## Bekhorot Daf 50a

###### Bekhorot 50a:1
[Bekhorot 50a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/50a:1)

רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אוֹמֵר: דִּינָרָא הַדְרִיָּינָא טִרְיָינָא שְׁיָיפָא דִּמְזַבְּנָא בְּעֶשְׂרִים וְחַמְשָׁה זוּזֵי, דַּל מִינַּיְיהוּ שְׁתוּתָא וְהָנָךְ לְפִדְיוֹן הַבֵּן. הָנֵי עֶשְׂרִין וְחַד נְכֵי דַּנְקָא הָוֵי!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Yoḥanan says:** If one wishes to know how much to give for the redemption of the firstborn son, take **the worn-out** gold **dinars of Hadrian** and **Trajan, which are sold at twenty-five dinars,** and **deduct from them one-sixth. And these** that remain are the five *sela* that one must give **for the redemption of the** firstborn **son,** i.e., twenty dinars, as there are four dinars in a *sela*. The Gemara challenges: After deducting one- sixth from twenty-five, one **is** not left with twenty dinars, but **twenty-one** dinars **less one-sixth [*danka*]** of a dinar.


###### Bekhorot 50a:2
[Bekhorot 50a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/50a:2)

אֶלָּא, דַּל שְׁתוּתָא וְזוּזָא, וְהָנָךְ לְפִדְיוֹן הַבֵּן. אַכַּתִּי עֶשְׂרִין נְכֵי דַּנְקָא הָוֵי! אֶלָּא, דַּל זוּזָא וּשְׁתוּתָא, וְהָנָךְ לְפִדְיוֹן הַבֵּן, דְּהָוֵי לְהוּ עֶשְׂרִין מַתְקָלֵי בְּמַתְקָלֵי דִּינָרָא, דְּאִינּוּן עֶשְׂרִין וּתְמָנְיָא זוּזֵי וּפַלְגֵי וּפַלְגָא דַּנְקָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather, deduct one-sixth and** another **dinar, and these** that are left are **for the redemption of the** firstborn **son.** The Gemara challenges: But the calculation is **still** inexact, as this sum is **twenty** dinars **less one-sixth** of a dinar. **Rather,** first **deduct** one **dinar, and** from the remainder, i.e., twenty-four dinars, deduct **one-sixth, and these** that are left are the five *sela* coins that one must give **for the redemption of the son.** The Gemara notes **that these are** a weight of **twenty *matkalei* of** the small golden **dinars** known as ***matkalei*, which are** worth **twenty-eight and a half dinars, and half of a sixth** of a dinar, in Arabian silver dinars.


###### Bekhorot 50a:3
[Bekhorot 50a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/50a:3)

אָמַר רָבָא: סִילְעִים דְּאוֹרָיְיתָא תְּלָתָא וְתִילְתָּא הָוֵי, דִּכְתִיב: ״עֶשְׂרִים גֵּרָה הַשֶּׁקֶל״, וּמְתַרְגְּמִינַן: ״עֶשְׂרִין מָעִין״, וְתַנְיָא: שֵׁשׁ מָעָה כֶּסֶף דִּינָר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **Rava says: The biblical *sela*** coins, i.e., the shekels that must be given for the redemption of the firstborn son, **are** each **three and one-third** dinars in weight, not four dinars. **As it is written: “The shekel is twenty *gera*”** (Exodus 30:13), **and we translate** “twenty *gera*” as **twenty *ma’a*. And it is taught** in a *baraita*: **Six silver *ma’a*** equal **a dinar.** If so, twenty *ma’a*, which is equal to the *sela* of the Torah, is worth three and one-third dinars.


