Etymology
The biblical term for the divorce document, described in Deuteronomy 24, is "Sefer Keritut", (Hebrew: ספר כריתת). The origin of the word get is unclear. According to Shiltei Giborim (mentioned in the talmudic dictionary Aruch HaShalem S.V. Get), it refers to the stone agate which purportedly has some form of anti-magnetic property symbolizing the divorce. The Gaon of Vilna has mentioned that the Hebrew letters of Gimel and Tet of the word get are the only letters of the Hebrew alphabet that cannot make a word together, again symbolizing the divorce. Another possible explanation is that of Rabbi Baruch Epstein who states that it comes from the Latin word gestus "action, gesture" which refers to any legal document. In fact in the Mishna, get can refer to any legal document although it refers primarily to a divorce document. (Tosefet Beracha to Ki Tisa)
Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg posits that after the Bar Kochba revolt the Romans decreed that all documents be processed in a Roman court (in order to weaken Jewish nationalism). The term get may have entered the vernacular language during this time.
Read more about this topic: Get (divorce Document)
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