Study Sanhedrin folio 46A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
השתא דמרחקי מהדדי, אהני לרבויי עבודה זרה, דדמי ליה בכל מילי.
Now that the generalization and the detail are distant from each other, i.e., they are written in different verses, the verses serve to include one who was found guilty of idol worship, as he is similar to the blasphemer in all matters. He too is subject to be hung after he is executed.
ורבי אליעזר דריש ריבויי ומיעוטי, ״והומת ותלית״ – רבוי, ״כי קללת״ – מיעוט. אי הוו מקרבי להדדי, לא הוו מרבינן אלא עבודה זרה דדמי לה בכל מילי. השתא דמרחקי מהדדי, אהני לרבויי שאר הנסקלין.
And R' Eliezer, by contrast, interprets the verses based on the principle of amplifications and restrictions. The phrase “And he is put to death, and you should hang him” is an amplification. The phrase “For he that is hung is a curse of God” is a restriction. Were the amplification and the restriction right next to each other, we would apply the principle of amplifications and restrictions and include only one who is guilty of idol worship, as he is similar to the blasphemer in all ways. Now that they are distant from each other, the verses serve to include all those who are liable to be stoned to death. All of their corpses are hung after they are put to death.
האיש תולין וכו׳. מאי טעמא דרבנן? אמר קרא: ״ותלית אתו״ – אותו, ולא אותה. ורבי אליעזר: ״אותו״ – בלא כסותו.
§ The Mishnah teaches that according to the opinion of R' Eliezer, the corpse of a man is hung facing the people while the corpse of a woman is hung facing the tree, whereas the Rabbis say that the corpse of a woman is not hung at all. The Talmud asks: What is the reasoning behind the opinion of the Rabbis? The Talmud answers: As the verse states: “And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you should hang him on a tree” (Deuteronomy 21:22), which teaches that you should hang him on a tree after his death, but you should not hang her on a tree after her death. And R' Eliezer would respond that the inference to be drawn from this verse is that after his death they hang him by himself, without his clothing.