Ketubot 29a — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

These

are the

young women

the virgins

who have a fine

fifty silver [shekels], if a person raped or seduced them, even though they are unfit to marry him, and the mitzva to take them as wives does not apply with regard to them.

A. Young women forbidden to those who have intercourse with them by a negative prohibition:

One who has intercourse with a mamzeret, who transgresses, "A mamzer shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord."

and the same applies to a mamzeret entering the congregation of the Lord.

And [one who has intercourse] with a netina, who is from the Gibeonites, forbidden to enter the assembly because David decreed concerning them.

a female descendant of the Gibeonites, who is forbidden to enter the assembly because David decreed this prohibition upon them.

And [one who has intercourse] with a Cuthite,

a daughter of the Cuthite nation, whose people converted because of fear of the lions that had been sent against them.

And according to the tanna of our Mishna, "They are lion converts": they are not considered genuine converts, but are gentiles, and are forbidden because of, "You shall not intermarry with them."

B. Young women who are considered virgins despite having had intercourse:

One who has intercourse with a female convert, with a captive

who was captured among the gentiles,

and with a maidservant who were redeemed, converted, and freed

when they were

less than three years and one day old,

and grew up and became young women—although these women have the presumption that they had intercourse at a time when they were not Jewish, nevertheless one who has intercourse with them is obligated in a fine, like one who has intercourse with a virgin, since even if they had intercourse then, their virginity would return before the age of three.

But if they were redeemed, converted, or freed when they were older than three years and one day, when they were already fit for intercourse in their gentile state [or while they were captives or maidservants], and if they had intercourse, their virginity does not return, they have no fine, since they have the presumption of women who have had intercourse, as will be explained in the following Mishna.

C. Young women unfit for those who have intercourse with them, for whom he is liable to karet:

And likewise

one who has intercourse with his sister—

a young woman when she is a virgin—for whom he is liable to karet.

And [one who has intercourse] with his father's sister and his mother's sister,

for whom he is liable to karet.

And [one who has intercourse] with his wife's sister,

for whom he is liable to karet.

And [one who has intercourse] with his brother's wife,

who was betrothed to his brother—and had not yet married and is a virgin—and his brother divorced her, so that she is no longer a married woman; and she is forbidden to her husband's brother only because of the prohibition of a brother's wife, which entails karet.

And [one who has intercourse] with his father's brother's wife,

who was betrothed to his father's brother, and before marriage his father's brother divorced her, and she is forbidden to the one who has intercourse with her by a prohibition of karet.

And [one who has intercourse] with a menstruating woman,

for one who has intercourse with her is liable to karet.

All these

have a fine—

because

although they entail karet

as expressed by the verse, "The soul shall surely be cut off," nevertheless

they do not entail a court-imposed death penalty,

which would exempt him from the fine by the law of "kim lei be-rabba minei," so that he would receive only the severe punishment of death and would not be punished with the lenient monetary punishment.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: "These are the young women who have a fine: one who has intercourse with a mamzeret, with a netina, and with a Cuthite."

And the Gemara is astonished at the wording of the Mishna, "These are the young women," whose apparent meaning is that only these have a fine and not others:

And is it only

these unfit young women

a mamzeret, a netina, and a Cuthite—alone—

who have a fine,

whereas young women

who are fit do not

deserve a fine!?

And we answer:

This is what

the tanna of the Mishna

said: "These are 'unfit' young women who have a fine,

even though they are unfit to marry him—

One who has intercourse with a mamzeret, with a netina, and with

a Cuthite.

The Gemara further analyzes the wording of our Mishna, in which we learned, "These are the young women":

One who has intercourse with the

young woman—yes,

indeed she has a fine.

But one who has intercourse with the

minor—no!

We inquire concerning this:

Who is the tanna?

According to which tanna was our Mishna taught, that a minor has no fine?

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav:

according to the method of

Rabbi Meir

it was stated.

For thus we find in a beraita, that according to Rabbi Meir a minor has no fine, but only a young woman does.

For it was taught: "A minor,

who is

from one day old until she produces two hairs

and becomes a young woman—

she has a sale—

her father can sell her so that she will be a Hebrew maidservant.

and she has no fine—

a fine is not paid for her to her father if she was raped or seduced.

And

if a young woman, who is

from when she produces two hairs until she reaches maturity

after six months from the production of two hairs—

she has a fine—

if she was raped or seduced, a fine is paid to her father.

and she has no sale —

by her father, to become a Hebrew maidservant.

These are the words of Rabbi Meir!

For Rabbi Meir would say: Wherever there is

for the father

a sale

of his daughter as a Hebrew maidservant [that is, when she is a minor]—

there is no

obligation of

a fine

for raping or seducing her.

And wherever there is a fine

when she is a young woman—again

there is no

possibility for her father of

a sale.

And the Sages say:

A minor,

who is

from three years and one day old,

who has already become fit for intercourse,

and

likewise a young woman,

until she reaches maturity—

she has a fine,

and her fine belongs to her father.

The Gemara analyzes the wording of the beraita in the words of the Sages, that a minor, beginning at three years old, "has a fine," and asks:

And is it only

a fine—yes,

indeed she has one while she is a minor, whereas

a sale

as a Hebrew maidservant

does not

apply to her, even though she is still a minor and has not produced two hairs!?