Zakef Gadol (, with variant English spellings) is a cantillation mark that is commonly found in the Torah and Haftarah. It is represented by a vertical line on the left and two dots one on top of the other on the right.
The Zakef gadol is one of two versions of the Zakef trope. The other is the Zakef katan, part of the Katan group. A zakef segment, which includes either a zakef gadol or katan, will either be followed by another zakef segment or the Etnachta group, usually starting with a Mercha.Chanting the Hebrew Bible By Joshua R. Jacobson, page 148
The Zakef gadol generally functions as a separator between two segments of a verse.The Art of Cantillation, Volume 2: A Step-By-Step Guide to Chanting Haftarot ... By Marshall Portnoy, Josée Wolff, page 36 Words that bear the zakef gadol are generally short with no preceding conjunctive.Chanting the Hebrew Bible By Joshua R. Jacobson, page 117 It is used in situations where a Zakef katon would be expected, but where there is only a single word.Elements of Hebrew by an Inductive Method By William Rainey Harper, page 25
The Hebrew word translates into English as upright. translates as large.
Total occurrences BookNumber of appearancesTorah524Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 6 Genesis175 Exodus99 Leviticus56 Numbers125 Deuteronomy69Nevi'im395Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 5Ketuvim312
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