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MISHNA: In an ordinary document, its witnesses are to sign inside it, i.e., on the written side of the paper. In a folded and tied document, its witnesses are to sign on the back of it.
2
With regard to an ordinary document whose witnesses wrote their signatures on the back of it, and a tied document whose witnesses wrote their signatures inside of it, both of these are not valid. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Gamliel says: A tied document whose witnesses wrote their signatures inside of it is valid, because one can transform it into an ordinary document by untying it. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Everything is in accordance with regional custom.
3
An ordinary document is rendered valid by its having at least two witnesses, and a tied document is rendered valid by its having at least three witnesses. With regard to an ordinary document in which a single witness wrote his signature, and a tied document in which only two witnesses wrote their signatures, they are both not valid.
4
GEMARA: The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived? What biblical basis is there for the existence of these two types of documents? Rabbi Ḥanina says: As the verse states: “They shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds, and seal them, and call witnesses” (Jeremiah 32:44). When the verse states: “They shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds,”