Commentary for Kiddushin 52:6
שהיו לו מטלטלין הרבה וביקש ליתנם במתנה אמרו לו אין לו תקנה עד שיקנם ע"ג קרקע מה עשה הלך ולקח בית רובע סמוך לירושלים ואמר טפח על טפח לפלוני ועמו מאה צאן ומאה חביות ומת וקיימו חכמים את דבריו ואי אמרת בעינן צבורים טפח על טפח למאי חזי
A large area; and why was it called sela'? Because it was as hard as a rock.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So that it could be bought very cheaply.');"><sup>7</sup></span> Come and hear: For Rab Judah said in Rab's name: It once happened that a certain man who fell ill in Jerusalem (that is in accordance with R'Eleazar's view) - others state, he was in good health, which agrees with the Rabbis<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' R. Eleazar maintains that a gift, even if made by a very sick person on point of death, is not validly transferred by mere words, but the recipient must perform an act of acquisition. Hence the following story can refer even to a sick person. But the Rabbis hold this unnecessary in the case of a sick person, whose verbal testimony suffices; hence what is related must have happened to a man in good health.');"><sup>8</sup></span>
Daf Shevui to Kiddushin
There are two versions of the story, and these are dependent on whether a dying person can transfer property by a declaration alone. According to the sages, he may and therefore this person who transferred his property by a more formal act, must have been healthy. Had he been sick they would not have told him he needed to transfer property by use of land. According to R. Eliezer, even a person who is dying cannot transfer ownership without a formal acquisition, therefore this person could have even been a sick person. Sick or healthy, they would have told him he needed to use land to transfer the movables.