What are the connotations of "Ulai Natsah mi'Panai"?
Rashi Ramban #1 (citing the commentaries), Targum Onkelos and Targum Yonasan: 'Had it not turned away 1 from me'.
Ramban #2: It turned aside in doubt - because of the sword. 2
Seforno: It should have occurred to you that perhaps the ass turned away because Hashem sent an emissary to defend Yisrael. 3
Rashbam: It means 'If it would have turned as it reached me' (Had it tried to pass me).
What is the difference between "Vateit le'Fanai" and "Natsah mi'Panai"?
Ramban: There is no difference, because the 'Lamed' in this sense is often replaced with a 'Mem'. 1
Rashbam: The former means 'It turned away from Me', the latter, 'It turned as it reached me'. 2
What did the angel mean when he said "Gam Oschah Haragti"?
Rashi, Ramban #1 and Rashbam: He meant 'I would (not only have stopped you [and scraped your leg ? Rashbam] but would) also have killed you, 1 as if it had written "Gam Haragti oschah." 2
Ramban #2 (citing the Ibn Ezra): It means literally 'I would also have killed you - as well as the ass. 3
Seforno: He was berating him that, by ignoring all the signs, he demonstrated that even if he (the angel) would have killed him and let the ass live, 4 he would not have refrained from going - indicating that he was ready to die for the sake of transgressing the will of Hashem.
Ramban: Consequently, when the ass strayed from the path, it did so exclusively to save Bil'am, thereby implicating Bil'am further for striking it.
Da'as Zekenim: Had Bil'am died, there would not have been such concern for his honor, so the ass could have lived. It seems that also the youths died, since they are not mentioned here at all.
See Ramban's objection to this explanation
Seforno: A clear indication that it was a Divine act and not just a chance occurrence.
What are the implications of "ve'Osah Hechyeisi"?
Rashi: It implies that now that Bil'am was saved, the ass died. 1
Rashbam: It means that it would have lived - as it did anyway, since it did not sin, only Bil?am, by striking it.
The Ramban hoever, maintains that the fact that the ass died is based on tradition, and is not explicit in the Pasuk.
Why did the angel kill the ass?
Rashi (citing the Midrash Rabah): To maintain the reputation of Bil'am, who was unable to stand up to its rebuke. 1
Ramban (citing the Ibn Ezra): If a person who sees an angel must [normally] die, 2 how much more so an animal, which has nothing in common with an angel.
Ramban: So that people should not point at the ass and say 'This is the ass that spoke', and proceed to worship it.
Rashi: Because Hashem has compassion on people and guards their dignity, like we find in Vayikra 20:15 & 16.
Ramban (Ibid.): As indicated in Bereishis 32:31.
