Jastrow: צַבְתָּא

צַבְתָּא, צִיבְתָא, צִבְ׳ I c. ch. l) same. Gitt. 56ᵇ שקלינן צ׳ וכ׳ we get a pair of tongs and take the serpent away … and save the cask. Pes. 54ᵃ צַבְתָּנָא בצ׳ מתעבדא צ׳ … עבדה Ms. M. (ed. צ׳ בצ׳ מתעביד וכ׳) our tongs are made with the help of tongs: who made the first tongs? Therefore the first tongs must have been a natural object; Tosef. Erub. XI (VIII), 23 (v. לַאי); Tosef. Ḥag. I, 9 (applied to the numerous laws derived from a meagre text); expl. Y. Erub. X, end, 26ᵈ מצ׳ אחת למדו צביתות הרבה וכ׳ from handling one pair of tongs (found as a natural object) they learned many manipulations with the tongs: so they derived numerous forbidden Sabbath labors by analogy from one intimated in the text.—Trnsf. instrumentality. B. Kam. 9ᵇ צ׳ דחרש קגרים (Rashi Var. צַוְותָּא) the deaf and dumb (who was given charge of the fire) was the instrument that caused the damage; ib. 59ᵇ (Ms. R. צַוְתָּא, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 40).—Pl. צִבְתַּיָּא, צִיבְתַ׳, צֵי׳. Targ. I Kings VII, 49. Targ. O. Num. IV, 9 (ed. Berl. צֵיבְתָ׳). Targ. O. Ex. XXV, 38; XXXVII, 23 צִיבְתָ׳ ed. Berl. (ed. Vien. a. oth. צִיבְיְתָ׳, corr. acc.). Targ. II Chr. IV, 21.—2) company, v. צַוְותָּא.