Study Shevuot folio 45A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אחת שבועת העדות ואחת שבועת הפקדון, ואפילו שבועת שוא; היה אחד מהן משחק בקוביא, ומלוה ברבית, ומפריחי יונים, וסוחרי שביעית – שכנגדו נשבע ונוטל.
One is considered suspect with regard to oaths if he has been found to have taken a false oath, whether it was an oath of testimony, or whether it was an oath on a deposit, or even an oath taken in vain, which is a less severe prohibition. There are also categories of people who by rabbinic decree are considered suspect with regard to oaths: If one of the litigants was a dice player, or one who lends with interest, or among those who fly pigeons, or among the vendors of produce of the Sabbatical Year, then the litigant opposing him takes an oath and receives payment of his claim.
היו שניהן חשודין – חזרה השבועה למקומה, דברי רבי יוסי. רבי מאיר אומר: יחלוקו.
If both litigants were suspect, the oath returned to its place. This is the statement of R' Yosei, and will be explained in the Talmud. R' Meir says: Since neither can take an oath, they divide the disputed amount.
והחנוני על פנקסו – כיצד? לא שיאמר לו: ״כתוב על פנקסי שאתה חייב לי מאתים זוז״, אלא אומר לו: ״תן לבני סאתים חטין״, ״תן לפועלי (סלע) [בסלע] מעות״. הוא אומר ״נתתי״, והן אומרים ״לא נטלנו״ – הוא נשבע ונוטל, והן נשבעין ונוטלין.
And how does this halakha apply to the storekeeper relying on his ledger? This ruling is not referring to the case where a storekeeper says to a customer: It is written in my ledger that you owe me 200 dinars. Rather, it is referring to a case where a customer says to a storekeeper: Give my son two se’a of wheat, or: Give my laborers a sela in small coins. And later the storekeeper says: I gave it to them; but they say: We did not receive it. In such a case, where the father or employer admits that he gave those instructions and it is also recorded in the storekeeper’s ledger, the storekeeper takes an oath that he gave the son the wheat or paid the laborers, and he receives compensation from the father or employer; and the laborers take an oath that they were not paid and receive their wages from the employer.