Perfume, Pleasure, and Moral Decay in Late First Temple Samaria and Jerusalem: Interpretations of Amos 6 and Isaiah 3 (Shabbat 62b-63a)
The sugya centers on biblical verses describing luxury, indulgence, and moral corruption in Samaria and Jerusalem in the late First Temple period (c. 8th century BCE), especially as depicted by the biblical prophets Amos and Isaiah.
The Talmud opens with Rav Yehuda citing Shmuel on the phrase “reishit shemanim yimshachu” (Amos 6:6), identifying “the chief ointments” as pleiton, a type of perfumed oil. Parallel to this, another statement defines the same phrase as balsam oil, the prized afarsimon. This discussion leads to the halakhic note that R’ Yehuda ben Bava attempted to prohibit the use of balsam oil as an act of mourning for the destroyed Temple, a decree the other sages did not accept.
The Talmud continues to interpret the phrase “drink wine in mizrekei” (Amos 6:6). R’ Ami and R’ Asi dispute the meaning of mizrekei: one explains it as kenishkanin, multi-spouted cups from which several people could drink at once; the other explains it as mezarkin, i.e., that drinkers toss their cups to one another playfully. The discussion highlights modes of drinking associated with excess.
Next, the passage turns to “seruḥim al arsehotam” (Amos 6:4). R’ Yosei b. Ḥanina interprets seruḥim as describing people who urinated naked in front of their beds. R’ Abbahu rejects this reading on the grounds that the harsh punishment described in the following verse cannot be attributed to an act of mere indecency. He therefore interprets seruḥim as referring to groups who ate and drank together, pushed their beds together, exchanged wives, and thereby defiled their beds with semen not their own.
Related to this, R’ Abbahu transmits (or a baraita teaches) that three actions bring poverty: one who urinates naked before his bed, one who treats netilat yadayim disrespectfully, and one whose wife curses him in his presence.
The Talmud then turns to Isaiah 3:16, a verse criticizing the women of Zion. Rava b. Ilai provides a line-by-line interpretation. “Haughty” means they walked with erect posture; “outstretched necks” describes their heel-to-toe gait; “wanton eyes” means they filled their eyes with kohl and signaled flirtatiously; “walking and mincing” indicates that a tall woman walked beside a short woman to enhance her appearance.
R’ Yitzḥak from R’ Ami’s School interprets “tinkling with their feet” as women placing myrrh and balsam in their shoes, kicking the ground, and sending fragrance toward young men to arouse desire, “like the venom of a serpent.”
The punishments listed in Isaiah 3:24 are then detailed by Rabba bar Ulla: the perfumed area becomes putrid sores; the sash becomes rope-marks of bruising; well-set hair becomes bald patches; and decorative garments become sackcloth; “instead of beauty, a sore” parallels the idiomatic expression “the exchange for beauty is a wound.”
Further, R’ Yosei b. R’ Ḥanina explains “sippach” (Isaiah 3:17) by connection to the term “sappachat” in the Pentateuch’s laws of tzara‘at, identifying it as an outbreak of tzara‘at upon the daughters of Zion. Rav and Shmuel debate the parallel phrase “pot’hen ye’areh”: one explains it as their innards being poured out like a jug; the other, that their orifices became overgrown with hair like a forest.
Rav Yehuda citing Rav states that the people of Jerusalem were arrogant, speaking about indulgence. They questioned each other about well-kneaded vs. not well-kneaded bread, white vs. black wine, wide vs. narrow couches, and good vs. bad companions. According to Rav Ḥisda, these are all euphemisms for different types of women (respectively: non-virgins, fair-skinned women, corpulent women, and attractive ones).
Finally, Raḥava quoting R’ Yehuda notes that Jerusalem’s firewood once consisted of cinnamon-wood, whose smoke fragranced all of Israel. After the destruction, these logs were hidden, leaving only a small piece “the size of a barley grain,” kept in the treasury of a certain “Queen Tzimtzemai”.
