[The husband] brings her meal-offering in a basket of palm-twigs and places it upon her hands in order to weary her. With all other meal-offerings, their beginning and their end are in ministering vessels; but with this, its beginning is in a basket of palm-twigs and its end in a ministering vessel. All other meal-offerings require oil and frankincense, but this requires neither oil nor frankincense. All other meal-offerings come from wheat, but this comes from barley. The meal-offering of the Omer, although it comes from barley, was in the form of sifted flour; but this comes from unsifted flour. Rabban Gamaliel says: just as her actions were the actions of an animal, so her offering [consisted of] animal's fodder.

[The priest] takes an earthenware bowl and pours half a log of water into it from the laver. Rabbi Judah says: a quarter [of a log]. Just as [Rabbi Judah] reduces the amount of writing, so he reduces the quantity of water. [Then the priest] enters the temple and turns to his right and there was a place there [on the floor] that was a cubit by a cubit, and a marble tablet, to which a ring was attached. When he would lift this up, he would take some dust from beneath it which he puts [into the bowl] so that it would be seen on top of the water; as it is said, “And of the dust that is on the floor of the Tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water” (Numbers 5:17).

He now comes to write the scroll.From what place [in Scripture] does he write? From “If no man has lain with you … but if you have gone astray while married to your husband” (Numbers 5:19-20). He does not write, “Then the priest shall cause the woman to swear” (v., but continues, “May the Lord make you a curse and an imprecation … And may this water that induces the spell enter your body make your belly swell, and your thigh to sag.” (vs. 21-22) He does not write “And the woman shall say, ‘amen, amen’” (vs.. Rabbi Yose says: he makes no omissions. Rabbi Judah says: he writes nothing except, ““May the Lord make you a curse and an imprecation … And may this water that induces the spell enter your body make your belly swell, and your thigh to sag.” (vs. 21-2 He does not write “And the woman shall say, ‘amen, amen’” (vs..

He writes neither on a [wooden] tablet nor on papyrus nor on rough parchment but on a [parchment] scroll, as it is said, “In a scroll” (Numbers 5:23). Nor does he write with a [preparation of] gum or sulphate of copper or with anything which makes an impression [on the parchment] but with ink, as it is said, “And he will blot it out” (ibid.) writing which is capable of being blotted out.

All agree that he cannot make a stipulation with her with regard to the time before she was betrothed or after she is divorced. If she secludes herself [with the man about whom she was warned, but after being divorced] and was defiled and subsequently [her husband] took her back, he cannot make a stipulation with her [in regard to this]. This is the general rule: any with whom she has intercourse and was not prohibited to him [at that time] the husband cannot make a stipulation on this.