Mercha kefula

Mercha kefula (מֵרְכָא כּפוּלָ֦ה, 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.)

Mercha kefula
מֵרְכָא כּפוּלָ֦ה ֦ ל֦וֹ
cantillation
Sof passuk׃  paseq׀
etnachta֑  segol֒
shalshelet֓  zaqef qatan֔
zaqef gadol֕  tifcha֖
rivia֗  zarqa֘
pashta֙  yetiv֚
tevir֛  geresh֜
geresh muqdam֝  gershayim֞
qarney para֟  telisha gedola֠
pazer֡  atnah hafukh֢
munach֣  mahapakh֤
merkha֥  merkha kefula֦
darga֧  qadma֨
telisha qetana֩  yerah ben yomo֪
ole֫  illuy֬
dehi֭  zinor֮

The Hebrew words מֵרְכָא כּפוּלָ֦ה translate into English as double mercha. This name is given since the mark that is used appears like two merchas.

Purpose

Dr. David Weisberg suggested[1] that the merkha kefula mark is found on words that refer to an aggadic tale. For instance, he claimed[1] that the merkha kefula of Zechariah 3:2 is meant to remind the reader of the aggadic legend that the high priest Joshua was literally thrown into a furnace (as recorded in the Talmud, b. Sanhedrin 93a).

Occurrences

The Merkha kefula mark appears in the following locations in the Torah:

It also occurs in the Haftarah at Zechariah 3:2, read on the (first, if there are two) Shabbat for Chanukah and for Parashat Behaalotecha.

Total occurrences
Book Number of appearances
Torah 5[2]
   Genesis 1[2]
   Exodus 1[2]
   Leviticus 1[2]
   Numbers 2[2]
   Deuteronomy 0[2]
Nevi'im 3[3]
Ketuvim 4[3]

The Merkha kefulah note occurs a total of 14 times according to the Leningrad Codex. They are:[4]

Melody

References
  1. Weisberg, David. “The Rare Accents of the Twenty-One Books.” The Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 56, no.5, ser. 3, 1966, pp. 59-60
  2. Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 6
  3. Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 5
  4. Weisberg, David. “The Rare Accents of the Twenty-One Books.” The Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 56, no. 4, ser. 2, 1966, pp. 320-321
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