anything but a single ewe.

Another construction is possible: the collector must not split up the herd of three partners who together own one hundred and twenty sheep; only one ewe is due from them, for if he were to treat them separately three ewes would be owed. Nor should he combine what is already separate: if two men each possess one hundred and one sheep and keep their flocks apart, two ewes are payable, whereas if they merge them, three ewes become obligatory.

Other interpretations could be offered, but setting them out would be lengthy; in the end they all point to the same underlying meaning.