Verses
Amos 6:4-6
השכבים על מטות שן
וסרחים על ערשותם
ואכלים כרים מצאן
ועגלים מתוך מרבק
הפרטים על פי הנבל
כדויד חשבו להם כלי שיר
השתים במזרקי יין
וראשית שמנים ימשחו
ולא נחלו על שבר יוסף
לכן עתה
יגלו בראש גלים
וסר מרזח סרוחים
They lie on ivory beds,
Lolling on their couches,
Feasting on lambs from the flock
And on calves from the stalls.
They hum snatches of song
To the tune of the lute—
They account themselves musicians like David.
They drink [straight] from the wine bowls
And anoint themselves with the choicest oils—
But they are not concerned about the ruin of Joseph.
Assuredly, right soon,
They shall head the column of exiles;
They shall loll no more at festive meals.
Isaiah 3:16-17,24
ויאמר יהוה
יען כי גבהו בנות ציון
ותלכנה (נטוות) [נטויות] גרון
ומשקרות עינים
הלוך וטפף תלכנה
וברגליהם תעכסנה
ושפח אדני קדקד בנות ציון
ויהוה פתהן יערה
YHWH said:
“Because the daughters of Zion Are so vain (גבהו)
And walk with heads thrown back,
With roving (משקרות) eyes,
And with mincing (טפף) gait,
Making a tinkling (תעכסנה) with their feet”—
My Sovereign will bare (שפח) the pates3 Of the daughters of Zion,
YHWH will uncover (יערה) their heads (פתהן)
And ibid., verse 24:
והיה
תחת בשם
מק יהיה
ותחת חגורה
נקפה
ותחת מעשה מקשה
קרחה
ותחת פתיגיל
מחגרת שק
כי תחת יפי
And then—
Instead of perfume,
there shall be rot (מק);
And instead of an apron,
a rope (נקפה);
Instead of a diadem of beaten-work (מקשה),
A shorn head;
Instead of a rich robe (פתיגיל),
A girding of sackcloth;
A burn (כי) instead of beauty.
Outline
Intro
Verses
Amos 6:4-6
Isaiah 3:16-17,24
The Passage - Perfume, Pleasure, and Moral Decay in Late First Temple Jerusalem: Interpretations of Amos 6 and Isaiah 3 (Shabbat 62b-63a)
Rav Yehuda citing Shmuel - “anoint themselves with the chief ointments” refers to pleiton (perfumed oil) - Amos 6:6
R’ Yehuda ben Bava decreed against using balsam oil during mourning for the Temple; the other rabbis did not accept it
R’ Ami and R’ Asi disagree over the meaning of the term ‘mizrekei’ (“cups”, in context of wine-drinking) in Amos 6:6
R’ Yosei b. Ḥanina - “Seruḥim” = those who urinate naked in front of their beds - Amos 6:4
R’ Abbahu - Rejects above reading; “seruḥim” refers to wife-swapping and sexual misconduct
R’ Abbahu / Baraita - Three things bring poverty: urinating naked before the bed; demeaning netilat yadayim; a wife cursing her husband in his presence
Rava b. Ilai - Interprets Isa 3:16: haughty walking, eye-makeup, and mincing gait
R’ Yitzḥak of R’ Ami’s School - “Tinkling with their feet” = perfumes in shoes which they would kick up toward young men - Isaiah 3:16
Rabba b. Ulla - Interprets Isa 3:24: a series of bodily afflictions replacing luxurious adornments
R’ Yosei b. Ḥanina - “Sippach” = outbreak of tzara’at among Jerusalemite women - Isaiah 3:17; Leviticus 14:56
Rav and Shmuel - “their secret parts” either means their innards poured out like a jug, or their orifices (=genitalia) became (hairy) like a forest - Isaiah 3:17
Rav Yehuda citing Rav - Jerusalemites (pre-Destruction) were arrogant; talked about food
Rav Ḥisda - Understands these as euphemisms as referring to different types of women
