided into four levels, with lower level disjunctives marking less important breaks. For musical reasons, both conjunctives and lower level disjunctives may vary, depending on which higher level disjunctive follows them. First level: sof pasuq ("end of verse"): marks the end of a verse & atnaḥ ("rest): marks the middle of a verse. Second level: zaqef qaton: the usual second level disjunctive, zaqef gadol: replaces zaqef qaton when it constitutes a phrase on its own, tarḥa ("dragging"): precedes sof pasuq or atnaḥ, segolta ("bunch of grapes"): stronger second level disjunctive, used in very long verses, shalshelet ("chain"): replaces segolta when it constitutes a phrase on its own Third level: rebia’ ("fourth"): the usual third level disjunctive, zarqa ("throwing"): precedes segolta, qadma ("first"): precedes zaqef qaton, tere qadmin: replaces qadma when the word is not stressed on the last syllable, yetib, short for shofar yetib ("sitting horn"): replaces qadma when it constitutes a phrase on its own, tebir ("break"): precedes tarḥa Fourth level: pazer gadol ("great scattering"), talsha ("detached"), gerish ("expulsion"): these cluster, usually in that order, near the beginning of a long half-verse, shene gerishin: replaces gerish when it is not preceded by azla AND the word is stressed on the last syllable, shofar holekh with paseq ("divide"): precedes rebia’, qarne farah ("horns of a cow"): can replace pazer gadol (once in the Torah) Conjunctives: ma’arikh ("lengthening"): precedes sof pasuq, tarḥa (occasionally tebir and other disjunctives), mehuppakh, short for shofar mehuppakh ("reversed horn"): precedes qadma, darga ("step"): precedes tebir, shofar holekh ("walking horn"): precedes most other disjunctives, azla ("going away"): precedes gerish and some conjunctives, tirtsah, also known as talsa: precedes some conjunctives, yareaḥ ben yomo ("one day old moon"): precedes qarne farah (once in the Torah) One other symbol is tere ta’ame, double ma’arikh. There is some argument about whether this is another conjunctive or an occasional replacement for tebir. The accents have the effect of grouping the words of a verse into a number of characteristic phrases, each with its own melody. Typical phrases are ma’arikh tarḥa ma’arikh sof pasuq; ma’arikh tarḥa shofar holekh atnaḥ; mehuppakh qadma shofar holekh zaqef qaton; shofar holekh-paseq shofar holekh rebia’; pazer gadol talsha azla gerish. The same phrases can occur in shorter form, by omitting one or more conjunctives. Psalms, Proverbs and Job The system of cantillation signs used throughout the Tanakh is replaced by a very different system for these three poetic books. These books are referred to as "sifre emet", also being an acronym for the first letters of the three books (Iyov, Mishle, Tehillim). The system for the poetic books uses many of the same symbols as the prose system, but often for entirely different purposes. A verse may be divided into one, two or three stichs (half lines). A one-stich verse is divided by dehi, which looks like tarḥa but is under the last letter of the word. In a two-stich verse, the first stich ends with atnaḥ. In a three-stich verse, the first stich ends with ‘oleh ve-yored, which looks like mehuppakh (above the word) followed by tarḥa, on either the same word or two consecutive words, and the second stich ends with atnaḥ. The last stich ends with sof pasuq as in the prose books. Major disjunctives within a stich are rebia’ qaton (immediately before ‘oleh ve-yored), rebia’ gadol (elsewhere) and tsinnor (which looks like zarqa). The last stich may be divided by rebia’ megurash, which looks like gerish combined with rebia’. Minor disjunctives are pazer gadol, shalshelet gedolah, qadma legarmeh and mehuppakh legarmeh: all of these except pazer gadol are followed by paseq (vertical line). Mehuppakh without paseq sometimes occurs at the beginning of a stich. All other accents are conjunctives. The music of the te’amim The accents guide the reader in applying a chant to Biblical readings. This chant is technically regarded as a ritualized form of speech intonation rather than as a musical exercise like the singing of metrical hymns: for this reason we always speak of "saying" or "reading" a passage rather than of "singing" it. The melodies applied are widely different in different Jewish ethnic communities. Within each community, there are different chants for different books of the Bible. The Syrian cantillation tradition is a member of the "Ottoman Sephardic" family: this family also includes the Turkish, Syrian, Egyptian and "Jerusalem Sephardic" traditions. The Karaite tradition, being based on the Egyptian, also forms part of this group, as does one form of the Iraqi tradition. (Another Iraqi melody is closer to the Moroccan and Spanish and Portuguese family.) Separate melodies exist for the following books:
History Three systems of Hebrew punctuation (including vowels and accents) have been used: the Babylonian, the Palestinian and the Tiberian, only the last of which is used today. Tiberian system By the tenth century C.E., the chant in use in Palestine had clearly become more complex, both because of the existence of pazer gadol, gerish and talsha motifs in longer verses and because the realization of a phrase ending with a given type of break varied according to the number of words and syllables in the phrase. The Tiberian Masoretes therefore devised a comprehensive notation with a symbol on each word, to replace the fragmentary systems previously in use. In particular it was necessary to invent a range of different conjunctive accents to show how to introduce and elaborate the main motif in longer phrases. (For example, tebir is preceded by ma’arikh, a short flourish, in shorter phrases but by darga, a more elaborate run of notes, in longer phrases.) The system they devised is the one in use today, and is found in Biblical manuscripts such as the Aleppo Codex. A Masoretic treatise called Diqduqe ha-te’amim (precise rules of the accents) by Aaron ben Moses ben Asher survives, though both the names and the classification of the accents differ somewhat from those of the present day. The Tiberian system spread quickly and was accepted in all communities by the 13th century. Each community re-interpreted its reading tradition so as to allocate one short musical motif to each symbol. (from Sephardic Pizmonim Project, accessed Sep 6 2023, https://www.pizmonim.org/taamim.php) |
