Shevuos 5:2-3

Shevuos 5:2

An oath of deposit is when the plaintiff asks the defendant to return a deposit that he left with him and the defendant replies by swearing that he possesses nothing belonging to the plaintiff, or he says that he has nothing belonging to the plaintiff in his possession, so the plaintiff imposes an oath upon him and he replies “amen.” In such situations, the defendant is liable for his oath. If the plaintiff imposed an oath upon him five times, whether he did so in front of a court or not, and the defendant denied possession each time, he is liable for each oath. Rabbi Shimon says that this is because he still has the ability to retract his statement and admit that he has the property in his possession.

Shevuos 5:3

If five people claimed property from the same person and he swore that he had nothing belonging to them, he is only liable once. If he says, “I swear that I have nothing of yours, yours, yours, yours or yours” (indicating each claimant), then he is liable for each of them. Rabbi Eliezer says this is only the case if he expresses the oath at the end of his statement (i.e., after their names). Rabbi Shimon says that he is only liable for each of them if he repeated the oath each time. If a plaintiff says, “Return the deposit, the loan, and the stolen and lost property of mine that you have” and the defendant replies by swearing that he has nothing of the plaintiff’s in his possession, he is only liable once. If he says, “I swear that I do not have your deposit, loan, and stolen and lost property,” then he is liable for each one. If the plaintiff says, “Give me my wheat, barley and spelt that are in your possession” and he replies by swearing that he has nothing of the plaintiff’s in his possession, he is only liable once. If he says, “I swear that I do not have your wheat, barley and spelt,” then he is liable for each one. Rabbi Meir says that even if the defendant replied that he does not have a single grain of wheat, barley and spelt, he is still liable for each one.