Shevuos 47a

שבועות מ״ז ע״א

Shevuot 47a

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Topic

Who is not trusted to swear, what happens when both litigants are suspect, and whether an oath that cannot be taken 'returns to סיני' or makes the obligated person pay

Overview

The amud opens by finishing a list of false oaths that make a person a חשוד על השבועה. It then explains that the משנה adds the dice player and similar people because they are disqualified מדרבנן, while the earlier cases are disqualified מדאורייתא. When both litigants are suspect, רבא asks רב נחמן which רבי holds which view and what the הלכה is. רב נחמן says he does not know, but a tradition reports that רבי יוסי says יחלוקו, and רב נחמן ruled that way in a real case. The גמרא then asks what 'the oath returned to its place' means. The Sages of בבל, identified as רב ושמואל, say it returns to סיני and the court does nothing; their proof is the rule that a person cannot pass an oath on to his sons. The Sages of ארץ ישראל, identified as רבי אבא, say it returns to the one obligated, who pays because he must swear but cannot, as shown in the story of the snatched metal. רבא supports רבי אבא from a ברייתא that the oath is 'between the two of them' and not between heirs, and the גמרא's working out of that case continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (23)

1. ConclusionClosing the list of false oaths
2. StatementQuoting the dice player case
3. QuestionWhy add more examples?
4. ResponseTorah-level and rabbinic-level disqualification
5. StatementQuoting the case where both are suspect
6. Questionרבא asks which version is correct
7. Questionרבא asks what the הלכה is
8. ResponseA tradition: רבי יוסי says divide
9. Proofרב זביד teaches the same
10. ProofAnother version of רב זביד's chain
11. Conclusionרב נחמן ruled to divide in a real case
12. QuestionWhat does 'the oath returned to its place' mean?
13. ResponseTwo explanations: back to סיני, or back to the one who owed it
14. Statementרב פפא names the Sages behind each view
15. ProofBackground for the proof: orphans collecting from orphans
16. Proofרב and שמואל: a person cannot pass an oath on to his sons
17. ProofA story to show רבי אבא's view: the snatched metal
18. Questionרבי אמי asks how judges can rule on the snatched metal
19. Responseרבי אבא: one who must swear but cannot, pays
20. Proofרבא supports רבי אבא from a teaching about heirs
21. QuestionWhat case is the heirs teaching about?
22. RejectionThat case cannot be it: the son is just like his father
23. ResponseA new case: the heir knows about fifty but not the other fifty