| p.32 "We have seen how most verses in the Bible are divided into two segments. While each "half" may not constitute exactly 50 percent of the words of the verse, there is a balance of ideas between the first and second segments." |
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THE DISJUNCTIVE SILUK
"The Masoretes developed symbols to indicate the end of each half of a verse. A short vertical line designates the end of the second half of a verse. It signals the reader to slow down, then pause slightly before going on. The vertical line can be thought of as symbolizing a barrier. Perhaps it resembles a hand, extended as a stop sign, viewed from the side. In fact, that is the gesture used by teachers who practice the art of chironomy: prompting with hand signals that remind the reader of the te'amim." |
| "In the Masoretic system this accent is called siluk (סִילֽוּק). There can only be ONE SILUK IN EACH VERSE." [emphasis mine] |
| p33. "Every verse in the Bible contains a siluk. The sign appears exclusively and consistently on the last word of each verse. It us found under the first letter of the stressed syllable." |
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Sublinear Accents
"Te'amim that are placed under the word are called "sublinear" accents. The Ta'am is generally placed directly under the first letter of the stressed syllable (e.g., הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ). However, if a vowel is under that letter, the ta'am is positioned immediately to the left of the vowel sign (e.g., הַמָּֽיִם)." |
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METEG
"There is another symbol that looks just like siluk. The meteg (מֶֽתֶג) is also a short vertical line placed underneath certain words. The difference is that the meteg indicates a secondary accent. It is found on certain long words in which a syllable is designated to receive some stress: more than an unstressed syllable, but less than the primary stressed syllable. For example, the English word "encyclopedia" has a primary accent on the fourth syllable and secondary accent on the second syllable: en–cy–clo–PE–di–a. The Hebrew word אֲחִֽיסָמָךְ֙ has four syllables. The primary accent is on the last syllable; a secondary accent is on the second syllable: a–hi–sa–MAKH. Another function of the meteg is to indicate that a kamats vowel is long, and therefore proniunced "a" in Sephardic Hebrew. The short kamats vowel is pronounced "o." |
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Siluk and Meteg
How can the reader tell the difference between siluk and meteg?
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THE DISJUNCTIVE ETHNACHTA
Many verses in the Bible are divided into two independent clauses — parallel "halves." The second half is marked with the ta'am siluk. The first "half" is marked with the ta'am ethnachta (אֶתְנַחְתָּ֑א). Please note that most (~93%) of the verses in the Scriptures contain an ethnachta, with some exceptions; and no verse contains more than one ethnachta! The Aramaic word אֶתְנַחְתָּ֑א (Ethnachta) is related to the Hebrew word מְנוּחָה, which means a "resting point." The ethnachta was originally written in the shape of an upside down "v." The modern symbol, used in most printed Bibles, resembles a vertical line resting on top of a convex semicircle. The ethnachta is placed under the first letter of the stressed syllable. |
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Makkef
In Biblical Hebrew, two (or more) short words may be joined together with a symbol resembling a hyphen. The Hebrew name for this symbol is makkef (מַקֵּף). After two words are joined together, they are considered to be one compound word with only one ta'am. (from 'Chanting the Hebrew Bible', Copyright 2002 by Joshua R. Jacobson) |
| Chapter 5 Accents - Barrick & Busenitz |
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1. Introduction
Accents (the Hebrew term for accent is טַעַם (pronounced Ta'am), and meaning: sense, meaning, or discernment) were placed into the Hebrew text by the Masoretes in order to preserve the proper reading of the Scriptures, especially the mode of cantillation in their public reading. While the origin and intonation of the accents is obscure, the notations were probably introduced into the text simultaneously with the vowel pointings. The vowel pointings preserve the traditional pronunciation and the accents preserve the traditional modulation based upon logical divisions of the text. 2. Basic Characteristics
3A. Purpose of Accents:
3B. Kinds of Accents Disjunctive (separating) and Conjunctive (joining)The accents are of two kinds: disjunctive (separating) and conjunctive (joining). Medieval Hebraists referred to disjunctive accents as kings and conjunctive accents as servants.Disjunctive AccentsDisjunctive accents normally indicate the last word in a phrase or clause. As such, they indicate a pause in much the same manner as a comma, semi-colon, or period. For the beginning Hebrew student the following are the more significant of the disjunctive accents:
Conjunctive AccentsOf all of the conjunctive accents munach (מוּנַח) is the strongest and most frequent. A word bearing munach should not be separated from the word which follows it. It looks like a backwards miniature “L” (֣ ) and is placed beneath the word:ק֣וֹל קוֹרֵ֔א בַּמִּדְבָּ֕ר פַּנּ֥וּ דֶּ֣רֶךְ יְהוָ֑הEXAMPLE:
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