Bava Batra 161: More on Signing a Document

The Gemara continues to discuss where witnesses sign a contract.  Do they sign opposite to the text?  What if they sign widthwise, in the same direction as the text itself?  The Gemara suggests signing at the bottom of the document, but couldn't that signature be cut from the page entirely?  In fact, the rabbis ask whether it would be helpful for signatures to begin with "ben".  Then if the final line were cut off, the witnesses' names would still be identifiable.  Except that many of the rabbis' names would still look like a valid name without "ben" - or even without their first names.  The rabbis discuss how people sign their names and what would be a likely issue with witness signatures.

The rabbis repeat that an erased word on a document does not invalidate the document as long that change is also documented.   This ensures that nothing is erased after the get has been signed.  The rabbis teach that the last line of the get must recap the entire get.  There can be not new obligations or conditions; we don't learn anything new from the last line of any document.