What Is the Pazer Trope?
Pazer is a disjunctive (pausal) cantillation mark in the Hebrew Bible that signals a division between its word and the word that follows. It is a lower-tier disjunctive accent, placed above the word and known for its long, elaborate melody of many notes.
פָּזֵר
Disjunctive (pausal) accentWhat it does in the verse
As a disjunctive (mafsiq) accent, Pazer marks a break in the verse, separating its word from the one that follows. It belongs to the fourth and lowest tier of disjunctives, grouped with Geresh, Gershayim, and Telisha gedola, so it creates a relatively minor pause compared with the stronger pausal accents (Silluq, Etnachta, Zaqef, Tifcha). In the flow of a verse, Pazer is generally followed by a Telisha ketana or Telisha gedola, and on rare occasions by another Pazer; it may be preceded by one or more Munach conjunctives. Unlike azla legarmeh or mehuppach legarmeh, Pazer is not followed by a pesiq (vertical line separator). Lower-tier disjunctives like Pazer appear mainly in longer verses.
What the symbol looks like
Pazer is a supralinear (above-the-line) mark placed over the word on its stressed, accented syllable. It is encoded as Unicode U+05A1 HEBREW ACCENT PAZER (◌֡), shown in TropeTrainer above the letter, for example פָּזֵ֡ר. The glyph resembles a small jagged or crown-like figure sitting over the consonant.
Good to know
The name Pazer is connected to ideas of "lavish," "strewn," "distribute," or "disseminate," reflecting its complex tune of many notes that prolongs the word it falls on. According to figures cited by Wikipedia, Pazer occurs 154 times in the Torah, 177 times in Nevi'im, and 284 times in Ketuvim, making it a relatively uncommon, lower-tier disjunctive. There is a well-known terminological pitfall around the name "Pazer gadol": in the Sephardi tradition the ordinary Pazer is itself called "Pazer Gadol" (great Pazer), while the official Unicode names list instead uses "pazer gadol" as an alias for a different and far rarer accent, Karne parah (U+059F), and "pazer qatan" as an alias for ordinary Pazer (U+05A1). Karne parah is a distinct sign whose symbol looks like the Telisha ketana and Telisha gedola combined; it appears only once in the Torah (Numbers 35:5) and once in Esther (7:9), always immediately following the unique Yerach ben yomo, with that Yerach ben yomo + Karne parah combination occurring 16 times in the whole Tanakh per the Leningrad Codex. Pazer should not be confused with this rare accent. With TropeTrainer you can hear Pazer chanted aloud and practice the readings in which it appears.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Pazer trope?
Pazer is a disjunctive (pausal) cantillation accent in the Hebrew Bible that marks a division between its word and the following word. It is a lower-tier disjunctive, placed above the word on the stressed syllable, and is sung with a long melody of many notes.
What does Pazer mean?
The name Pazer is associated with the senses 'lavish,' 'strewn,' 'distribute,' or 'disseminate.' These glosses reflect its elaborate tune of many notes, which prolongs and draws out the word it sits on.
Is Pazer a pause?
Yes. Pazer is a disjunctive (mafsiq) accent, so it indicates a break separating its word from the next. It is a fourth-level, lower-tier disjunctive, so its pause is comparatively minor next to the strong pausal accents like Silluq, Etnachta, and Zaqef.
What is the difference between Pazer and Pazer gadol?
This depends on the tradition. In Sephardi practice, the ordinary Pazer (Unicode U+05A1) is itself called 'Pazer gadol.' Separately, the Unicode names list uses 'pazer gadol' as an alias for Karne parah (U+059F), a much rarer, distinct accent that appears only once in the Torah and once in Esther. Always note which convention is meant.
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