Mercha (Hebrew: , 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 Etnachta (Hebrew: , with variant English spellings) is one of the most common cantillation marks in the Torah and Haftarah. It is the anchor for the Etnachta group, which in full consists of four different trope sounds, not all of which are always ...

group, can be found either once or twice preceding the Sof passuk, or can occasionally precede the Pashta in the

Katon group Zakef Katan ( he, זָקֵף קָטָ֔ן 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 ...

or a Tevir. Mercha appears in the Torah 9117 times—the second most of any trope sounds. Only Tipcha occurs more often. The Hebrew word מֵרְכָ֥א translates into English as ''comma''.

Total occurrences

Melody

In Etnachta group

In Sof Passuk group

References