If a man swears, “I will not enter that house,” then only puts part of his body inside it or merely steps into the doorway; or he swears, “I will not wear any garment spun by her,” yet later wears a garment that contains some of her yarn; or he swears, “I will not drink the water in this vessel,” but then drinks from it—he has not broken his oath.

Should he perform the sworn-against act out of forgetfulness or ignorance, the oath is deemed violated only in vows that suspend a divorce or the emancipation of a slave. Whoever emphatically swears, “I will certainly do such-and-such,” is not released from his oath until he has completed the entire act.

A person who offers a plausible interpretation of his own wording is protected by that interpretation, provided he is not acting unjustly.

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If one is unsure whether a divorce—or the condition that triggers it—has actually occurred, nothing becomes binding. If he is uncertain about the number of divorces, he acts on what is certain and assumes the lesser number.

When a man says to his two wives, “One of you is divorced,” and he intended a particular wife, that wife alone is divorced; otherwise, the matter is settled by drawing lots, just as in the case of someone who divorced one of them and then forgot which one it was.

If he addresses his own wife together with an unrelated woman and says, “One of you is divorced,” or says to his mother-in-law, “Your daughter is divorced,” the divorce falls upon his wife. A claim that he meant the unrelated woman is not accepted unless supported by clear evidence. Likewise, if he mistakes a woman for his wife and says to her, “You are divorced,” his actual wife becomes divorced—and the same applies in the reverse situation.