Raḥava citing R’ Yehuda - Jerusalem’s firewood (pre-Destruction) was cinnamon, perfuming all of Israel
... only a tiny remnant remains
Appendix - Homiletic Interpretations in Biblical Order
Amos 6
Amos 6:4 — “Ha-shokhvim al mitot shen… u-seruḥim al arsehotam”
Amos 6:6 — “Ha-shotim b’mizrekei yayin… ve-reishit shemanim yimshachu”
“Reishit shemanim yimshachu” — the chief ointments
“Ha-shotim b’mizrekei yayin” — those drinking wine in mizrekei
Isaiah 3
Isaiah 3:16 — ““Because the daughters of Zion Are so vain…”
“…u-virg’leihen ta’akasnah” — “making a tinkling with their feet”
Isaiah 3:17 — “My Sovereign will bare (שפח) the pates (קדקד - “scalp”) Of the daughters of Zion”
“Sipaḥ” — smiting the crown of the head
“Ye’areh pot’hen” — laying bare their secret parts
Isaiah 3:24 — Catalogue of Punishments
The Passage
Rav Yehuda citing Shmuel - “anoint themselves with the chief ointments” refers to pleiton (perfumed oil) - Amos 6:6
״וראשית שמנים ימשחו״,
אמר רב יהודה, אמר שמואל:
זה פלייטון
[...]
Related to the mention of perfume, the Talmud cites several statements.
It is stated: “That drink wine in mizrekei, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they are not grieved for the hurt of Joseph” (Amos 6:6).
Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said:
“The chief ointments” is balsam oil4
[...]
R’ Yehuda ben Bava decreed against using balsam oil during mourning for the Temple; the other rabbis did not accept it
אף על פלייטון גזר רבי יהודה בן בבא,
ולא הודו לו.
[...]
Tosefta:
R’ Yehuda ben Bava issued a decree on balsam oil as well,
prohibiting its use due to mourning over the destruction of the Temple, and the rabbis did not agree with him.
[...]
R’ Ami and R’ Asi disagree over the meaning of the term ‘mizrekei’ (“cups”, in context of wine-drinking) in Amos 6:6
כתיב: ״השתים במזרקי יין״ —
רבי אמי ורבי אסי,
חד אמר
קנישקנין,
וחד אמר
שמזרקין כוסותיהן זה לזה.
[...]
Abaye said to him:
And according to your reasoning,
that which is written in the same verse: “That drink wine in mizrekei”;
R’ Ami and R’ Asi disagree over the meaning of the term mizrekei.
One said:
They are multi-spouted vessels [kenishkanin], wine vessels with spouts from which several people can drink at one time,
and one said that
they throw [mezarkin] their cups to one another in joy and jest.
[...]
R’ Yosei b. Ḥanina - “Seruḥim” = those who urinate naked in front of their beds - Amos 6:4
״השכבים על מטות שן
וסרחים על ערשותם״.
אמר רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא:
מלמד ש
היו משתינין מים בפני מטותיהן ערומים.
The Talmud interprets additional verses related to the critique of the leadership of Samaria.
It is stated: “That lie upon beds of ivory
and stretch [seruḥim] upon their couches and eat the lambs out of the flock and the calves out of the midst of the stall” (Amos 6:4).
R’ Yosei, son of R’ Ḥanina, said:
This term, seruḥim, interpreted homiletically, teaches that
their sin was that they would urinate before their beds while naked.
R’ Abbahu - Rejects above reading; “seruḥim” refers to wife-swapping and sexual misconduct
מגדף בה רבי אבהו:
אי הכי,
היינו דכתיב:
״לכן עתה יגלו בראש גלים״ —
משום דמשתינין מים בפני מטותיהם ערומים
יגלו בראש גולים?!
