English: “Whether male or female” — a definite male, a definite female, and not a tumtum or androgynos.
In the sugya: The explicit alternatives of male and female exclude animals of uncertain sex.
Type of Learning
Miyut of uncertain sex — shelamim require clear male or female identity.
What Is Learned
Shelamim require clear male or female identity. The Torah’s “whether male or female” is read as demanding a definite sex, excluding the tumtum and the androgynos.