Mercha
מֵרְכָ֥א ֥ וַיִּרְבּ֥וּ
cantillation
Sof passuk ׃   Paseq ׀
Etnakhta/atnakh ֑   Segol ֒
Shalshelet ֓   Zakef katan ֔
Zakef gadol ֕   Tifcha/tarkha ֖
Rivia ֗   Zarka ֘
Pashta ֙   Yetiv ֚
Tevir ֛   Geresh ֜
Geresh muqdam [de] ֝   Gershayim ֞
Karne parah ֟   Telisha gedola/talsha ֠
Pazer ֡   Atnah hafukh [de] ֢
Munakh/shofar holekh ֣   Mahpach ֤
Merkha/ma’arikh ֥   Mercha kefula ֦
Darga ֧   Qadma ֨
Telisha qetana/tarsa ֩   Yerah ben yomo ֪
Ole ֫   Illuy ֬
Dehi [de] ֭   Tsinnorit ֮

Mercha (Hebrew: מֵרְכָא, also spelled Merkha and other variant English spellings) is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books that are chanted.

Mercha is found in several trope groups, though the melody varies from one use to the next. It is the beginning of the Etnachta group, can be found either once or twice preceding the Sof passuk, or can occasionally precede the Pashta in the Katon group or a Tevir.

Mercha appears in the Torah 9117 times—the second most of any trope sounds. Only Tipcha occurs more often.[1]

The Hebrew word מֵרְכָא translates into English as mercha.

Total occurrences

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Book Number of appearances
Torah 9117[1]
   Genesis 2415[1]
   Exodus 1879[1]
   Leviticus 1371[1]
   Numbers 1859[1]
   Deuteronomy 1595[1]
Nevi'im 7672[2]
Ketuvim 5235[2]

Melody

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In Etnachta group

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In Sof Passuk group

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First appearance (before Tipcha)  
Second appearance (after Tipcha)  

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 6
  2. ^ a b Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 5