Five Shekels and Not Half of Five

How the Talmud reads the redemption price of the firstborn as an indivisible obligation of five full coins.

וּפְדוּיָו֙ מִבֶּן־חֹ֣דֶשׁ תִּפְדֶּ֔ה בְּעֶ֨רְכְּךָ֔ כֶּ֛סֶף חֲמֵ֥שֶׁת שְׁקָלִ֖ים בְּשֶׁ֣קֶל הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ עֶשְׂרִ֥ים גֵּרָ֖ה הֽוּא׃

Take as their redemption price,gtheir redemption price I.e., for human first-born; cf. 3.44ff. For animals, see Exod. 34.19–20. from the age of one month up, the money equivalent of five shekels by the sanctuary weight, which is twenty gerahs. (Numbers 18:16)

The Torah's Command to Redeem the Firstborn

In the book of Numbers, the Torah delineates the gifts designated for the Aaronite priests. Among these is the redemption of human firstborn sons, known as פדיון הבן (pidyon haben). The verse instructs that any human firstborn must be redeemed at one month of age for a specific sum.

As Ibn Ezra clarifies on the plain text, the opening phrase refers exclusively to human firstborns, setting them apart from animal offerings. The text prescribes an exact payment: five shekels of silver, corresponding to five provincial סלעים (sela coins).

וּפְדוּיָו֙ מִבֶּן־חֹ֣דֶשׁ תִּפְדֶּ֔ה בְּעֶ֨רְכְּךָ֔ כֶּ֛סֶף חֲמֵ֥שֶׁת שְׁקָלִ֖ים בְּשֶׁ֣קֶל הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ

Take as their redemption price, from the age of one month up, the money equivalent of five shekels by the sanctuary weight. (Numbers 18:16)

When the Estate Falls Short

The Gemara addresses an estate where a father died thirty days after his sons were born, leaving behind an unknown firstborn and a total property value of only five sela coins. The brothers subsequently divided this inheritance between themselves.

Under the rule of Rav Asi, brothers who divide an estate are treated half as heirs and half as buyers from one another. Furthermore, an obligation imposed by Torah law is treated like an oral loan (מלוה על פה), which cannot be collected from buyers. Consequently, only half of the estate—two and a half sela coins—remains collectible from their status as heirs.

Five, But Not Half of Five

The Gemara asks how the priest can collect when only half the statutory amount is legally reachable. Rava initially proposes that the Tannaim debate the close reading of the phrase "five shekels" in Numbers 18:16.

Under this suggestion, Rabbi Meir reads the verse strictly: the Torah commands five, and not half of five. If the full five sela sum cannot be extracted, the priest receives nothing at all. Tosafot explains that unlike ordinary tort compensations, which can be paid in fractions, pidyon haben is a fixed mitzvah that cannot be fulfilled through a partial payment.

וְהָכָא בְּחָמֵשׁ וְלֹא בַּחֲצִי חָמֵשׁ קָמִיפַּלְגִי, דְּרַבִּי מֵאִיר סָבַר: חָמֵשׁ וְלֹא חֲצִי חָמֵשׁ

And here they disagree with regard to: Five, but not with half of five. As Rabbi Meir holds: Five, and not half of five. (Bekhorot 48b:2)

The Halachic Conclusion

The Gemara challenges the claim that Rabbi Yehuda permits collecting a partial sum. A baraita demonstrates that Rabbi Yehuda also requires a full five sela value of true inheritance before the priest may collect.

The Gemara concludes that all authorities agree on the derashah: the Torah insists upon five complete sela coins, not half of five. A priest cannot extract a fractional redemption debt from an estate encumbered for only half the amount.

אֶלָּא, דְּכוּלֵּי עָלְמָא חָמֵשׁ וְלֹא חֲצִי חָמֵשׁ

Rather, everyone agrees: Five, but not half of five. (Bekhorot 48b:6)

The Torah's command of five shekels establishes an indivisible statutory obligation that cannot be collected or fulfilled in fractional portions.

Learn Bekhorot 48 on Super Daf