The Orphans' Fifty Zuz and Abaye's Ruling
Orphans pay a creditor 50 zuz to buy back their father's land, but he keeps it, and Abaye rules their unspecified payment counted toward the debt.
The Gemara in Kesubos (91b) talks of a father who passed away owing 100 zuz. He left his children a tract of land that was worth 50 zuz.
The creditor goes to beis din to collect the debt from the departed’s estate, and beis din rules that the orphans have to give the creditor the tract of land as partial payment for the debt. The orphans sadly give the creditor the title to the land.
The orphans then decide that they will come up with the 50 zuz sum and buy the land from the creditor. They gather their funds and, wordlessly, present the creditor with 50 zuz.
The next day, the orphans got to the land, but the creditor is acting as if it is still his. The orphans ask, “What are you doing here?”
The creditor says, “What do you mean? It’s my land I collected it as partial payment of your father’s debt.”
The orphans reply, “But we paid you 50 zuz to get the land back!”
“Really?” exclaims the creditor. “I thought the 50 zuz was because you wanted to do the right thing and pay off the remaining balance of your father’s debt.”