Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the precise meaning of the Hebrew words for goat “gedi,” and “gedi izim.” Since the verse uses both the specific gedi izim and then at other times gedi, it implies that this more specific gedi izim is only a goat, while the general term gedi can be any form of cattle.

Torah Temimah (Bereishis 27:16) raises an interesting question: The proof text cited by the Gemara is “and Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite, to redeem the pledge from the woman; but he could not find her” (ibid 20). Why did the Gemara skip a prior verse (ibid 17) which also uses gedi izim: “I will send a kid from my flock”? One answer is that the term is less of a proof because it states “kid from my flock,” which might not prove the usage of the words “gedi” and “gedi izim” without the extra words “from my flock.” Torah Temimah gives a clever answer: the first verse was Yehudah’s own choice of words, while the second verse is the biblical narrator’s. It is a stronger proof when the narrator uses a language, because it implies the universal style of the text as opposed to one particular style of speech stemming from a locality or tribe.

I have an interesting thought that might answer this question as well. We know that the entire matter of finding this woman and paying back the pledge was potentially embarrassing to Yehudah. On one hand, he was a man of his word, and he was determined to find her. On the other hand, this was a discreet and private matter, and he did not want other people knowing about his assignation (see ibid 38:23). The Gemara (Bava Kama 79a) explains why one who steals and sells a sheep is only fined four times, while one who steals larger cattle, such as an ox, pays five times. The reason is, since the sheep doesn’t walk fast on its feet and has to be carried, unlike the ox, the thief already goes through a degree of embarrassment, and we reduce the fine accordingly.

If so, we see that Yehudah had a personal honesty challenge. He had to pay this woman back and he originally offered her “a gedi kid from my flock.” Now if the word gedi could also mean cattle, he could get off a little bit easier by sending her an ox and having less embarrassment and drawing less attention to the transaction. However, despite the potential embarrassment he wanted to keep his word precisely. This is why the second verse is cited, because here, of all places, he could have rationalized and wiggled out by offering an ox, which might possibly be included in the word gedi. He nevertheless insisted on keeping his word exactly, and giving her the more specific goat, gedi izim. Therefore, this is the most powerful indication that gedi izim means goat, while gedi alone can mean any cattle. The term gedi izim was used in order to stress that he was going to give a goat, and nothing other than a goat. And it also teaches us the great pains that Yehudah took to keep his word.