###### Bekhorot 50a:4
[Bekhorot 50a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/50a:4)

מֵיתִיבִי: וַהֲלֹא סֶלַע שֶׁל קֹדֶשׁ אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמֹנֶה פּוּנְדְּיוֹנִין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara **raises an objection** from a *baraita*, which discusses the *halakha* of one who redeems an ancestral field from the Temple treasury. The Torah states that one who consecrates his field in the Jubilee year gives as its redemption, for each of the upcoming forty-nine years, fifty *sela* for each area fit for the sowing of a *kor* of barley seed. In this regard, the Sages have said that one gives a *sela* and a *pundeyon*, which is half a *ma’a*, per year. The *baraita* notes a discrepancy here: **But** in **the *sela*** coins **of the Sanctuary** there are **forty-eight *pundeyon*,** which means that according to the statement of the Sages, the redemption for forty-nine years amounts to forty-nine *sela* and forty-nine *pundeyon*, i.e., fifty *sela* and a *pundeyon*, one *pundeyon* more than the sum required by the Torah.


###### Bekhorot 50a:5
[Bekhorot 50a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/50a:5)

פּוּנְדְּיוֹן זֶה מָה טִיבוֹ? קִילְבּוֹן לַפְּרוֹטְרוֹט!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The *baraita* explains: **This *pundeyon*, what is its function?** It is **a premium [*kilbon*] for exchanging** the *sela* into *pundeyon*. In any case, this *baraita* teaches that there are forty-eight *pundeyon* in the *sela* of the Torah, which is twenty-four *ma’a*. This contradicts the statement of Rava, who said that the *sela* of the Torah is worth only twenty *ma’a*.


###### Bekhorot 50a:6
[Bekhorot 50a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/50a:6)

בָּתַר דְּאוֹסִיפוּ עִילָּוַיְיהוּ, דְּתַנְיָא: ״עֶשְׂרִים גֵּרָה הַשֶּׁקֶל״ — לָמַדְנוּ לַשֶּׁקֶל שֶׁהוּא עֶשְׂרִים גֵּרָה, וּמִנַּיִן שֶׁאִם רָצָה לְהוֹסִיף יוֹסִיף? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: ״יִהְיֶה״, יָכוֹל יִפְחוֹת? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: ״הוּא״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers that the *baraita* is referring to the period **after** the Sages **added** one-sixth **to** the coins, i.e., four *ma’a* to each *sela*. **As it is taught** in a *baraita*, with regard to the verse: **“Twenty *gera*** shall be **the shekel”** (Leviticus 27:25): **We learn** from here **with regard to the shekel** mentioned in the Torah **that it is twenty *gera*. And from where** is it derived **that if one wants to add** to the number of *ma’a* in the shekel **he may add? The verse states:** “Twenty *gera* **shall be** the shekel,” whereby the term “shall be” denotes an increase. One **might** have thought that one **may reduce** the number of *ma’a* in the shekel to fewer than twenty. Therefore, **the verse states: “The same** is twenty *gera*” (Numbers 18:16), i.e., it may not be fewer than that.


###### Bekhorot 50a:7
[Bekhorot 50a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/50a:7)

רַב אָשֵׁי שַׁדַּר לֵיהּ שִׁבְסַר זוּזֵי לְרַב אַחָא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרָבִינָא בְּפִדְיוֹן הַבֵּן, שְׁלַח לֵיהּ: לִישַׁדַּר לִי מָר תִּלְתָּא יַתִּירְתָּא דְּאִיכָּא עִלָּוַיְיהוּ. שְׁלַח לֵיהּ: לְשַׁדַּר לִי מָר תְּלָתָא אַחֲרִינָא דְּאוֹסִיפוּ עִילָּוַיְיהוּ!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara relates that **Rav Ashi sent seventeen dinars to Rav Aḥa, son of Ravina,** a priest, **for the redemption of the** firstborn **son.** Along with the money, Rav Ashi **sent him** the following message: **Let the Master send me** back **the extra one-third** of a dinar **that is** included **in** the sum. Since according to Rava the *sela* of the Torah is worth three and one-third dinars, five *sela* amount to sixteen dinars and two-thirds, which is one-third less than the seventeen dinars he sent. Rav Aḥa **sent him** in response: **Let the Master send me the other three** dinars **that** the Sages **added to them,** since after the Sages added to the *sela* of the Torah, five *sela* are equal to twenty dinars, three more than the seventeen Rav Ashi sent.


