The Bracketed Verses of the Ark — Numbers 10:35–36
וַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ הָאָרֹן
What to look for
Two backwards, freestanding nun marks set off the two verses beginning 'And when the ark set out, Moses said: Arise, YHVH…'
What it is
Inverted nuns (nun hafuchah) — scribal marks functioning almost like ancient brackets around a passage.
Why it matters
The Talmud says these marks make the two verses 'a book of its own' — meaning the Torah may contain not five books but seven. Two verses, promoted to a book, by two backwards letters.
How it has been understood
Why bracket them? One view: the passage is out of its chronological place, and the nuns mark the seam. Another: the ark-journey prayer is so central that it deserves its own cover. Either way, these marks are among the oldest editorial signals in any text on earth — and synagogues still sing these words when the Torah is carried out.