Sanhedrin 2B

ואין בית דין שקול, מוסיפין עליהם עוד אחד. הרי כאן עשרים ושלשה.

And since there is a principle that a court may not be composed of an even number of judges, as such a court may be unable to reach a decision, therefore they add another one to them, and there are 23 judges here.

וכמה יהא בעיר ותהא ראויה לסנהדרין? מאה ועשרים. רבי נחמיה אומר: מאתים ושלשים, כנגד שרי עשרות.

And how many men must be in the city for it to be eligible for a lesser Sanhedrin? 120. R' Neḥemya says: 230, corresponding to the ministers of tens, as outlined by Moses and Yitro in the wilderness (Exodus, chapter 18). That is to say, each member of the Sanhedrin can be viewed as a judge with responsibility for 10 residents. If there are not enough men in the city to enable this calculation, it would not be honorable to appoint a Sanhedrin, as their members will each preside over less than the minimum of 10 residents.

גמ׳ אטו גזילות וחבלות לאו דיני ממונות נינהו? אמר רבי אבהו: מה הן קתני, מה הן דיני ממונות? גזילות וחבלות. אבל הודאות והלואות ⁠– לא.

Talmud: The Mishnah states that cases of monetary law are adjudicated by 3 judges, and that cases of robbery and personal injury must also be adjudicated by 3 judges. The Talmud asks: Is that to say that cases of robbery and personal injury are not cases of monetary law? Obviously they are; why did the Mishnah delineate them separately? R' Abbahu says: The Mishnah teaches this clause employing the style: What are these, meaning that the expression: Cases of monetary law, is a description of a category, followed by the specification. Accordingly, the Mishnah should be read as follows: What are these cases of monetary law that are adjudicated by 3 judges? Cases of robbery and personal injury. But cases of admissions, where one party admits that he owes another money, and cases of loans that were not repaid are not included in this halakha.