###### Bekhorot 50a:8
[Bekhorot 50a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/50a:8)

אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא: כׇּל כֶּסֶף הָאָמוּר בַּתּוֹרָה סְתָם — סֶלַע, דִּנְבִיאִים — לִיטְרִין, דִּכְתוּבִין — קִינְטְרִין, חוּץ מִן כַּסְפּוֹ שֶׁל עֶפְרוֹן, שֶׁאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה סְתָם — קִינְטָרִין, דִּכְתִיב ״אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שֶׁקֶל כֶּסֶף עוֹבֵר לַסֹּחֵר״, וְאִיכָּא דּוּכְתָּא דְּקָא קָרוּ לְקִינְטָרָא ״תִּיקְלָא״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The Gemara continues to discuss the value of coins. **Rabbi Ḥanina says: Any silver** shekel **that is stated in the Torah** but which is **unspecified** is referring to one ***sela*.** Additionally, any unspecified silver shekel mentioned **in the Prophets** is a silver ***litra*,** weighing twenty-five *sela*, and any unspecified silver shekel mentioned **in the Writings** is in **centenaria [*kintarin*],** silver weighing one hundred *sela*. This is the case throughout the Bible **except for the silver of Ephron, where even though it is written in the Torah:** “Shekels of silver,” **without specification,** it is in **centenaria, as it is written: “Four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant”** (Genesis 23:16). This means that the silver was acceptable as shekels everywhere, **and there is a place where they call a centenarius a shekel.**


###### Bekhorot 50a:9
[Bekhorot 50a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/50a:9)

אָמַר רַבִּי אוֹשַׁעְיָא: בִּיקְּשׁוּ לִגְנוֹז כׇּל כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם מִפְּנֵי כַּסְפָּהּ וּזְהָבָהּ שֶׁל יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, עַד שֶׁמָּצְאוּ לוֹ מִקְרָא מִן הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁהוּא מוּתָּר, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּבָאוּ בָהּ פָּרִיצִים וְחִלְּלוּהָ״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
With regard to the worn-out dinars of Hadrian and Trajan mentioned earlier, **Rabbi Oshaya says:** The Sages **wished to sequester all the silver and gold in the world because of the silver and gold of Jerusalem,** i.e., that which was kept in the Temple treasury and was appropriated by gentiles and mixed with other silver and gold. They did not permit its use **until they found a verse in the Torah** indicating **that it is permitted, as it is stated: “And robbers shall enter into it, and profane it”** (Ezekiel 7:22). This verse teaches that once robbers plundered the silver and gold it is profaned and does not retain its sanctity.


###### Bekhorot 50a:10
[Bekhorot 50a:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/50a:10)

וִירוּשָׁלַיִם הָוְיָא רוּבָּא דְּעָלְמָא? אֶלָּא אָמַר אַבָּיֵי: בִּקְּשׁוּ לִגְנוֹז דִּינָרָא הַדְרִיָּינָא טִירְיָיאנָא שְׁיָיאפָא, מִפְּנֵי טִבְעָהּ שֶׁל יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, עַד שֶׁמָּצְאוּ לָהּ מִקְרָא מִן הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁהוּא מוּתָּר, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּבָאוּ בָהּ פָּרִיצִים וְחִלְּלוּהָ״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **And is Jerusalem the majority of the world** such that that all of the silver and gold of the world should be prohibited due to a concern that it comes from Jerusalem? **Rather, Abaye said:** The Sages **wished to sequester all the worn-out dinars of Hadrian and Trajan because of the coins of Jerusalem,** as these coins contained a large quantity of the Temple treasury’s gold and silver, **until they found a verse in the Torah** indicating **that it is permitted, as it is stated: “And robbers shall enter into it, and profane it.”**