3,683. Two Men With Wives Who Never Gave Birth Before

Hilchos Bikkurim 11:26

Let’s say that there are two men whose wives have never given birth before. They both give birth to boys, but the babies get mixed up. In such a case, each father must give a kohein five sela. If they each paid a kohein within thirty days and one of the sons dies within that time, then if they gave the money to two kohanim, they can’t get it back. If they both gave it to the same kohein, one should write a document appointing the other his representative. That person can then retrieve five sela from the kohein.

Hilchos Bikkurim 11:27

Let’s say that the women in the preceding case gave birth to a boy and a girl and they got mixed up. In such a case, the fathers are exempt from pidyon haben, but the son must redeem himself. The same is true if a woman who has never given birth before doesn’t wait three months after being divorced before remarrying, and then gives birth to a son whose parentage is unknown – he might be the first husband’s son born after nine months, or the second husband’s son born after seven months. Both fathers are exempt from piyon haben and the son must redeem himself.