Inverted nun
Encyclopedia
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| compare with bracket Bracket Brackets are tall punctuation marks used in matched pairs within text, to set apart or interject other text. In the United States, "bracket" usually refers specifically to the "square" or "box" type.-List of types:... s |
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| compare with Nun Nun (letter) Nun is the fourteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet . It is the third letter in Thaana , pronounced as "noonu"... |
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Inverted nun ( "isolated nun" or "inverted nun" in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
) is a rare glyph
Glyph
A glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written. A glyph is made up of one or more graphemes....
used in Classical Hebrew. Its function in the ancient texts is disputed. It takes the form of the letter nun
Nun (letter)
Nun is the fourteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet . It is the third letter in Thaana , pronounced as "noonu"...
in mirror image
Mirror image
A mirror image is a reflected duplication of an object that appears identical but reversed. As an optical effect it results from reflection off of substances such as a mirror or water. It is also a concept in geometry and can be used as a conceptualization process for 3-D structures...
, and appears in the Masoretic text of the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
in nine different places:
- Twice in the Book of NumbersBook of NumbersThe Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
, 10:35–36: the two verses are delineated by inverted nuns. - Seven times in chapter 107 of the Book of Psalms.
The images at right show three common variants of the inverted nun – vertically flipped, horizontally flipped, and Z-shaped. Other renderings exist, corresponding to alternative interpretations of the term "inverted." It may also occur with a dot above.
Occurrence and appearance
Inverted nuns are found in nine passages of the Masoretic TextMasoretic Text
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible and is regarded as Judaism's official version of the Tanakh. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and...
of the Bible. The exact shape varies between different manuscripts and printed editions. In many manuscripts, a reversed nun is found—referred to as a "nun hafucha" by the Masoretes
Masoretes
The Masoretes were groups of mostly Karaite scribes and scholars working between the 7th and 11th centuries, based primarily in present-day Israel in the cities of Tiberias and Jerusalem, as well as in Iraq...
. In some earlier printed editions, they are shown as the standard nun upside down or rotated, because the printer did not want to bother to design a character to be used only nine times. The recent scholarly editions of the Masoretic text show the reversed nun as described by the Masoretes. In some manuscripts, however, other symbols are occasionally found instead. These are sometimes referred to in rabbinical literature as "simaniyot" (markers).
In the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
, the inverted nuns frame the text
Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
's commentary states that the name of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
's father Haran
Haran
Haran or Aran is a figure in Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. Haran was born in Ur Kaśdim , the son of Terah and thus a descendant of Shem. Haran's brothers were Abram/Abraham and Nahor...
at the end of the Torah portion Noach
Noach (parsha)
Noach or Noah is the second weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis . Jews read it on the second Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in October or November....
also occurs with an inverted nun, but this is not found in existing texts.
Rabbinic basis
The Talmud records that the markings surrounding Numbers 10:35–36 were thought to denote that this 85 letter text was not in its proper place. One opinion goes so far as to say that it would appear in another location which discusses the order of tribal column, with the position of the Ark already stated there.The 85 letter text found between the nuns is also said to be denoted because it is the model for the least number of letters which constitute a 'text' which one would be required to save from fire due to its holiness.
The tractate Shabbat
Shabbat (Talmud)
Shabbat is first tractate in the Order of Moed, of the Mishnah and Talmud. The tractate consists of 24 chapters.The tractate primarily deals with laws relating to Shabbat , and the activities prohibited on Shabbat and distinguishes between Biblical prohibitions and Rabbinic prohibitions...
in the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
says regarding the inverted nuns:
Sifrei explains these "signs":
The Talmud continues, stating that as this section is a separate book, the portions of Numbers before and after it also count as books and thus the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
contains seven books in total:
Bar Kappara
Bar Kappara
Shimon Bar Kappara was a Jewish rabbi of the late 2nd and early 3rd century CE, during the period between the tannaim and amoraim. He was active in Caesarea in the Land of Israel, from around 180 to 220 CE. His name, meaning “Son of Kapparah”, was taken from his father, Eleazar ha-Kappar...
is known to have considered our Torah as composed of 7 volumes in the Gemara "The seven pillars with which Wisdom built her house (Prov. 9:1) are the seven Books of Moses". Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy as we know them but Numbers was really 3 separate volumes Num 1:1 to Num 10:35 followed by Number 10:35–36 and the third text from there to the end of Numbers.
It also suggests that the inverted nuns may suggest the Hebrew word ner, meaning 'a light'.
Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel states that in the future this section will be moved to "its [proper] place", and Rav Ashi explains (Shabbat 166a) that this is 'in the [chapter on the] banners', referring to Numbers 17:2:
The Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, in tractate Yadayim, states:
According to Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
:
Maharshal ruled that the Talmud only mandates the usual break for a parashah section, and Torah scrolls with extra letters are passul (unfit for ritual use). Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, however, defends the custom, stating that punctuation such as inverted nuns don't count as extra letters and thus don't invalidate the scroll.
Elsewhere
Inverted nun appears to have been used as a scribal or editorial annotation or text-critical mark.The primary set of inverted nuns is found surrounding the text of Numbers 10:35–36. The Mishna notes that this text is 85 letters long and dotted. This demarcation of this text leads to the later use of the inverted nun markings. Saul Lieberman
Saul Lieberman
Saul Lieberman , also known as Rabbi Shaul Lieberman or The Gra"sh , was a rabbi and a scholar of Talmud...
demonstrated that similar markings can be found in ancient Greek texts where they are also used to denote 'short texts'. Greek sources, especially Alexandrian ones, refer to the sign as reversed sigma.
Unicode
The inverted nun is not part of any word, and never pronounced, thus it is classed as punctuationPunctuation
Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate the structure and organization of written language, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading aloud.In written English, punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning of sentences...
and not a letter.
| Glyph | Unicode Unicode Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems... |
Name |
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| U+05C6 | HEBREW PUNCTUATION NUN HAFUKHA |