והנה נער בוכה. פירש"י קולו כנער. וכתב הרמב"ן כבר דחו זה דא"כ עשיתו למשה רבינו בעל מום. ורבינו אברהם כתב שהיו איבריו גדולים כנער והזכיר זה ליופיו כי בעבור טובו ויופיו חמלה עליו. והנכון שנפרש בו שבכה כנער בחריצות ובזריזות ולכך חמלה עליו. ובמדרש יש ילד הוא ומנהגו כנער בא גבריאל והכה למשה כדי שיבכה ושתתמלא עליו רחמים ועל דעתי שאין צריך לכל זה כי הילד בעת הולדו יקרא נער כמו מה נעשה לנער היולד ונקרא ילד והוא גדול כמו שמצינו בישמעאל: והנה נער בוכה. “and here there was a crying lad.” Rashi understands the phrase as meaning that the voice of this baby was as strong as that of a lad, i.e. a growing youngster.” According to Nachmanides, Rashi’s explanation has already been discounted, for if it were correct we would have to view Moses as being halachically blemished, something that according to our tradition disqualifies a person from becoming a prophet, or performing priestly duties. Ibn Ezra writes that Moses’ limbs were exceptionally large for a baby of his age, as large as those of a growing lad. This would not be a blemish, but, on the contrary, would be a compliment to Moses and might account for the fact that Pharaoh’s daughter took pity on that child. I believe that the correct interpretation of our phrase is that the manner in which Moses cried was that of an older child, something not as irritating as a baby’s howls, and that this was what prompted Pharaoh’s daughter to have pity on him. According to the Midrash Moses did not display symptoms of being much older, but the angel Gavriel struck him so that he broke out weeping on account of his pain, which in turn attracted the attention of the daughter of Pharaoh and aroused feelings of pity within her. I do not believe that there is any need for such esoteric explanations. Children are described as נער already at birth, compare Judges 13,8 מה נעשה לנער אשר יולד, “what are we supposed to do to the child that is going to be born?” on the other hand, growing lads are referred to by the Torah as ילד, such as when Avraham placed the 17 year old Ishmael on Hagar’s shoulder in Genesis 21,14, so that there is nothing strange in the Torah again applying this adjective in our verse.
ותאמר מילדי העברים זה. לפי הפשט נתנה אל לבה המעשה כאשר הי' כי למה ישימו שמה מצרי אלא עברי נתנו שמה להצילו ורבותינו דרשו שראתה אותו מהול: ותאמר מילדי העברים זה, “She said: “this is one of the Hebrew boy babies.” According to the plain text she had every reason for this assumption, for why would an Egyptian place her baby in such a place at such a time? Our sages, however, say that she arrived at that conclusion when observing that Moses had been circumcised.