Bekhorot — Daf 50a

רבי יוחנן אומר דינרא הדריינא טריינא שייפא דמזבנא בעשרים וחמשה זוזי דל מינייהו שתותא והנך לפדיון הבן הני עשרין וחד נכי דנקא הוי

אלא דל שתותא וזוזא והנך לפדיון הבן אכתי עשרין נכי דנקא הוי אלא דל זוזא ושתותא והנך לפדיון הבן דהוי להו עשרין מתקלי במתקלי דינרא דאינון עשרין ותמניא זוזי ופלגי ופלגא דנקא

אמר רבא סילעים דאורייתא תלתא ותילתא הוי דכתיב (שמות ל, יג) עשרים גרה השקל ומתרגמינן עשרין מעין ותניא שש מעה כסף דינר

מיתיבי והלא סלע של קדש ארבעים ושמנה פונדיונין

פונדיון זה מה טיבו קילבון לפרוטרוט

בתר דאוסיפו עילוייהו דתניא עשרים גרה השקל למדנו לשקל שהוא עשרים גרה ומנין שאם רצה להוסיף יוסיף ת"ל (ויקרא כז כה) יהיה יכול יפחות ת"ל (במדבר יח טז) הוא

רב אשי שדר ליה שבסר זוזי לרב אחא בריה דרבינא בפדיון הבן שלח ליה לישדר לי מר תלתא יתירתא דאיכא עלוייהו שלח ליה לשדר לי מר תלתא אחרינא דאוסיפו עילוייהו

אמר רבי חנינא כל כסף האמור בתורה סתם סלע דנביאים ליטרין דכתובין קינטרין חוץ מן כספו של עפרון שאע"פ שכתוב בתורה סתם קינטרין דכתיב (בראשית כג, טז) ארבע מאות שקל כסף עובר לסוחר ואיכא דוכתא דקא קרו לקינטרא תיקלא

א"ר אושעיא ביקשו לגנוז כל כסף וזהב שבעולם מפני כספה וזהבה של ירושלים עד שמצאו לו מקרא מן התורה שהוא מותר שנאמר (יחזקאל ז, כב) ובאו בה פריצים וחללוה

וירושלים הויא רובא דעלמא אלא אמר אביי בקשו לגנוז דינרא הדריינא טירייאנא שייאפא מפני טבעה של ירושלים עד שמצאו לה מקרא מן התורה שהוא מותר שנאמר ובאו בה פריצים וחללוה

R. Johanan Says: Take a Trajanic or Hadrianic denar which is rubbed off1 and bought for twenty-five zuz, and deduct a sixth from it, and the remainder is the amount for the redemption of the first-born. But is not this the sum of twenty-one zuz minus a danka?2 — Rather deduct a sixth together with a zuz and the remainder is the amount for the redemption of the first-born. But even so the amount is twenty zuz minus a danka?3 — Rather deduct [first] a zuz and then4 a sixth and the remainder5 is the amount for the redemption of the first-born which is twenty times the weight of a [Tyrian] denar, and which makes twenty-eight and a half zuz and a half danka.6 Said Raba: The biblical sela’ contains three and a third [denars], because Scripture says: A shekel is twenty gerahs,7 which the Targum8 renders ‘twenty ma'ah’, and it has been taught: Six ma'ah silver make one denar.9 An objection was raised: Does not the holy sela’ contain forty-eight dupondia?10 What business has the [extra] dupondium here?11 The dupondium is an agio [an addition] to the units!12 — [The Baraitha] refers to the period after the sela’ had been increased in value.13 For it was taught in a Baraitha: [Scripture says:] ‘A shekel is twenty gerahs’, for thus we learn that a shekel contains twenty gerahs, whence [do we deduce] that if he wished to increase [the number of ma'ah] he is at liberty to do so? The text states: ‘[Twenty gerahs] shall be [the shekel]’.14 You might perhaps think that he can decrease [the number of ma'ah]? [To guard against such an inference] the text states: ‘The same Is twenty gerahs.15 R. Ashi sent seventeen zuz to R. Aha b. Raba16 for the redemption of the first-born. He sent him word: ‘Let the Master return to me the extra third of a sela’ from the redemption-money sent’.17 He replied to him: ‘Let the Master send me another three zuz which were added to the biblical sela’. 18 Said R. Hanina: Every silver [coinage] [kesef] mentioned in the Pentateuch without any qualification means a sela’, in the Prophets litrae,19 in the Hagiographa centenaria,20 except the silver [coinage] mentioned in the transaction of Ephron, for although it is mentioned in the Bible without qualification, it means centenaria, because Scripture says: Four hundred shekels of silver current money with the merchant,21 and there is a place where the shekels are called centenaria. 22 Said R. Oshaiah: [The Rabbis] proposed to hide all the silver and gold in the world on account of the silver and gold of Jerusalem,23 until they found a text from the Torah which made their use permissible, because Scripture says: For the robbers shall enter into it and profane it.24 But is Jerusalem the greater portion of the world?25 — Rather Abaye said, The Rabbis] proposed hiding the Hadrianic and Trajanic denars which were rubbed off26 on account of the sacred coinage of Jerusalem,27 until they found a text from the Torah making their use permissible because it is said: ‘For the robbers shall enter into it and profane it’. zuz contains six danka) making a total of twenty and five-sixths zuz viz., twenty-one zuz minus a danka, whereas the amount required for redemption is five sela's, or twenty zuz, one sela’ four zuz. again one zuz and you have twenty zuz minus one danka, which is less than the prescribed amount. denars make twenty Arabian denars. The remaining six denars (to complete the twenty denars i.e., the twenty zuz, a denar being identified with a zuz) make eight and a half denars and a half of a danka i.e., a dupondium. For since every denar contains twelve dupondia and the proportion between a Tyrian and an Arabian coin is as ten to seven, one Tyrian denar will therefore be seventeen and a seventh dupondia, a surplus of five and one-seventh dupondia over the Arabian standard. Consequently, for the remaining six Tyrian dears we have a surplus, according to the Arabian standard, of thirty-one dupondia minus a negligible amount. These thirty-one dupondia make two and a half denars plus one dupondium. Therefore six Tyrian denars make eight and a half Arabian denars plus one dupondium and together with the fourteen Tyrian denars which equal twenty Arabian denars, we have thus in twenty Tyrian denars the equivalent of twenty-eight and a half Arabian denars plus a half of a danka viz., one dupondium. ma'ah, a shekel thus amounting in all to twenty ma'ah. of a homer of barley seed for fifty shekels of silver, and this is explained as meaning that he pays forty-nine sela's and forty-nine dupondia for the forty-nine years of the Jubilee. The question therefore arises, does not the holy sela’ etc., since a holy sela’ contains only forty-eight dupondia, and therefore it comes about that he redeems the field for fifty shekels plus a dupondium. denar contains twelve dupondia. This Baraitha will therefore raise a difficulty as regards Rab's opinion. four denars. Consequently, in sending him seventeen denars there was an addition of a third of a denar. denars to make up the twenty denars. transaction, although it is not explicitly stated, must mean centenaria. the gold and silver belonging to the Gentiles. became hullin, devoid of any sanctity.