Revia (Hebrew cantillation mark)

It is commonly explained as being the Aramaic equivalent of Hebrew רְבִיעִי Revi'i, meaning 'fourth' or 'quarter'.,^[1] and for that reason is sometimes called Revi'i. However, this is probably a folk etymology: the more likely meaning in Aramaic is "crouching" or "lying", referring to its position vertically above the word.^[2]

Revia is considered to have medium strength. It is stronger than a Pashta or Tevir, but weaker than a Zakef or Tifcha.^[3] The Revia replaces the Pashta when a stronger stop is needed, especially when there are too many^[4] pashta in a row. However, the last stop before the Zakef always remain a Pashta.

Revia's disjunctives are Munach Legarmeh and Geresh (replaced by Gershayim when it is not preceded by a Kadma and oxytonic).

Its conjunctives are Munach and Darga. The closest conjunctive is always a Munach, the second one, a Darga, the third one a Munach etc.^[5]

Based on its translation as fourth, in printed texts it is represented by a diamond-shaped mark. However in manuscripts it is just a dot.^[6]

Total occurrences

Book	Number of appearances
Torah	2430^[7]
Genesis	610^[7]
Exodus	504^[7]
Leviticus	312^[7]
Numbers	497^[7]
Deuteronomy	507^[7]
Nevi'im	2239^[8]
Ketuvim	1672^[8]

Melody

The Rivia is read in a slow, downward tone, with a pause in the middle breaking upward.

References

^ Buhl, Dr. Frants (2021). Wilhelm Gesenius' Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch [Hebrew and Aram concise dictionary by Wilhelm Gesenius] (in German) (17 ed.). Berlin / Heidelberg: Springer. p. 742. ISBN 978-3-642-94264-8.
^ Lier, Gudrun, "The Revia in the Context of Decoding Masoretic Accents", Journal of Semitics, 2011, Vol 21/1, pp. 28-51.
^ Chanting the Hebrew Bible By Joshua R. Jacobson, page 102
^ More than two
^ However, the longest series we can found is אֲשֶׁ֣ר יְֽשָׁרְת֧וּ עָלָ֣יו בָּהֶ֗ם Numbers 4:14
^ The Art of Cantillation, Volume 2: A Step-By-Step Guide to Chanting Haftarot ... By Marshall Portnoy, Josée Wolff, page 43
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 6
^ ^a ^b Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 5

This article related to the Hebrew Bible is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[1] Buhl, Dr. Frants (2021). Wilhelm Gesenius' Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch [Hebrew and Aram concise dictionary by Wilhelm Gesenius] (in German) (17 ed.). Berlin / Heidelberg: Springer. p. 742. ISBN 978-3-642-94264-8.

[2] Lier, Gudrun, "The Revia in the Context of Decoding Masoretic Accents", Journal of Semitics, 2011, Vol 21/1, pp. 28-51.

[3] Chanting the Hebrew Bible By Joshua R. Jacobson, page 102

[4] More than two

[5] However, the longest series we can found is אֲשֶׁ֣ר יְֽשָׁרְת֧וּ עָלָ֣יו בָּהֶ֗ם Numbers 4:14

[6] The Art of Cantillation, Volume 2: A Step-By-Step Guide to Chanting Haftarot ... By Marshall Portnoy, Josée Wolff, page 43

[Price6-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 6

[Price5-8] Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 5

[1]