(If she said:) A yavam was given to me abroad [i.e., her mother-in-law had had a son abroad (and she had left in the status of not having a yavam)] — if she said (either): My husband died and then my yavam died, or: My yavam died and then my husband died, [permitting herself "to the marketplace" in both instances], she is believed [and is permitted "to the marketplace" as per her original status, "the mouth that forbids (by apprising us of the yavam) being the mouth that permits."] If she, her husband, and her yavam had gone abroad — if she said [either:] My husband died and then my yavam died, or: My yavam died and then my husband died, she is not believed, a woman not being believed to say: My yavam died, (for it is possible that she says so only) that she might remarry; and (she is not believed to say): My sister died, (for it is possible that she says so only) that she might enter his house (i.e., "the house" of the one who had married his sister.) And a man is not believed to say: My brother died, that he might take his wife in yibum; and (he is not believed to say): My wife died, that he might marry her sister.
Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
ניתן לי יבם במדינת הים – that her mother-in-law gave birth to abroad, and she went in the legal presumption that she has no levir.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
Introduction
This mishnah continues to discuss women who return from being abroad and come back and testify that their husbands and in this case brothers-in-law have died.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yevamot
מת בעלי ואח"כ מת יבמי וכו' – in both cases she is permitted to anyone in the world and is believed and permitted to anyone in the marketplace [of the world] in her original presumptive legal status that the mouth that forbids is the one that permits.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
[If a woman states] “a brother-in-law was given to me [while I was] in a country beyond the sea”, and afterwards she states, “my husband died and afterwards my brother-in-law died” or “my brother-in-law died and afterwards my husband died”, she is believed. As we stated in the previous two mishnayoth, a woman is believed if she make a statement which does not change the status quo established when she left to travel abroad. If when she left she did not have a brother-in-law, and then she returns and states that her husband had a brother, but he died (in this case it doesn’t matter whether her husband died first or his brother) she is allowed to remarry without yibbum. After all, if she hadn’t stated that she had a brother-in-law, we would never have thought to make her wait until she had halitzah or yibbum to remarry.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
If a woman and her husband and her brother-in-law went to a country beyond the sea, and she [on returning home] stated, “my husband died and afterwards my brother-in-law [died]” or “my brother-in-law [died] and afterwards my husband [died]” she is not believed; For a woman is not to be believed when she asserts “my brother-in-law is dead”, in order that she may marry again; Nor [is she believed when she states that] her sister is dead, in order that she may enter his house. In this case, the status quo when she left is that she had a brother-in-law. The mishnah teaches that a woman is never believed to state that her brother-in-law died. A woman is only believed to state that her husband died. The reason is that we assume a woman will make sure her husband is dead before she remarries. There is an assumption that she will not lie. Furthermore, if she was lying and he returns, the consequences for her are serious. However, there is no such assumption that a woman will not lie concerning her brother-in-law. She is also not believed to state that her sister died, so that she could marry her sister’s husband. Since even if her sister was alive, she would not cause serious consequences to herself by having relations with her sister’s husband, she might lie. We can see here a general pattern emerging: a person is less likely to lie if there are serious consequences awaiting him/her if he does lie. Therefore, in these types of situations, s/he is believed.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yevamot
A man also is not believed when he states “my brother is dead”, so that he may have yibbum with his wife, nor [when he states that] his wife is dead, in order that he may marry her sister. Finally, a man is not believed to state that his brother has died, so that he might marry his brother’s wife, for the same reason we wrote above. Since there are no serious consequences for him if he is lying (and only serious consequences for her) he is not deemed trustworthy. So too a man is not believed to state that his wife has died in order to marry her sister for even if he was lying there are no serious consequences for him