R’ Abbahu ridiculed5 that interpretation:
If so,
that this is the meaning of the term seruḥim, is this the meaning of that which is written:
“Therefore now they shall go into exile at the head of the exiles and the revelry of those seruḥim shall pass away” (Amos 6:7),
because they urinate before their beds while naked
they will be exiled at the head of exiles?!
Although doing so is revolting, a punishment so severe is certainly excessive.
אלא
אמר רבי אבהו:
אלו בני אדם שהיו
אוכלים ושותים זה עם זה,
ודובקין מטותיהן זו בזו,
ומחליפין נשותיהן זה עם זה,
ומסריחין ערסותם בשכבת זרע שאינו שלהן.
Rather,
R’ Abbahu said:
This verse is referring to a grave sin. These are people who would
eat and drink with each other,
and join their beds to each other,
and swap wives with each other,
and defile (מסריחין) their beds (ערסותם) with semen that was not theirs.
That is the meaning of seruḥim upon their couches. For those severe transgressions they deserved to be exiled at the head of exiles.
R’ Abbahu / Baraita - Three things bring poverty: urinating naked before the bed; demeaning netilat yadayim; a wife cursing her husband in his presence
אמר רבי אבהו,
ואמרי לה במתניתא תנא:
שלשה דברים מביאין את האדם לידי עניות,
ואלו הן:
המשתין מים בפני מטתו ערום,
ומזלזל בנטילת ידים,
ושאשתו מקללתו בפניו.
[...]
On a related note, R’ Abbahu said,
and some say it was taught in a baraita:
Three matters bring a person to a state of poverty as a divine punishment from Heaven:
One who urinates before his bed while naked,
and one who demeans (מזלזל) the ritual washing of the hands,6
and one whose wife curses him in his presence.
[...]
Rava b. Ilai - Interprets Isa 3:16: haughty walking, eye-makeup, and mincing gait
דרש רבא בריה דרב עילאי,
מאי דכתיב:
״ויאמר ה׳ יען כי גבהו בנות ציון״ —
שהיו מהלכות בקומה זקופה.
״ותלכנה נטויות גרון״ —
שהיו מהלכות עקב בצד גודל.
״ומשקרות עינים״ —
דהוה מליאן כוחלא לעינייהו ומרמזן.
״הלוך וטפוף״ —
שהיו מהלכות ארוכה בצד קצרה.
Since the Talmud spoke of sins in the First Temple era, it continues to explain other verses with similar content.
Rava, son of Rav Ilai, interpreted the following verse homiletically.
What is the meaning of that which is written:
“YHWH says because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go and making a tinkling with their feet” (Isaiah 3:16)? “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,”
indicates that they would walk with upright stature (קומה זקופה) and carry themselves in an immodest way.
“And walk with outstretched necks,”
indicates that they would walk in small steps, heel to toe, so onlookers would notice them.
“Wanton eyes,”
indicates that they would fill their eyes with eye shadow7 and beckon.
“Walking and mincing [tafof] as they go,”
indicates that the wealthy women would walk a tall woman alongside a short one so that the tall woman would stand out. This is derived from the interchangeability of the letters tet and tzadi; tzafo, meaning, in this case, to be seen.
R’ Yitzḥak of R’ Ami’s School - “Tinkling with their feet” = perfumes in shoes which they would kick up toward young men - Isaiah 3:16
״וברגליהן תעכסנה״ —
אמר רב יצחק דבי רבי אמי:
מלמד ש —
“Making a tinkling [te’akasna] with their feet,”
R’ Yitzḥak from the school of R’ Ami said:
This teaches that —
מטילות מור ואפרסמון במנעליהן
ומהלכות בשוקי ירושלים,
וכיון שמגיעות אצל בחורי ישראל
בועטות בקרקע
ומתיזות עליהם
ומכניסות בהן יצר הרע
כארס בכעוס.
they would place myrrh and balsam in their shoes
and would walk in the marketplaces of Jerusalem.
