והיו המים, the repetition of the word והיו applying to the same predicate is similar to a construction in Psalms 93,3 נשאו נהרות ה', נשאו נהרות קולם “the ocean sounds, O Lord; the ocean sounds in thunder, etc.” Another such construction is found in Psalms 94,3 עד מתי רשעי ה', עד מתי רשעים יעלוזו?, “for how long shall the wicked O Lord, for how long shall the wicked exult?”

כי כבד פה וכבד לשון אנכי, I am not fluent in the Egyptian spoken by the upper classes of the aristocracy. The reason is that I fled Egypt before I had completed my education there and in the meantime I am 80 years of age. We find in Ezekiel 3,4-6 that the prophet is told to address the Jewish people as opposed to addressing the local aristocracy whose tongue is described as unintelligible speech and difficult language, i.e. עמקי שפה וכבדי לשון. Is it possible that a prophet who could communicate with G’d freely, i.e. “face to face,” and who received the Torah from Him and communicated it to his people should have been afflicted with a stutter? [one could add to the author’s rejection of the commonly held view of Moses’ speech impediment that if he functioned as High Priest for a full week before his brother Aaron took over, how was that possible if he was afflicted with what would be considered a disabling mum, physical blemish for even an ordinary priest? Ed.] Nowhere in our traditional literature of Tannaim and Amoraim (Talmud) is there such a view expressed, and we certainly have no reason to accept such views when they are expressed in hagiographical writings.

ביד תשלח, by means of anyone else You wish to entrust with this mission as long as it is not I.

ויחר אף ה' במשה, such an expression always means that G’d’s anger had tangible consequences for the one at whom G’d was angry. In this instance, the encounter described in verse 24 where G’d is described as seeking to kill him is such a consequence. I already explained on Genesis 32,29 that Yaakov’s having had to limp was a punishment for him.

כי דבר ידבר הוא. He grew to maturity in Egypt, and he has complete mastery of the kind of Egyptian spoken by the upper classes, so that he will be listened to with respect.

ודבר הוא לך, he will do the speaking on your behalf.

תהיה לו לאלוהים, you will act as his superior, instructing him in what to do.

וישב, he returned from the desert to his father-in-law Yitro.

ויאמר ה' אל משה במדין, where he had settled at the time he had fled on account of Pharaoh as we know from 2,15. Now, while Moses was back in Midian, (in the civilised regions) G’d told Moses to return to Egypt as all the people whom had had reason to be afraid of had already died.. (compare 2,23)

ויפגשהו ה', in this instance a reference to the Lord’s angel. Moses’ sin consisted of needlessly slowing down the carrying out of his mission by taking his wife and children along.

צר, an expression similar to חרבות צורים in Joshua 5,2 where this expression described the tools used by Joshua to perform circumcision on the Israelites prior to their crossing the Jordan river. A similar expression also occurs in Psalms 89,44 אף תשיב צור חרבו where it refers to G’d blunting and distorting the sharpness of the sword of the Israelites making them ineffective in defending themselves.

'ותכרות וגו, performance of the circumcision of Moses’ son by Tzipporah was a lifesaver for Moses, much as a sacrifice offered by Gideon or by Manoach when they were confronted by an angel (Judges 6,24 and 13,19). [Manoach had been afraid he would die having seen a vision of G’d. Ed.]

ותגע, a transitive mode. She presented the foreskin at the feet of the angel in order to put him in a more tolerant mood. The Torah did not want to spell out that she had actually seen the angel’s feet. [this is why the word “of the angel” was omitted although that word had not appeared previously. Ed.]

כי חתן דמים אתה לי, by means of this offering of my son’s blood you, Moses, remain my husband.

The word חתני is equivalent to בעלי, “my husband.”

וירף המלאך ממנו, the word is similar to Judges 19,9 רפה היום לערוב, “the day has waned toward evening.” The construction of וירף from the root רפה is similar to ויקן from the root קנה, “he acquired.” The word וירף therefore means that the angel’s lethal power had become much weaker.

אז אמרה חתן דמים למולות, “my husband had become guilty of death for delaying the circumcision of his son.”

לך לקראת משה, to fulfill what G’d had already told Moses, i.e. that his brother Aaron was on the way to meet him joyfully. (verse 14)