Study Kiddushin folio 77B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
הרי גופין מוחלקים, הרי שמות מוחלקים!
Aren’t they separate bodies, i.e., 3 different people? Aren’t they labels [shemot] of separate [muḥlakim] prohibitions, since each one is forbidden in her own right? It is therefore clear that he should receive lashes for each act.
אלא שבא על אלמנה אחת שלש ביאות. היכי דמי? אי דלא אתרו ביה – פשיטא דאינו חייב אלא אחת.
Rather, perhaps it means that he engaged in 3 acts of sex with one widow. The Talmud analyzes this possibility: What are the circumstances? If they did not forewarn him between each act, it is obvious that he is liable to receive only one set of lashes, for one must be forewarned in order to be liable to receive lashes, and here he was forewarned only once for the 3 acts. There would be no need to state this halakha.
אלא דאתרו ביה אכל חדא וחדא – אמאי אינו חייב אלא אחת? והתנן: נזיר שהיה שותה יין כל היום כולו – אינו חייב אלא אחת. אמרו לו: ״אל תשתה״ ״אל תשתה״ והוא שותה – חייב על כל אחת ואחת!
Rather, perhaps the case is that they forewarned him for each and every one of his acts of sex. But if that were the case, why is he liable to receive only one set of lashes? But didn’t we learn in a Mishnah (Nazir 42a): A nazirite who was drinking wine in violation of his naziriteship the entire day is liable to receive only one set of lashes. If they said to him: Do not drink, do not drink, i.e., he was forewarned several times, and he nevertheless drinks, he is liable to receive lashes for each and every time he was forewarned and proceeded to drink.
לא צריכא, שבא על אלמנת ראובן שהיתה אלמנת שמעון שהיתה אלמנת לוי. מהו דתימא הרי שמות מוחלקים – קא משמע לן גופים מוחלקים בעינן, וליכא.
The Talmud answers: No, it is necessary for a case where he had sex one time with Reuven’s widow, who was previously Shimon’s widow, who was previously Levi’s widow. Lest you say they are separate labels of prohibitions and he should be liable to receive 3 sets of lashes, since she was widowed from 3 different people, the baraita therefore teaches us that we require separate bodies for him to receive separate punishments, and as that is not the case here, he is liable to receive only one set of lashes.
Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.