Sof Pasuk (Silluq)
Sof Pasuk (Silluq) is the trope that closes every verse in the Hebrew Bible. "Sof Pasuk" means "end of verse" and names the verse-final punctuation symbol ׃, while Silluq ("cessation") is the cantillation accent placed on the final word. Together they form the strongest disjunctive (pausal) mark, signaling a full stop at the end of the verse.
סוֹף פָּסוּק (Sof Pasuk) / סִלּוּק (Silluq)
Disjunctive (pausal) accentWhat it does in the verse
Sof Pasuk (Silluq) is the highest-ranking disjunctive in the cantillation hierarchy, sitting at the first level (the "Emperors") alongside Etnachta. While Etnachta divides a verse roughly in half, Sof Pasuk (Silluq) marks the absolute end of the verse, the strongest possible pause. It governs the verse's closing phrase: the conjunctive accent immediately before Silluq is normally a Mercha, and the nearest preceding disjunctive is normally a Tipcha (or, earlier in the verse, the Etnachta). In a very short verse with no Etnachta, Sof Pasuk (Silluq) may be the sole verse-level divider.
What the symbol looks like
There are two distinct marks on the final word of the verse. Silluq is a short vertical bar placed beneath the consonant of the stressed (tonic) syllable of the verse's last word; it is visually identical to the meteg and shares its Unicode codepoint (U+05BD, HEBREW POINT METEG), so context tells them apart. The Sof Pasuk symbol ׃ (resembling a colon, two stacked dots) then follows the final word to close the verse and has its own codepoint, U+05C3 (HEBREW PUNCTUATION SOF PASUQ). TropeTrainer displays both glyphs on the word so you can see exactly where Silluq lands and where the verse ends.
Good to know
Sof Pasuk (Silluq) is, in effect, the most common disjunctive of all: it appears once at the end of every single verse in the Tanakh, which amounts to roughly 23,000 verses (about 22,900 by common verse counts). Because Silluq looks exactly like the meteg, readers distinguish it by role and position, Silluq is the major accent on the last word's stressed syllable and is followed by the ׃ symbol, whereas a meteg marks secondary stress earlier within a word and precedes another accent. A subtle technical point: strictly speaking, Sof Pasuk (׃) is a punctuation symbol rather than a true cantillation accent; the disjunctive accent itself is Silluq. This pairing is one of the first things a reader learns, since every verse, no matter how long or short, ends with it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Sof Pasuk (Silluq) trope?
Sof Pasuk (Silluq) is the cantillation trope that ends every verse in the Hebrew Bible. "Sof Pasuk" ("end of verse") is the verse-final punctuation symbol ׃, and Silluq ("cessation") is the accent on the verse's last word. Together they are the strongest disjunctive (pausal) mark, signaling a full stop.
What does Sof Pasuk (Silluq) mean?
"Sof Pasuk" literally means "end of verse" in Hebrew, and it marks the close of every biblical verse. "Silluq" means "cessation" or "end," the name of the accent placed beneath the stressed syllable of the verse's final word. Both names point to the same idea: the verse stops here.
Is Sof Pasuk (Silluq) a pause?
Yes. Sof Pasuk (Silluq) is a disjunctive, the category of trope that creates pauses, and it is the strongest one of all. It sits at the top level of the disjunctive hierarchy (the "Emperors") alongside Etnachta, and it marks the full stop at the very end of the verse.
What is the difference between Sof Pasuk and Silluq?
They are two parts of the same verse-ending. Silluq is the cantillation accent, a short vertical bar under the stressed syllable of the last word, that carries the melody and the disjunctive pause. Sof Pasuk is the punctuation symbol ׃ that follows the final word to mark the verse boundary. Silluq shares Unicode codepoint U+05BD with the meteg, while the Sof Pasuk symbol has its own codepoint, U+05C3.
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