I am confused as to why this Takana was made (i.e. that Beis Din specify that the Shvu'ah represents what is on the judge's minds.) The story ended with coins spilling on the floor; what is the harm in that?
Or is it perhaps because he was 'shover kli b'chamaso', something we would like to avoid in the future. Alternatively, were the coins damaged, as the Meiri may imply from the pasuk he quotes in Eeyov?
Yonatan, Toronto, Canada
The purpose of the Takanah was to prevent people from swearing truthfully, but dishonestly, in the way that the borrower in the story did. He may have given the outstanding money to the lender, as he said he did (according to the Ran's text), but he did not do so in the form of the loan, as was implied by him. In fact, a few minutes later, he planned to take the money back together with his cane.
The Beis Din's stipulation ensured that, in the future, when people took oaths of this nature, not only would they be truthful, but also that they would contain no implications with which Beis Din would disagree.
The Gemara is not in the least concerned with the coins or what happened to them. That would belong in Bava Kama. It only cites the breaking of the cane and the coins rolling out because that is how the debtor's dishonesty was discovered.
Be'Virchas Kol Tuv
Eliezer Chrysler