וביום השמיני. אמרו חז״ל ביום ולא בלילה והנה הנולד חצי שעה קודם שקיעת החמה יהיה נמול לששה ימים וחצי יום כי יום התורה אינו מעת לעת: AND IN THE EIGHTH DAY. Our wise men, of blessed memory, said during the day, not at night.20Circumcision is to be performed during the day. Now a child born a half hour before sunset is circumcised after six and half days,21The end of the day that the child was born, the following six days, and the morning of the eighth day. for the day of the Torah is not measured by twenty-four hours.22It does not consist of twenty-four hours, for part of the day is considered a whole day.
ימול. מבנין נפעל כמו לא יכון ויהיה מגזרת מולים היו ויתכן להיותו חסר נו״ן מגזרת ונמלתם כמו איש כי ידור נדר ויחסר המל כמו אביו או בית דין: SHALL BE CIRCUMCISED. Yimmol (shall be circumcised) is a nifal.23From the root mem, vav, lamed. Compare, yikkon24From the root kaf, vav, nun. (be established) in shall not be established (Ps. 101:7). According to this opinion, yimmol is related to the word mullim25From the root mem, vav, lamed. (circumcised) in were circumcised (Josh. 5:5). It is also possible that yimmol is missing a nun26In this case yimmol comes from the root nun, mem. lamed. and is related to the word u-nemaltem27From the root nun, mem, lamed. (and ye shall be circumcised) (Gen. 17:11). Yimmol is like the word yiddor (voweth)28From the root nun, dalet, resh. in When a man voweth a vow unto the Lord (Num. 30:3). Scripture omits the one who performs the circumcision, such as the father or the Beth Din (court).29If yimmol comes from the root nun, mem, lamed, then the meaning of yimmol (shall be circumcised) is, he shall circumcise. In this case the subject is missing, for Scripture omits who “he” is. Hence I.E. points out that “he” refers to the father of the child, the Beth Din, or any authorized person. For similar comments of I.E., see I.E. on Gen. 25:26; 48:1; 50:26 (Vol. 1, pp. 251, 412, 452).
ערלתו. ידועה כי הוא בערוה ואין כן ערלת לב ושפה ואזן כי כלם סמוכים: HIS FORESKIN. It is known that the foreskin is on the private part.30The penis. This is not the case regarding the foreskin of the heart,31Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4. the lip,32Ex. 6:12,30. and the ear,33Jer. 6:10. for all of them are connected to another word.34Which explains them. When the word orlah (foreskin) stands by itself, it refers to the foreskin of the penis. When Scripture uses the term orlah metaphorically, it connects it to another word, as in aral sefatayim (of uncircumcised lips) (Ex. 6:12).