Commentary for Bava Batra 6:4
הַמּוֹכֵר מָקוֹם לַחֲבֵרוֹ לִבְנוֹת לוֹ בַיִת, וְכֵן הַמְקַבֵּל מֵחֲבֵרוֹ לִבְנוֹת לוֹ בֵית חַתְנוּת לִבְנוֹ וּבֵית אַלְמְנוּת לְבִתּוֹ, בּוֹנֶה אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת עַל שֵׁשׁ, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא. רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר, רֶפֶת בָּקָר הוּא זֶה. הָרוֹצֶה לַעֲשׂוֹת רֶפֶת בָּקָר, בּוֹנֶה אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת עַל שֵׁשׁ. בַּיִת קָטָן, שֵׁשׁ עַל שְׁמֹנֶה. גָדוֹל, שְׁמֹנֶה עַל עֶשֶׂר. טְרַקְלִין, עֶשֶׂר עַל עֶשֶׂר. רוּמוֹ כַּחֲצִי אָרְכּוֹ וְכַחֲצִי רָחְבּוֹ. רְאָיָה לַדָּבָר, הֵיכָל. רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, הַכֹּל כְּבִנְיַן הֵיכָל:
If one sells a place to his neighbor to build a house for him; likewise, one who is commissioned by his neighbor to build a "wedding house" for his son, [it being customary to build a house for one's son when he marries], or a "widowhood house" for his daughter, [when her husband dies and she returns to her father's house. But in her husband's lifetime she is with her husband, it not being customary for a man to live with his in-laws], he builds (at least) four by six cubits. These are the words of R. Akiva. R. Yishmael says: This is a cattle shed! [i.e., He must build it larger.] If one wishes to make a cattle shed, he builds four cubits by six. A small house is six by eight. [The smallest of houses is six by eight, and if one sells a place to his neighbor to build a house for him, the house must be (at least) six by eight.] [If he specified] "a large house," (it must be (at least) eight by ten. A "house of state," ten by ten. Its height must be (the sum of) half its length and half its width. [This refers to all of the above, viz.: For a small house, the height is seven cubits; for a large house, nine; and for a "house of state," ten.] Confirmation of this — the (Temple) sanctuary, (which was forty in length, twenty in width, and thirty in height — half the sum of the length and the width.) R. Shimon b. Gamliel says: All according to the structure of the sanctuary. [Some understand this to mean: It is R. Shimon b. Gamliel who taught: "Its height must be … Confirmation of this, etc." Others understand it as R. Shimon b. Gamliel differing with the first tanna, expressing wonder, viz.: "Is everything to be built according to the structure of the sanctuary!" The criterion, rather, is "the custom of the land."]
Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Batra
English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Batra
Rabbi Yishmael says: “This is a cattle-shed”. He who wants to build a cattle-shed, should build it four cubits by six. A small house six by eight (120 x 160). A large house eight by ten (160 x 200). An eating hall ten by ten (200 x 200).
The height should be [the sum] of half its length and half its breadth. Proof of the matter is the sanctuary. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: “Should all [houses] be according to the building of the Sanctuary?”
Mishnah four discusses rules concerning the building of houses.
According to Rabbi Akiva (section one) a normal sized house is four cubits by six cubits. Hence, if one bought a plot for a house the seller must provide the buyer with a plot large enough to build on it such a sized house. Furthermore, if one contracted another person to build a house for his newly wedded son or widowed daughter who is returning to live with her father after the death of her husband, the builder must build a house four by six cubits.
Rabbi Yishmael says that a house this size is the size of a cattle-herd. Rabbi Yishmael then lists the sizes of houses. If a person, for instance, contracted another to build him a large house, then he must build one eight by ten cubits.
With regards to the height, the mishnah says that it must be the sum of half the width and half the length. A large house would be nine cubits high. The proof is the sanctuary that stood in the Temple in Jerusalem. According to I Kings 6:2, 17, the Sanctuary was 40 cubits long, 20 wide and 30 high. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel disagrees with using the Sanctuary as a precedent for normal houses. Assumedly Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel would hold that a house should be as high as normal houses are in the area in which the house is built.
Note how small the houses are that are described in the mishnah. In ancient Israel the house was probably only used for sleeping and maybe eating when the weather did not permit eating outside. People owned very few possessions and therefore didn’t have need for much storage. Furthermore, there courtyards served as workplaces to do things such as cook and clean. Therefore there “houses” were the size of small rooms in modern American homes. On your next visit to Israel, if you visit an archaeological site notice the size of the homes and tell your tour guide about this mishnah!