and they would exempt married women from ḥalitza and levirate marriage. The Gemara elaborates: In what way would they expound the verse to lead them to this conclusion? The verse states: “The wife of the dead man shall not be married outside of the family to one not of his kin; her brother-in-law will have intercourse with her and take her to him to be his wife, and consummate the levirate marriage” (Deuteronomy 25:5). They understood the word “outside” to be a description of the woman: She who sits outside, i.e., one who is only betrothed; she shall not be married to one not of his kin, and it is with her that the obligation of levirate marriage applies. But she who is not sitting outside, but who has already married, shall marry one not of his kin. Consequently, the concern with regard to the Samaritans is that their descendants include the children of a widow who unlawfully wed one who was not her brother-in-law.

After having explained which prohibition the Samaritans violated, the Gemara explains how this accounts for the prohibition with regard to marriage with Samaritans. And Rabbi Akiva conforms to his standard line of reasoning, as he says: The offspring of intercourse for which one is liable for violating a prohibition is a mamzer. Therefore, the descendants of a yevama who had transgressed the prohibition of: “The wife of the deceased shall not be married outside of the family to one not of his kin,” have the status of mamzerim.

And some say a third opinion as to why the Sages disqualified Samaritans for marriage: It is because they are not well versed in the details of mitzvot. The Gemara asks: Who is the one indicated by the phrase: Some say? Rav Idi bar Avin said: It is the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer. As it is taught in a baraita (Tosefta, Pesaḥim 2:2): The matza of a Samaritan is permitted to be eaten on Passover and is not considered to be leavened bread, and a person can fulfill his obligation to eat matza on the first night of Passover with it; but Rabbi Eliezer prohibits it, since Samaritans are not well versed in the details of mitzvot, and there is concern that their matza might be leavened. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says that this is not a concern, as with regard to any mitzva that Samaritans embraced and accepted, they are more exacting in its observance than are Jews.

The Gemara asks: But here, with regard to marriage, in what details are they not well versed? The Gemara answers: It is because they are not well versed with regard to the laws of betrothal and divorce. Consequently, it is possible that their bills of divorce were invalid, or that a betrothed woman was allowed to remarry without having received a bill of divorce, which would mean that her future children would be mamzerim.

Rav Naḥman says that Rabba bar Avuh says: Samaritans are of flawed lineage because a mamzer resulting from intercourse between a man and his sister and a mamzer resulting from intercourse between a man and his brother’s wife were assimilated among them, and they therefore all have the status of mamzerim due to the uncertainty as to the identity of those assimilated mamzerim. The Gemara asks: What is he teaching us by providing the details of how they are mamzerim due to uncertainty? If he intended to incidentally teach us the halakha that the offspring from intercourse for which one is liable to receive karet is a mamzer, let him teach one example, by mentioning the example of a mamzer from a sister. The Gemara answers: He did not mention these details to teach us a halakha, but rather the incident that took place, took place in this way, and that is why the Samaritans were considered to be of flawed lineage.

And Rava says: A Canaanite slave and a Canaanite maidservant were assimilated among them. The Gemara asks: In these cases, the prohibition is due to what? It is due to a Canaanite maidservant, whose children are slaves. But if so, let him teach one example; why also mention a Canaanite slave, whose child resulting from intercourse with a Jewish woman is of unflawed lineage? The Gemara again answers: The incident that took place, took place in this way.

MISHNA: A priest who marries a woman who is the daughter of a priest must investigate with regard to her background, i.e., he must check previous generations of her family tree from both the maternal and paternal sides, for four mothers, which are eight. How so? He investigates the lineage of her mother, and the mother of her mother, and the mother of her mother’s father, and her mother, i.e., the mother of her mother’s fathers’ mother. And he also investigates the lineage of the mother of her father, and her mother, i.e., the mother of her father’s mother, and the mother of her father’s father, and her mother i.e., the mother of her father’s father’s mother. If he seeks to marry a Levite woman or an Israelite woman, he adds to these an investigation of mothers of one additional generation.

With regard to these investigations, one need not investigate from the altar and above. If his ancestors included a priest who served at the altar, one checks no further, as the court would have investigated his lineage before allowing him to participate in the Temple service. Nor do they check from the platform, used by Levites for singing in the Temple, and above, nor from the Sanhedrin and above, since only one whose lineage has been examined and who was found to be fit can be appointed to the Sanhedrin. And similarly, anyone whose ancestors held public posts, and anyone whose ancestors were charity collectors, may marry into the priesthood, and there is no need to investigate their lineage, since no one of flawed lineage would be appointed to those positions.

Rabbi Yosei says: Even the descendants of one who had signed as a witness in the old court [ba’arki] of Tzippori do not need to have their lineage investigated. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Antigonus says: Even the descendants of one who was written in the army list [be’isteratya] of the Jewish king do not need to have their lineage investigated.

GEMARA: What is different about women that we investigate their lineage, and what is different about men that we do not investigate their lineage? Why shouldn’t we also examine the lineage of a bride’s male ancestors for any possible flaw, as we do her female ancestors? The Gemara answers: When women quarrel with each other, it is through accusations of engaging in forbidden sexual intercourse, i.e., licentiousness, that they quarrel. And if it is so that there is a matter of a flaw with regard to the lineage of the woman in question, it would not generate publicity. By contrast, when men quarrel with each other, it is through accusations of flawed lineage that they quarrel. Therefore, if it is so that there is a matter of a flaw with regard to her father’s lineage, it would generate publicity, even if no investigation is conducted.

The Gemara inquires: But she should also investigate his lineage; why is only the lineage of the woman investigated? The Gemara comments: This supports Rav, as Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: It was not prohibited for women of unflawed lineage, i.e., daughters of priests, to marry men of flawed lineage, such as ḥalalim, converts, or emancipated slaves. Therefore, women are not required to investigate the lineage of potential husbands.

Rav Adda bar Ahava taught that one needs to investigate four mothers who are twelve, adding an additional two generations of mothers of each of the woman’s parents. It was taught in a baraita: Four mothers who are sixteen. The Gemara asks: Granted, according to Rav Adda bar Ahava,