And once they approached a place where young Jewish men (בחורי ישראל) were congregated,
they would stamp8 their feet on the ground
and splash (מתיזות) the perfume toward them
and instill the evil inclination into them
like venom (ארס) of a viper [ke’eres b’akhos].
Rabba b. Ulla - Interprets Isa 3:24: a series of bodily afflictions replacing luxurious adornments
מאי פורענותיהי?
כדדריש רבה בר עולא:
״והיה תחת בשם מק יהיה״ —
מקום שהיו מתבשמות בו נעשה נמקים נמקים.
״ותחת חגורה נקפה״ —
מקום שהיו חגורות בצלצול נעשה נקפים נקפים.
״ותחת מעשה מקשה קרחה״ —
מקום שהיו מתקשטות בו נעשה קרחים קרחים.
״ותחת פתיגיל מחגרת שק״ —
פתחים המביאין לידי גילה, יהיו למחגרת שק.
״כי תחת יפי״ —
אמר רבא: היינו דאמרי אינשי: חלופי שופרא — כיבא.
What was their punishment for these sins?
As Rabba bar Ulla taught:
“And it shall come to pass that instead of a sweet smell, there shall be a stench; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a fine dress, a girding of sackcloth; instead of beauty, a brand” (Isaiah 3:24). He explains: “And it shall come to pass that instead of a sweet smell there shall be a stench,”
indicates that the place that they would perfume became decaying sores.
“And instead of a sash, a rope [nikpe],”
indicates that the place where they were girded with a sash became covered with many bruises [nekafim].
“And instead of well-set hair, baldness,”
indicates that the place where they would style their hair became bald spots.
“And instead of a fine dress [petigil], a girding of sackcloth,”
indicates that the orifices9 that lead to pleasure [gil] will become a place for a girding of sackcloth.
“Instead of beauty, a brand [ki],”
Rava said: That is the popular expression that people say: Instead of beauty, a sore [kiva].
R’ Yosei b. Ḥanina - “Sippach” = outbreak of tzara’at among Jerusalemite women - Isaiah 3:17; Leviticus 14:56
״וספח ה׳ קדקד בנות ציון״ —
אמר רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא:
מלמד ש
פרחה בהן צרעת.
כתיב הכא
״ושפח״,
וכתיב התם:
״לשאת ולספחת״.
With regard to a different verse: “YHWH will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion and YHWH will lay bare their secret parts” (Isaiah 3:17). And YHWH will smite with a scab the crown of the heads of the daughters of Zion;
R’ Yosei, son of R’ Ḥanina, said:
This teaches that
there was an outbreak of tzara’at among them.
It is written here,
scab [sippaḥ],
and it is written there, among the types of tzara’at:
“For a sore, and for a scab [sappaḥat], and for a bright spot” (Leviticus 14:56).
Rav and Shmuel - “their secret parts” either means their innards poured out like a jug, or their orifices (=genitalia) became (hairy) like a forest - Isaiah 3:17
״וה׳ פתהן יערה״.
רב ושמואל,
חד אמר:
שנשפכו כקיתון,
וחד אמר:
שנעשו פתחיהן כיער.
With regard to the verse: And YHWH will lay bare their secret parts [pot’hen ye’areh],
Rav and Shmuel disagree.
One says:
It means that they, i.e., their innards, were poured out [ye’areh] like a jug (קיתון).
And one says:
Rav Yehuda citing Rav - Jerusalemites (pre-Destruction) were arrogant; talked about food
(See footnote.)12
אמר רב יהודה אמר רב:
אנשי ירושלים אנשי שחץ היו.
אדם אומר לחברו:
במה סעדת היום? —
בפת עמילה,
או בפת שאינה עמילה?
ביין גורדלי,
או ביין חרדלי?
במסב רחב,
או במסב קצר?
בחבר טוב,
או בחבר רע?
On the topic of the sins of Jerusalem and the abundance that existed before its destruction, Rav Yehuda said that Rav said:
The people of Jerusalem were people of arrogance (שחץ).
