Inverted nun

Hebrew punctuation
cantillation
cantillation
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Inverted Nun
נון הפוכה‎	׆‎	׆ וַיְהִי‎
compare with brackets
[׆ וַיְהִי ... יִשְׂרָאֵל ׆]‎
compare with Nun
נ ׆‎

׆‎
Inverted nun – text

Ordinary letter nun

Inverted nun - vertical flip

Inverted nun - horizontal flip

Inverted nun - Z-shape

Inverted nun (נו"ן מנוזרת‎ "isolated nun" or נו"ן הפוכה‎ "inverted nun" or "׆‎" in Hebrew^[1]) is a rare glyph used in classical Hebrew. Its function in the ancient texts is disputed. It takes the form of the letter nun in mirror image, and appears in the Masoretic text of the Tanakh in nine different places:^[2]

Numbers - twice, 10:35–36: the two verses are delineated by inverted nuns, sometimes isolated outside the passage text and sometimes embedded within words in verses 10:35 and 11:1.
Psalms - seven times in chapter 107 (vs 23-28, vs 40)

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".^[3] It may also occur with a dot above.^[4]

^ "Nun hafucha described at sofer.co.uk". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
^ "Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set: International Organization for Standardization" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-09-30. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
^ e.g. Menahem Kasher, Torah Sheleima, v. 29
^ Reversed Nun in the BHS

[sofer-1] "Nun hafucha described at sofer.co.uk". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2008-07-08.

[IOS-2] "Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set: International Organization for Standardization" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-09-30. Retrieved 2008-07-18.

[kasher-3] .g. Menahem Kasher, Torah Sheleima, v. 29

[sil-4] Reversed Nun in the BHS

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