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Shevuos 49b

שבועות מ״ט ע״ב

Shevuot 49b

Learn Shevuos 49b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

False oaths by שומרים: when they bring a קרבן for שבועת הפקדון, whose view the משנה follows, and the argument of רב and שמואל about שבועת ביטוי.

Overview

This amud finishes the משנה about a שומר who swears falsely about what happened to an ox. The rule underneath every case: he brings a קרבן only if his false oath tried to free him from money he really owed. A שואל pays for every kind of loss, so changing the story does not matter, but flatly denying the whole thing does. A נושא שכר or שוכר pays for theft and loss but not for an אונס. So he is liable only if he claimed an אונס when the ox was really stolen or lost. The גמרא then asks whose view treats a שוכר like a נושא שכר, and answers רבי מאיר, as רבה בר אבוה learned him. It explains that there are four kinds of שומרים but only three sets of laws. Next, רב and שמואל argue whether these false oaths still count as a שבועת ביטוי, and the גמרא shows why their argument had to be stated in two different cases. It also brings רבי אמי's rule, from a פסוק, that an oath given by judges is not a שבועת ביטוי. רבי אלעזר's ruling and the הדרן close the פרק and מסכת שבועות.

Opening lines

״מֵת״ – וְהוּא שֶׁנִּשְׁבַּר אוֹ נִשְׁבָּה אוֹ נִגְנַב אוֹ אָבַד;

He said 'It died,' but really it was injured, captured, stolen or lost;

״נִשְׁבַּר״ – וְהוּא שֶׁמֵּת אוֹ נִשְׁבָּה אוֹ נִגְנַב אוֹ אָבַד;

'It was injured,' but really it died, was captured, stolen or lost;

״נִשְׁבָּה״ – וְהוּא שֶׁמֵּת אוֹ נִשְׁבַּר אוֹ נִגְנַב אוֹ אָבַד;

'It was captured,' but really it died, was injured, stolen or lost;

״נִגְנַב״ – וְהוּא שֶׁמֵּת אוֹ נִשְׁבַּר אוֹ נִשְׁבָּה אוֹ אָבַד;

'It was stolen,' but really it died, was injured, captured or lost;

The steps (25)

  1. StatementA borrower who swaps one kind of loss for another is exempt
  2. StatementA borrower who denies knowing anything is liable
  3. StatementPaid keeper or renter swaps within the same group: exempt
  4. StatementClaimed an accident when it was really theft or loss: liable
  5. StatementClaimed theft or loss when it was really an accident: exempt
  6. StatementThe general rule: switching claims and the קרבן
  7. StatementSecond wording of the rule: lenient or stringent on himself
  8. QuestionWho taught 'four שומרים'?
  9. ResponseIt is רבי מאיר
  10. Challengeרבא: doesn't everyone hold four שומרים?
  11. ResolutionThe real question: who holds a שוכר is like a נושא שכר?
  12. ChallengeBut רבי מאיר says the opposite!
  13. Resolutionרבה בר אבוה learned the משנה reversed
  14. ChallengeAren't there really only three?
  15. ResolutionFour שומרים, three sets of laws
  16. Statementרב and שמואל argue about the guard cases in the משנה
  17. QuestionWhat is the root of their argument?
  18. ResponseFuture oath versus yes-or-no oath
  19. ChallengeThey already argued this about the stone in the sea
  20. ResolutionBoth cases are needed: an oath given by the court is different
  21. ResolutionThe second half of why both cases are needed
  22. Statementרבי אמי: an oath given by judges is not a שבועת ביטוי
  23. ProofHow the word כי shows the oath must be self-chosen
  24. Statementרבי אלעזר: the guards are liable for שבועת ביטוי, with some exceptions
  25. ConclusionHadran — Closing ארבעה שומרין and מסכת שבועות