10 One who finds a vessel on which was written qorban—
R. Juday says:
If the vessel was made] of clay, it is [presumed to be] nonsacral,
but what is in it is qorban.
But if [the vessel] was [made] of metal, it is [presumed to be] qorban,
but what in it is nonsacral.
The [Sages] said to him:
People are not accustomed to gather nonsacral things into a qorban
[vessel]. (Joshua Kulp, Tractate Ma’aser Sheni 4:10, in The Oxford Annotated
Mishnah: A New Translation of the Mishnah With Introduction and Notes, ed.
Shaye J. D. Cohen, Robert Goldenberg, and Hayim Lapin, 3 vols. [Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2022], 1:299-300)
qorban: The
Hebrew word for “sacrifice” which by extension means “sacred” or “property of
the Temple.” See Gospel of Mark 7:6 and Nedarim 3:5. (Ibid., 1:299)
Overview
In Scripture the primary purpose of a vow (Heb. neder, pl. nederim)
is to designate an animal as consecrated for sacrifice or to pledge a sacrifice
without specifying the animal that will be offered. In rabbinic law this conception
was extended: a vow might designate any object or types of objects, or even a person
or class of persons, as forbidden to the person making the vow as if these were
sacred: in technical language the vow “grasped” an object that was already
sanctified and thereby took in its forbidden character. For this reason the
basic term for taking a vow upon oneself was qorban (“sacrifice”; see
Mark 7:11), though in later times the word was often transformed in popular
speech to qonam and the like.
In practice a vow usually amounted to renouncing all benefit that the
indicated object or person might provide, or, by still further extension, all
opportunity to provide benefit to a designated person, as if in such a case the
target of the vow, rather than the speaker, had uttered it. In contrast to a
vow, an oath (shevu’ah) obliges the speaker to perform or avoid a specified
act. The Mishnah there (2:1-3) sketches some practical differences between the
two, but elsewhere (Sanhedrin 3:2) it reflects their virtual equivalence
in popular speech. (Robert Goldenberg, “Tractate Nedarim: Introduction,” in The
Oxford Annotated Mishnah: A New Translation of the Mishnah With Introduction and
Notes, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen, Robert Goldenberg, and Hayim Lapin, 3 vols. [Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2022], 2:128)
2 One who says to his fellow:
Qonam, Qonach, or Qonas–
in this case there are substitutions for Qorban.
Hereq, Herekh, or Heref–
in this case these are substitutions for Herem.
Naziq, Naziakh, or Paziakh–
in this case these are substitutions for a nazir-vow.
Shevutah, Shequqah;
or he vowed by mota–
in this case these are substitutions for Shevu’ah. (Robert Goldenberg, Tractate
Nedarim 1:2, in The Oxford Annotated Mishnah: A New Translation of the Mishnah
With Introduction and Notes, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen, Robert Goldenberg, and
Hayim Lapin, 3 vols. [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022], 2:131)
Qonam, etc.: The
Babylonian Talmud identifies these substitutions either as foreigners’
mispronounciations of Hebrew words that have crept into everyday speech or as nonsense
words invented by the rabbis so that people could undertake a vow without
actually pronouncing the name of God (see next comment).
Qorban: Lit. “sacrifice.”
This word is either stated or implied in all vow formulations. IN the case of
an actual sacrifice, the complete formula of dedication would include the
Divine name (“a sacrifice unto God”), and according to the second explanation
above the substitutions are designed to avoid this use of the name in
nonsacrificial contexts. Widespread use of qorban as establishing a vow
is suggested by Mark 7:11. (Ibid., 2:131)
5 “These plantings are hereby qorban if they are not cut,”
“This cloak is qorban if it is not burned”–
they can be redeemed,
“These” plantings are hereby qorban until they are cut,
they cannot be redeemed. (Robert Goldenberg, Tractate Nedarim 3:5, in The
Oxford Annotated Mishnah: A New Translation of the Mishnah With Introduction and
Notes, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen, Robert Goldenberg, and Hayim Lapin, 3 vols. [Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2022], 2:141)
3:5 qorban:
Such objects cannot literally be sacrificed, nor does the speaker pronounce the
usual vow formula “to me,” which would render the objects forbidden to him
alone. Instead, the plantings or the cloak are pledged as a gift to the Temple treasury.
The vow is presumably spoken in a situation where the objects are about to be
destroyed or stolen, perhaps by government officials as in 3:4; hence the
placement of this paragraph immediately after the preceding. Unlike the vows in
the previous text, however, this vow is binding and the objects must be
redeemed; it is not considered a vow made in error, even if the feared
destruction fails to occur. (Ibid., 2:141)
“I am hereby a nazir from dried dates and from pressed figs”:
The House of Shammai say:
He is a nazir;
but the House of Hillel say:
He is not a nazir.
Said R. Judah:
Even when the House of Shammai said this,
They only said so about one who says: “They are hereby a sacrifice for me.” (Robert
Goldenberg, Tractate Nazir 2:1, in The Oxford Annotated Mishnah: A New
Translation of the Mishnah With Introduction and Notes, ed. Shaye J. D.
Cohen, Robert Goldenberg, and Hayim Lapin, 3 vols. [Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2022], 2:186-87)
a sacrifice:
Heb. qorban. The word was routinely used to pronounce a vow; when
someone declared that a certain type of food or other substance, or even a
certain person, was qorban, the effect was to renounce any possibility
of enjoying that food or deriving any benefit from the indicated person. (Ibid.,
2:187)
19 One who says to his son:”Qonam lest you benefit from me”–
if he died, he may inherit from him.
[If the vow explicitly stated] in his life and in his death–
and he must return [his inheritance] to his sons or his brothers.
And if he does not have–
he may borrow and the creditors come and exact payment. (Hayim Lapin, Tractate
Bava Qamma 9:10, in The Oxford Annotated Mishnah: A New Translation of the Mishnah
With Introduction and Notes, ed. Shaye J. D. Cohen, Robert Goldenberg, and
Hayim Lapin, 3 vols. [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022], 2:375)
“Qonam”: A circumlocution for qorban, “sacrifice,”
marking the undertaking of a vow, that restricts benefit (Nedarim 1:2
and introduction). According to the reading in the manuscripts (see n. 45), the
father dedicates as sacrifice, and thus prohibits any benefit that the son
might receive from him. The vow lapses at death, and the son may inherit.
and in his death,
explicitly extending the vow beyond the father’s death, so he may not
inherit. (Ibid., 2:375)
