Study Ketubot folio 52B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אין פודין את השבויין יותר על כדי דמיהם, מפני תקון העולם. הא בכדי דמיהן פודין, אף על גב דפרקונה יותר על כתובתה.
One does not redeem captives at more than their value. This policy is for the betterment of the world, because if captives are ransomed at exorbitant prices, this will encourage their captors to kidnap more people. The Talmud notes: This implies that if the captors seek a ransom in accordance with their actual value one does redeem captives, even though this includes a case where a woman’s redemption is more than her marriage contract.
ורמינהי: נשבית, והיו מבקשין ממנו עד עשרה בכתובתה, פעם ראשונה — פודה. מכאן ואילך: רצה פודה, רצה אינו פודה. רבי שמעון בן גמליאל אומר: אם היה פרקונה כנגד כתובתה — פודה, אם לאו אינו פודה!
And the Talmud raises a contradiction from a different baraita, which states: If she was taken captive and the captors were seeking from her husband a ransom of up to 10 times the value of her marriage contract, on the first occasion he must redeem her. From this point forward, if he wants to he redeems her, but if he does not want to redeem her, he does not have to redeem her. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: If the price of her ransom was equal to her marriage contract he redeems her. If not, i.e., the price of her ransom was greater than the sum of money guaranteed to her in her marriage contract upon divorce or the death of her husband, he does not have to redeem her. He can suffice with paying her marriage contract.
רבן שמעון בן גמליאל תרי קולי אית ליה.
The Talmud answers: Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is of the opinion that there are two leniencies with regard to the halakhot of redemption. First, he maintains that one does not pay more than the general ransom given for such a captive, and second, a husband does not have to pay more than the sum of his wife’s marriage contract.