What are the connotations of "va'Yiref Mimenu"?
Rashi, Targum Onkelos and Targum Yonasan: It means, 'He (the angel) released him.'
Nedarim 32a: When Moshe was lax in the Mitzvah of Milah, Af and Chemah (two destructive angels) came and swallowed him - leaving only his legs. 1
The location of the Milah - See Torah Temimah.
What did Tziporah mean when she then declared, "Chasan Damim la'Mulos"?
Rashi: When, following the Bris Milah, the angel let go of Moshe, she realized that it was on account of the Milah that he was almost killed. 1
Targum Onkelos: Were it not for the blood of the Bris Milah, her Chasan would have been sentenced to death.
Seforno: She again referred to the condition 2 that Moshe had made with her when they married, but added the second stage of the Bris, the Peri'ah, to the condition. 3
Rashbam and Targum Yonasan: She was praising the Mitzvah of Bris Milah, which saved her Chasan from the Angel of Death.
Riva, Gur Aryeh: At first, Tziporah thought that Moshe was to be punished for his shortcoming and negligence- and that even were she to perform the Milah now, it was too late to save him. Now, after the angel let go of Moshe unharmed, she realized that Moshe was in danger because Milah was not done; and now that it was done, he was saved. She realized that it was not a punishment, but simply to bring about that the Milah would be performed. This new realization showed the significance of the Mitzvah of Milah.
Da'as Zekenim, Hadar Zekenim: Now she realized that Moshe was in danger, not due to her (refer to 4:25:3:8), but rather, due to not circumcising the baby.
Doesn't the word "Az" (then) seem to be unnecessary in this Pasuk?
Refer to 5:23:1.
Why did Tziporah say "la'Mulos" - in the plural?
Yerushalmi Shabbos, 19:2: She was hinting at the two parts of Milah - a. the actual Milah and the Peri'ah (the folding over of the membrane); or b. to the actual Milah and the removal of the strands of flesh that are crucial to the Milah. 1
Compare to Seforno. See Torah Temimah.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "'He released him' - ... then she understood, that it was because of the Milah that he had come to kill him." Surely Tziporah realized this from the outset! (When she saw Moshe in distress, she immediately circumcised her son, and called him 'Chasan Damim' (4:25)!)
Gur Aryeh: At first, Tziporah thought that it was a punishment. Now, she realized it was only to cause them to perform the Milah. Refer to 4:26:1.1:5.
Rashi writes: "But Onkelos understands the word 'Damim' as referring to the blood of the Milah" (rather than Moshe's blood, were he to be killed). Mizrachi asks - If so, what is the basis for the continuation in Onkelos, '... my groom would have been guilty of death"? Also, why did Tziporah use the term "Chasan Damim" twice?
Mizrachi: While "Damim" in the preceding Pasuk (4:25) referred to the blood of Milah, "Damim" in this Pasuk indeed refers to that of Moshe. (Thus, Mizrachi explains unlike Rashi.) Onkelos' reference to "the blood of Milah" comes not from the word "Damim," but rather from the word "la'Mulos."
Gur Aryeh: In verse 4:25, Tziporah was still uncertain if she could save Moshe (refer to 4:26:1.1:5). Onkelos translates there, that she prayed that in the merit of Milah, Moshe would be spared. In our verse, she then exclaims about the punishment - 'were it not for the Milah, Moshe would surely have died.' 1
Gur Aryeh: Thus, Onkelos' translation can be broken down as follows - "Chasan Damim" - In the merit of Milah, [Moshe] was spared; "la'Mulos" - for were it not for the Milah, he surely would have died.
