(Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, 19th cent., Russia and Poland)
"But the midwives feared [God and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them]" (Exod 1:17): Not only the two head midwives, but all the midwives feared a punishment from God for murder. And this is why it is written, "[they feared] God," and not "the LORD," because not everyone reached this spiritual level.
(א) ותיראן המילדות את האלהים. כמ"ש (קהלת ח ב) אני פי מלך שמור ועל דברת שבועת אלהים. כי באופן זה תשמור פי גזירת המלך כשלא תתנגד לשבועת אלהים, אשר השבע השביע אותנו לשמור כל מצותיו, כך יראו המילדות את האלהים ושמו את נפשם בסכנה, כי ההריגה היא מן אותן ג' שיהרג ואל יעבור כי מאי חזית דדמא דידך סומק טפי כו' (פסחים כה:)
(Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz, 16th cent., Prague, Bohemia)
"But the midwives feared God" (ibid.): As it is written, "I say, keep the word of a King, and in the case of an oath made to God" (Ecclesiastes 8:2). For in this way you should keep the King's decree: that you do not oppose the oath of God, when God made us swear to keep all His commandments [at Sinai]. In the same way the midwives feared God and placed their lives in danger because [wrongful] killing is one of the three commandments where you should give up your life rather than violate them, for "How do you know that your blood is redder than his blood?" (Pesachim 25b).
(כט) וַיַּרְא כִּי אֵין אִישׁ, כִּי בֶן מָוֶת הוּא. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר כִּי אֵין אִישׁ שֶׁיְקַנֵּא לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְיַהַרְגֶּנּוּ....וְרַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי רָאָה שֶׁאֵין תּוֹחֶלֶת שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים עוֹמְדוֹת הֵימֶנּוּ וְלֹא מִזַּרְעוֹ עַד סוֹף כָּל הַדּוֹרוֹת. כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאָה משֶׁה כָּךְ נִמְלַךְ בַּמַּלְאָכִים וְאָמַר לָהֶם חַיָּב זֶה הֲרִיגָה, אָמְרוּ לוֹ הֵן, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: וַיַּרְא כִּי אֵין אִישׁ שֶׁיְלַמֵּד עָלָיו זְכוּת.
(Midrash collection, c. 10th cent., based on earlier material; place of composition unknown)
"He saw that no one was there" (Exod 2:12): (A) [He saw] that he [the Egyptian] deserved to die. (B) Rabbi Yehudah says: [He saw] that no one was there who would act courageously for the Holy One who is Blessed and kill him....(C) Our Rabbis say: He [Moses] saw there was no chance that anyone righteous would come forth from him or his descendants until the end of time. When Moses realized this, he consulted with the angels and said to them, "Is this man deserving of death?" They said, "Yes." This is what the verse means, "He saw that no one was there"--no one who would defend him [the Egyptian].
(Ovadia ben Ya'akov, 15th-16th cent., Italy)
"He saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man, one of his brothers" (Exod 2:11): Due to his sense of kinship [with the man being struck] he felt provoked to enact vengence.
ויך את המצרי. ראוי היה משה מששת ימי בראשית לעשות המעשה הזה להרוג את המצרי כי כחו של מצרי הוא כחו של קין שהוא מצד הטומאה.
(Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa, 13th-14th cent., Spain)
"And he struck the Egyptian" (Exod 2:12):
Moses was destined from the beginning of creation to commit this act and kill the Egyptian because the life force of the Egyptian derived from the life force of Cain, which was from the Side of Impurity.