A person would say to another:
On what did you dine today? —
Well-kneaded (עמילה) bread
or bread that is not well-kneaded?
On white wine
or on black wine?
Sitting on a wide divan
or on a narrow divan?
With a good friend
or a bad friend?
Rav Ḥisda - Understands these as euphemisms as referring to different types of women
אמר רב חסדא:
וכולן לזנות.
And Rav Ḥisda said:
And all these allude to promiscuity.13
Raḥava citing R’ Yehuda - Jerusalem’s firewood (pre-Destruction) was cinnamon, perfuming all of Israel
אמר רחבה אמר רבי יהודה:
עצי ירושלים של קינמון היו,
ובשעה שהיו מסיקין מהן --
ריחן נודף בכל ארץ ישראל.
On the topic of Jerusalem, Raḥava said that R’ Yehuda said:
The logs of Jerusalem used for fuel were from the cinnamon tree,
and when they would ignite them,
their fragrance would waft through all of Eretz Yisrael.
... only a tiny remnant remains
ומשחרבה ירושלים --
נגנזו,
ולא נשתייר אלא כשעורה,
ומשתכח בי גזא דצימצמאי מלכתא.
And since Jerusalem was destroyed --
these fragrant logs were hidden (נגנזו),
and only a sliver the size of a grain of barley remains,
and it is located in the treasury of [gazzai] Tzimtzemai the queen.
Appendix - Homiletic Interpretations in Biblical Order
Amos 6
Amos 6:4 — “Ha-shokhvim al mitot shen… u-seruḥim al arsehotam”
R’ Yosei b. R’ Ḥanina: Seruḥim means the elites urinated naked in front of their beds, an act of crude indecency.
R’ Abbahu (rejects this): The punishment in the passage is too severe for such an act.
R’ Abbahu (alternative): Seruḥim refers to wife-swapping and sexual misconduct: men ate and drank together, joined their beds, exchanged wives, and defiled their couches with non-marital semen.
Amos 6:6 — “Ha-shotim b’mizrekei yayin… ve-reishit shemanim yimshachu”
“Reishit shemanim yimshachu” — the chief ointments
Rav Yehuda citing Shmuel: Refers to pleiton, a perfumed oil.
R’ Yehuda ben Bava: Decreed prohibiting balsam oil as a sign of mourning for the Temple; the sages did not accept this decree.
“Ha-shotim b’mizrekei yayin” — those drinking wine in mizrekei
R’ Ami and R’ Asi (dispute):
One: Kenishkanin — multi-spouted drinking vessels enabling simultaneous drinking.
One: Mezarkin — they threw their cups to each other in revelry.
Isaiah 3
Isaiah 3:16 — ““Because the daughters of Zion Are so vain…”
Interpreted by Rava son of Rav Ilai:
“Gavhu” — haughty: They walked with erect, showy posture.
“Netuyot garon” — outstretched necks: They walked heel-to-toe, drawing attention.
“Meshaqerot einayim” — wanton eyes: They filled their eyes with kohl and signaled flirtatiously.
“Haloch v’tafuf” — mincing gait: A tall woman walked beside a short woman to heighten her own presence.
“…u-virg’leihen ta’akasnah” — “making a tinkling with their feet”
R’ Yitzḥak of the School of R’ Ami: They placed myrrh and balsam in their shoes, kicked the ground when near young men, causing the fragrance to spray toward them, awakening desire “like serpent venom.”
Isaiah 3:17 — “My Sovereign will bare (שפח) the pates (קדקד - “scalp”) Of the daughters of Zion”
“Sipaḥ” — smiting the crown of the head
R’ Yosei b. R’ Ḥanina: Sipaḥ = tzara‘at outbreak on their scalps (linked to Lev. 14:56, sappaḥat).
“Ye’areh pot’hen” — laying bare their secret parts
Rav and Shmuel (dispute):
One: Their innards poured out like a jug.
