Bava Basra 7:1 - 7:2

האומר לחבירו בית כור עפר – the measurement of a Khor’s worth of seed is seventy-five thousand cubits where the courtyard of the Tabernacle was a field requiring two Se’ah of seed, which was one hundred [cubits] by fifty [cubits] and a Khor is thirty Se’ah.

עפר – that is appropriate for sowing is implied. But if he stated, in an area requiring a Khor’s of seed undefined, or a field requiring a Khor of seed, even if all of it is rocks, he takes possession of it, for perhaps it was to build a house or to spread out fruit [to dry], he required it.

נקעים – fields ten handbreadths deep or [rocks] ten handbreadths high, and for example, they are wide four handbreadths by four handbreadths and are an important place.

אין נמדדין עמה – and he must give him an area requiring a complete Khor of seed from level/smooth ground, for a person does not want to put all of his money into one place, and he will show him two or three places.

כבית כור – which implies as it is, whether it is rocks or soil.

מדה בחבל – meaning to say, with an exact measurement, I sell you this field which has a Khor’s worth of soil, just as they measure with the rope’s measurement, no less and no more.

פחת כל שהוא – for that field did not have a complete Khor’s worth of soil, the transaction exists and the seller deducts according to that which is less.

הותיר – land [was additional] a little bit, over the Khor’s worth, he (i.e., the purchaser) returns to the seller the land that was added on or the value of the land as will be explained further on.

אם אמר לו – the area of a Khor’s worth of soil I am selling to you, whether it be less, whether it be more for such and such a cost, and he did not tell him, “according to the measurement of the rope.”

אפילו פחת או הותיר רובע קב – for every Se’ah, which means thirty quarters (i.e., a quarter Kab equals 104 1/6 square cubits) for the area requiring a Khor of seed, he takes possession of it. For since the Tanna/teacher [of the Mishnah] taught even if he lessened it by one-quarter for a Se’ah (i.e., a Se’ah’s area equals 2500 square cubits), and did not teach “even if he lessened it seven and one-half kabs to the Khor, we learn from it, that even in a small sale, such as a Se’ah I am selling you, whether it be less or more, if he lessened it by a quarter of a Khor or added to it a quarter, he takes possession of it. But if he said, an undefined area requiring a Khor of seed, also whether it is less or more, it is similar.

יותר מכאן – more than one-quarter for every Se’ah if he gave too much, he should make an accounting, calculating how much he gave over the area requiring a Khor of seed, and how much they are worth, according to the calculations that he sold him an area requiring a Khor of seed.

ולמה אמרו יחזיר לו מעות – for according to the law, he doesn’t have to return anything to him other than land, for the purchaser did not buy anything other than an area requiring a Khor of seed., but the Sages did not establish that he should give him money corresponding to this extra part, but rather to give the prerogative to the seller, so that he will not lose that small amount of land, and it will not appear to him to be anything.

שאם שייר – in the area of a field requiring a Khor of seed, a house of nine Kabs, for now it appears to him that this field that we spokk about which is a house of nine Kabs is considered to be called a field, therefore, he does not return to him the money, but rather, the seller takes his field. And we learn from our Mishnah that seven and one-half kabs for a Khor which is a quarter of a kab for every Se’ah, there is a pardon. From seven and one-half kabs until nine kabs but not exactly in total, he makes an accounting; nine tabs or more, he returns the land.

ולא את הרובע – this is what he said: where we said that he should make an accounting, or return the land, not the additional alone does he return, but also the thirty fourths of the extra area of the Khor of seed he also returns. And because he has important land among everything, he does not forgive anything.