Bava Batra 105 – Contradictory Statements in Contracts

If the seller says, "I am selling you this amount of land as measured by a rope, be it more or less," these two statements are contradictory. "Measured by a rope" does not forgive even a slight variation, whereas "be it more or less" forgives a deviation of up to 1/24. The second statement nullifies the first. If it was uttered after a while, it is definitely a retraction. Even if it was uttered immediately, we assume he changed his mind. These are the words of Ben Nannas.

However, the Sages say that since he added nothing to clarify his retraction, this may indicate that he understood the contradiction, returned to the first statement, and decided to stop talking to avoid further mistakes. Therefore, the statement giving the seller the smaller amount is operative, keeping the money in dispute in the hands of the current owner.


Art: Cornfield near Calais by Josephine Bowes