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Etnachta (Hebrew: , with variant English spellings) is one of the most common cantillation marks in the Torah and Haftarah. It is the anchor for the Etnachta group, which in full consists of four different trope sounds, not all of which are always present. These are Mercha, Tipcha, Munach, and its namesake Etnachta.
The Etnachta group marks the end of the first segment of a verse.Chanting the Hebrew Bible By Joshua R. Jacobson, page 167 Therefore, it never occurs more than once in a single verse.
An example is in the first verse of the Book of Genesis according to the Masoretic Text, the statement that God created is marked with an Etnachta, showing the completion of God’s creation.Aspects of Jewish Metarational Thought By Martin Sicker, page 61
The Hebrew word אֶתְנַחְתָּא translates into English as pause. This name is given because of its central location within a verse.
In other words, the Tipcha can occur without a Mercha, but not vice versa. The Etnachta can occur without Munach, but not vice versa. And the Etnachta can occur without a Tipcha, but not vice versa.
The Munach is normally included when the word bearing the Munach is closely related to the word bearing the Etnachta.Chanting the Hebrew Bible By Joshua R. Jacobson, page 144
| Torah | 5483Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 6 |
| Genesis | 1466 |
| Exodus | 1145 |
| Leviticus | 813 |
| Numbers | 1151 |
| Deuteronomy | 908 |
| Nevi'im | 4796Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 5 |
| Ketuvim | 2933 |
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