ותראני האתון. בקמץ גדול תחת קטן שהיה ראוי להיות ותראני ורבים כן אולי יתחלק לטעמים רבים ופה הוא כמו לולי ומלת גם לעד שמתה האתון אחר שדברה: AND THE ASS SAW ME. Va-tirani is spelled with a pattach112I.E. reads a long kamatz. However, this appears to be an error. See Filwarg. in place of a tzere. It should have been vocalized va-tireni.113See I.E. on Ex. 14:11 (Vol. 2, p. 277) and the notes thereto. There are many such cases.114See Ex. 33:20, which employs yirani in place of yireni.
ואותה החייתי. דרך קצרה וכן הטעם כאשר הרגתיה הרגתיך או הרגתיך לבדך ואותה החייתי: UNLESS. The word ulai (unless) has many meanings. Here it means unless. The word even115Hebrew, gam, literally, also. is evidence that the ass died after she spoke.116I would have slain also you implies that he killed the ass.
וטעם ואותה החייתי. כי בן אדם בראותו המלאך ימות והעד ותנצל נפשי ודבר מנוח לעד אף כי הבהמה שאין לה שום שותפות עם רוח המלאך כבן אדם: AND SAVED HER ALIVE. Scripture is being brief. Its117The meaning of surely now I had even slain thee, and saved her alive. meaning is, as I killed her I would have killed you, or I would have killed you and left her alive.118And saved her alive is short for, I would have killed you and left her alive. The above is explained by the following.119And saved her alive implies that the ass died. The question arises, “Why?” When a person sees an angel, he dies. And my life is preserved (Gen. 32:1),120Stated by Jacob with reference to seeing an angel. and the words of Manoah121Manoah saw an angel and was afraid that he would die. See Jud. 13:22. are proof. How much more so the case of a beast that has nothing in common with the spirit of an angel as a human being does.