Gemara Clarity

Sanhedrin 58b

סנהדרין נ״ח ע״ב

Learn Sanhedrin 58b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Sanhedrin 58b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Forbidden relations for בני נח and עבדים, the seriousness of hitting another person, and the ban on a נכרי keeping a day of rest.

Overview

This amud opens by finishing the argument over which relatives a בן נח may marry. רבי אליעזר reads 'his father and his mother' in a matching way, as the two aunts. רבי עקיבא reads 'his father' as the father's wife. The גמרא tests the question with three proofs, from עמרם and יוכבד, from אברהם and שרה, and from קין marrying his sister, and pushes each one away. Next come rulings on a daughter for a גוי (two versions of רב הונא) and on an עבד, who has left the גוי category but has not entered the ישראל category. The גמרא then discusses a בן נח and a שפחה set aside for his slave, and רבא's reading of 'and he shall cleave' about relations שלא כדרכה. A series of teachings follows on how serious it is to hit or even raise a hand against a Jew, ending with sayings about land and about working it. Finally ריש לקיש rules that a נכרי who keeps a day of rest is חייב מיתה. The גמרא explains why this is not counted among the seven מצוות.

Opening lines

אָבִיו דּוּמְיָא דְּאִמּוֹ,

"His father" should be like "his mother,"

וְאִמּוֹ דּוּמְיָא דְּאָבִיו.

and "his mother" should be like "his father."

לָא מַשְׁכַּחַתְּ לַהּ אֶלָּא בְּאַחְוָוה.

You can only find such a reading with sisters.

וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא:

And Rabbi Akiva?

The steps (33)

  1. StatementWhy רבי אליעזר reads both words as aunts
  2. StatementWhy רבי עקיבא reads "his father" as the father's wife
  3. ProofProof attempt from עמרם marrying his aunt יוכבד
  4. RejectionShe was only his aunt through the father
  5. ProofProof from אברהם's words about שרה
  6. Rejectionשרה was really אברהם's niece
  7. ProofProof from קין marrying his sister
  8. RejectionOnce it was allowed, it stayed allowed
  9. StatementA gentile may marry his daughter
  10. StatementAnother version: a gentile is forbidden to his daughter
  11. RejectionThe proof from Adam is rejected
  12. StatementA slave may marry his mother and daughter
  13. StatementA gentile who lives with the maidservant he set aside for his slave
  14. QuestionFrom when is she considered the slave's partner?
  15. ResponseOnce people call her 'so-and-so's girl'
  16. QuestionFrom when is she released?
  17. ResponseOnce she uncovers her hair in the marketplace
  18. StatementA בן נח is liable for relations with his wife שלא כדרכה
  19. ChallengeCan a גוי be liable where a Jew is not?
  20. Statementרבא's new reading: another man's wife שלא כדרכה is פטור
  21. StatementA gentile who strikes a Jew is liable to death
  22. StatementSlapping a Jew is like slapping the Divine Presence
  23. StatementRaising a hand to hit makes one wicked
  24. ProofThe future tense in the verse proves the point
  25. StatementRaising a hand makes one a sinner
  26. Statementרב הונא: The hitter's hand should be cut off
  27. Statementרבי אלעזר: The only fix for a violent person is burial
  28. Statementרבי אלעזר: Land is held only by the strong
  29. Statementריש לקיש: Serve the land and you will have bread
  30. StatementA non-Jew who rests is liable to death
  31. StatementEven resting on a Monday counts
  32. ChallengeWhy isn't this counted in the seven מצוות?
  33. ResolutionThe list counts only 'don't do' commands