With regard to conditions in general, the principle is that all conditions must be modeled after the example given in the Bible concerning the tribes of Gad and Reuben. Specifically, the condition must be stated before the action to which it refers. Furthermore, it must be a compound condition, i.e., one must detail what will happen both if the condition is fulfilled and if it remains unfulfilled. In addition, the positive formulation of the condition must precede its negative side. Finally, it must be possible for the condition to be performed by means of an agent. One important aspect here is the language of the condition, since if the person specifying the condition uses the phrase: On the condition, none of the above stipulations apply.

With regard to betrothal, both the man and woman can stipulate that the betrothal take effect only at a later stage. Nevertheless, there is a difference between a case in which they stipulate that the betrothal not go into effect until a later date, and a case where they stipulate that the betrothal should be effective: From now and after a certain period of time. In the former case, there is no betrothal at all until that later date, and the woman can betroth herself to another man in the meantime. In the latter case, if the woman accepts a betrothal from someone else before that time arrives, it is uncertain which of the two betrothals is valid.

All conditions appended to a betrothal are examined in accordance with the situation at the time of the betrothal. A betrothal is not valid if it is made dependent upon a state of affairs that does not exist at the time, including a change in the family or halakhic status of the man or woman.

In a situation where the betrothal itself is uncertain, if one of the parties says he knows for sure what occurred and the other side does not deny his claim, the first party is deemed credible. If the other party denies his account, the statement of the first person is effective only insofar as it renders him forbidden to all those people to whom he would be forbidden assuming his claim were true. This is because a person has the right to declare himself forbidden. The other party remains unaffected by his claim.

The Torah grants a father credibility with regard to his minor daughter, and therefore any statement he issues concerning her betrothal or divorce is binding. Likewise, a father is believed with regard to the ages and competence of his children, and he can also declare a particular son his firstborn.

This chapter included the main principles concerning the halakhot of betrothal and lineage. If one of the partners to a betrothal is not a member of the Jewish people, e.g., a Canaanite slave or a gentile, the betrothal is entirely ineffective. In this case, the lineage of the offspring follows the mother, which means that the child of a gentile father and a Jewish mother is a Jew. If the members of a couple are forbidden to each other with the punishment of karet, their offspring is a mamzer, with the exception of one who engages in sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman. In all other cases the betrothal is valid, even if it is prohibited by the Torah. As far as the offspring of these unions are concerned, if the betrothal was entirely permitted then the children's lineage follows that of the father. The exception to this principle is the case of two mamzerim who married one another, as, although the match is permitted, their child is also a mamzer. If the betrothal is forbidden, the lineage of the offspring is like that of the parent with the flawed lineage.