How [do] four [become tamei]? Utensils that touch a corpse, and a person [who touched] the utensils, and [then other] utensils which touched the person — [all] become tamei for seven days. The fourth [one to be touched], whether it is a person or a utensil, becomes tamei [until] evening. R’ Akiva said: I have [a case where] five [become tamei] — a pole inserted into a tent. The tent, the pole, a person touching the pole, and utensils [touching] the person — [all] become tamei for seven days. The fifth one [to be touched], whether it is a person or a utensil, becomes tamei until evening. They said to him: The tent is not counted.

People and utensils [both] become tamei from a corpse. People have a stringency that utensils do not have, and utensils have [a stringency] that people do not have. [When a] utensil [touches a corpse,] three [utensils will become tamei in turn after the first utensil touches a corpse], whereas [when] a person [becomes tamei by touching a corpse, only] two [will become tamei]. People have a stringency [that utensils do not have]: When a person is in the middle, there can be four [persons and utensils that become tamei in succession], but when there is no person in the middle, there can be only three [stages of con-tact].

People and clothing [both] become tamei from a zav. People have a stringency that clothing does not have, and clothing [has a stringency] that people do not have. A person who touches a zav renders clothing tamei, whereas clothing that touches a zav does not render [other] clothing tamei. Clothing has a stringency [that people do not have]: Clothing that ‘‘carries’’ a zav renders a person tamei, whereas a person who carries a zav does not render [another] person tamei.

A person does not convey [corpse-] tumah until his soul departs, even if he is fatally wounded or even if he is moribund. [Similarly,] he [still] binds [his dead brother’s wife] for yibum, releases [her] from yibum, entitles [his wife] to eat terumah, and disqualifies [her] from [eating] te-rumah. Similarly, domesticated and wild animals do not convey tumah until they have died. [If] their heads were severed, they are tamei, even if they are [still] moving convulsively; [the movements are] like the [severed] tail of a lizard that is moving convulsively.