Commentary for Bekhorot 8:4
שְׁתֵּי נָשִׁים שֶׁלֹּא בִכְּרוּ וְיָלְדוּ שְׁנֵי זְכָרִים, נוֹתֵן עֶשֶׂר סְלָעִים לַכֹּהֵן. מֵת אֶחָד מֵהֶן בְּתוֹךְ שְׁלשִׁים יוֹם, אִם לְכֹהֵן אֶחָד נָתַן, יַחֲזִיר לוֹ חָמֵשׁ סְלָעִים. אִם לִשְׁנֵי כֹהֲנִים נָתַן, אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהוֹצִיא מִיָּדָם. זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה אוֹ שְׁנֵי זְכָרִים וּנְקֵבָה, נוֹתֵן חָמֵשׁ סְלָעִים לַכֹּהֵן. שְׁתֵּי נְקֵבוֹת וְזָכָר אוֹ שְׁנֵי זְכָרִים וּשְׁתֵּי נְקֵבוֹת, אֵין כָּאן לַכֹּהֵן כְּלוּם. אַחַת בִּכְּרָה וְאַחַת שֶׁלֹּא בִכְּרָה וְיָלְדוּ שְׁנֵי זְכָרִים. נוֹתֵן חָמֵשׁ סְלָעִים לַכֹּהֵן. מֵת אֶחָד מֵהֶן בְּתוֹךְ שְׁלשִׁים יוֹם, הָאָב פָּטוּר. מֵת הָאָב וְהַבָּנִים קַיָּמִין, רַבִּי מֵאיר אוֹמֵר, אִם נָתְנוּ עַד שֶׁלֹּא חָלְקוּ, נָתָנוּ. וְאִם לָאו, פְּטוּרִין. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, נִתְחַיְּבוּ נְכָסִים. זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, אֵין כָּאן לַכֹּהֵן כְּלוּם:
[If] two wives [of one man] who have not given birth then give birth to two boys - he gives ten <i>selaim</i> to the priest. If one of the children dies within thirty days - if [all ten] were given to one priest, he returns five to him. If they were given to two priests, he cannot extract [the money] from [either of] them. If they gave birth to a boy and a girl or two boys and a girl - he gives five <i>selaim</i> to the priest. Two girls and a boy or two boys and two girls, the priest receives nothing. If one woman had given birth and the other had not, and they give birth to two boys - he gives five <i>selaim</i> to the priest. If one of them dies within thirty days, the father is exempt. If the father dies and the children are still alive, Rabbi Meir says: if they gave [the five <i>selaim</i>] before the estate was divided - it is given, if not - they are exempt. Rabbi Yehuda says: the estate became liable. If they gave birth to a boy and a girl the priest receives nothing.
Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
English Explanation of Mishnah Bekhorot
If one of the children dies within thirty days [of its birth], if he gave the redemption money to one priest alone, he returns five selas to him, but if he gave it to two priests, he cannot reclaim the money from them.
If they gave birth to a male and a female or to two males and a female, he gives five selas to the priest.
If they gave birth to two females and a male, or to two males and two females, the priest receives nothing.
If one woman had given birth before and the other had never given birth, and they gave birth to two males, he gives five selas to the priest.
If one of the children died within thirty days [of its birth], the father is exempt.
If the father dies and the sons survive: Rabbi Meir says: if they gave the five sela's before the property was divided up, then what they gave is given; but if not, they are exempt. But Rabbi Judah says: there is a claim on the property.
If they gave birth to a male and a female, the priest receives nothing.
This mishnah deals with a case where two different women gave birth for the first time and their children got mixed up. Note that this mishnah is very similar to the mishnah concerning animals whose first borns are mixed up (see 2:7).
Section one: In this case both children are certainly first born males, so the father must give ten selas to the priest.
Section two: In this case one of the sons dies before he reaches thirty days. The father should have given only five selas to one priest. If he had already given ten selas to one priest, then he can ask for five back. However, if he had given five selas to one priest and five to another, he can’t recover either, because both priests can claim that their money was used to redeem the living son.
Section three: If the two women gave birth to one male and one female, or between them two males and one female, then there is only one child who is certainly a first born male. The other male may be the younger brother of the first born female. Therefore, he only gives five selas to the priest.
Section four: If there are two females and either one or two males, then it is possible that neither male is a first-born, so the priest receives nothing.
Section five: In this case, one child is certainly a first-born and one is certainly not. Therefore, he gives five selas to the priest.
Section six: This is the same debate we saw in section three of yesterday’s mishnah. For reference, see there.
Section seven: If the two give birth one to a male and one to a female, the priest receives nothing because we can’t be sure that there was a first born male.