One: Their orifices became overgrown with hair “like a forest.”
Isaiah 3:24 — Catalogue of Punishments
Rabba bar Ulla explains each clause:
“Tachat bosem, mak” — instead of perfume, rot: The parts they perfumed became decaying sores.
“Tachat chagorah, nikpeh” — instead of a sash, rope: The sash-area became covered with bruises.
“Tachat ma’aseh mikshah, karḥah” — instead of hair, baldness: Their styled hair became bald patches.
“Tachat p’tigil, machagoret sak” — fine dress → sackcloth: Orifices of pleasure became sites of affliction.
“Ki tachat yofi” — instead of beauty, branding: Interpreted as: beauty replaced by sores.
For background, see Wikipedia, “Book of Amos”:
According to the Bible, Amos was an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, and was active c. 750 BCE during the reign of Jeroboam II (788–747 BCE) of Samaria (Northern Israel), while Uzziah was King of Judah.
Amos is said to have lived in the kingdom of Judah but preached in the northern Kingdom of Israel where themes of social justice, God’s omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy.
And see ibid., section “Structure”:
Addresses to groups in Israel:
Women of Samaria (4:1–3)
Rich people in Samaria (6:1–7)
Rich people in Jerusalem (8:4–8)
See Wikipedia, “Isaiah 3”:
This chapter describes how the corrupt leadership brought about the collapse of the social condition of Jerusalem [...]
קדקד - literally: “skull”, i.e. “scalp”
פלייטון.
On this word (from Greek), see the note in my “Pt2 The Biblical Flood in Genesis 6-7: The Generation’s Sins, Noah’s Role, the Ark’s Construction, and the Survival of Animals (Sanhedrin 108a-b)“, on section “R’ Oshaya - Parable for Reish Lakish’s interpretation: perfume flask among filth—fragrance strong even in adverse setting“.
מגדף - literally: “cursed, blasphemed”.
נטילת ידים - netilat yadayim.
כוחלא - kohl.
בועטות - literally: “kick”.
פתחים - petaḥim - literally: “openings”.
This is clearly a euphemism for the vagina.
pitḥeihen.
As previously, a euphemism for the vagina.
I.e. pubic hair.
Compare a similar idea elsewhere in the Talmud, that Jewish women (before the Destruction of the First Temple) naturally had no pubic hair or armpit hair. See Sanhedrin.21a.23:
דרש רבא:
מאי דכתיב ״ויצא לך שם בגוים ביפיך״?
שאין להן לבנות ישראל
לא שער בית השחי
ולא בית הערוה
The Talmud challenges this: Is that so?
Rava interprets a verse homiletically:
What is the meaning of that which is written: “And your renown went forth among the nations about your beauty” (Ezekiel 16:14)?
This teaches that Jewish women do not have
armpit (בית השחי) hair
or pubic (בית הערוה) hair.
Summary list:
Well-kneaded (עמילה) bread / bread not well-kneaded
White (גורדלי) wine / black (חרדלי - i.e. dark) wine
Wide divan (מסב - “leaning”) / narrow divan
Good friend / bad friend
On “well-kneaded (עמילה) bread”, compare my “Pt2 ‘Leḥem Oni’ vs. Luxury: ‘The Bread of Affliction’ and the Halakhic Boundaries of Passover Matza (Pesachim 35b-37b)“, section “Definition of “Thick Bread”: Rav Huna’s Definition of Thick Matza; Rav Yosef’s Challenge Based on Practical Differences; Rejection of the Analogy to Shewbread“, list item #2, where I summarize:
Quality of Kneading: The showbread dough was well-kneaded (פת עמילה). Ordinary matza dough presumably isn’t.
זנות.
Ed. Steinsaltz interprets:
These are all euphemisms for different types of women:
“Well-kneaded bread”
refers to a woman who is not a virgin;
white wine
refers to a fair-complexioned woman;
a wide divan
refers to a fat woman;
a good friend
refers to a good-looking woman.