Exodus 2:6

And she opened, and saw the child, and, behold, the babe wept; and she had compassion upon him, and said, This is one of the children of the Jehudaee.

AND BEHOLD IT WAS A WEEPING LAD. “His voice sounded like that of a grown lad.”. Hence, in accordance with Rabbi Yehudah’s opinion in Sotah 12 b, Rashi construed that he was a child with the voice of a young lad. Thus the language of Rabbeinu Shlomo. Now the Rabbis have already rejected this opinion, saying,). “If so, you have made Moses our teacher appear as having a blemish [and being unfit for Levitical service in the Tabernacle].” Besides, what reason is there for Scripture to mention his unnatural voice?
And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that his limbs were developed as that of a young lad. Perhaps Scripture mentioned this in order to denote the child’s beauty. It was due to his exquisite beautiful appearance that she [the princess] had compassion for him since she recognized that he had been recently born and yet his limbs were well-developed like those of a lad.
A more correct interpretation is that his was a strong and unrelenting cry like that of a lad, and therefore she had compassion for him. A homiletic exposition has it: “A weeping lad. He was a child whose behavior was that of a lad [who is not prone to crying]. At that moment, the angel Gabriel came and struck him so that he would cry and she would be compassionate towards him.”
In my opinion there is no need for all this. From the day of his birth, a child is called na’ar (lad) [in Scripture], as it is said, What shall we do ‘lana’ar’ (to the lad) that shall be born? Similarly, And David besought G-d for ‘hana’ar’ (the lad). Conversely, Scripture calls a grown lad yeled (child), as it is said in the case of Ishmael. (Genesis 21:15). At that time, Ishmael was seventeen years old. (See Ramban, Vol. I, p. 270, and Note 329, ibid.). Yet he is called yeled. Similarly, ‘v’hana’ar na’ar’ (and the lad was young),. meaning that he [Samuel] was a young child of twenty-four months. As soon as she [his mother, Hannah] had weaned him, she brought him up to Shiloh, as it is written, And she gave her son suck until she weaned him. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her., Verses 23-24.

ותפתח ותראהו את הילד, anyone explaining that the meaning of the line is that “she saw the infant,” is in error. Who does not know that when someone would open the basket that he or she would see the infant? Surely, the Torah did not have to tell us something so elementary! Therefore, the meaning of the line is this: when she opened the basket and saw the infant and wanted to know if it was male or female, she found that the baby was a נער, that it was male and not female. When she also observed that his member had been circumcised, she realised that this baby had not been abandoned but had been hidden in the reeds. If she would have found that the baby was a girl, she would have assumed that it had been abandoned (as an illegitimate birth) There is nothing unusual about an infant being called נער, as we find Manoach asking the angel who had predicted the birth of Simshon מה נעשה לנער אשר יולד,”what shall we do for the boy once he will be born?” (Judges 13,8).

והנה נער בוכה, ותחמול עליו, because he was crying she took pity on him. Furthermore, because she saw that he was a circumcised boy, she added: מילדי העברים זה, that it was one of the Hebrew children. We find something parallel in Samuel I 1,5 where we are told ולחנה יתן מנה אחת אפים, that Elkanah would give his wife Chanah a double portion, the reason being explained later with the words: כי את חנה אהב “for he deeply loved Chanah.” This is all very fine, but why does the prophet stress the word אחת in the description מנה אחת אפים, “one portion twice,” instead of writing שתי מנות, “two portions?” The reason is that although she was childless her husband gave her a double portion (only), whereas Peninah, having numerous children received far more than 2 portions. Elkanah compensated Chanah for her childlessness. Here the daughter of Pharaoh reacted to the miserable condition Moses found himself in.

ותפתח, she then saw that this was an exceptionally beautiful baby.

את הילד, בוכה, she noticed that though his size was that of an infant, when he cried he sounded like a far older child, a lad. Actually, from birth until maturity a child is still called ילד. The best proof of this is found in Kings I 12,10 where the advisors of Rechavam, the son of king Solomon who ascended the throne after him, is described as listening to his youthful advisors who are called הילדים אשר גדלו עמו “the children who had grown up with him.” [Rechavam was 41 years of age at the time. Ed.] Also in Daniel 1,4 youngsters at least in their teens are referred to as ילדים. The term נער is applied to someone who no longer enjoys the perfection of early youth. According to our author perfect co-ordination of one’s limbs results in one’s making wrong moves on occasion. The reason why servants are referred to as נער is that they frequently are inept in their movements to the annoyance of their masters. The daughter of Pharaoh recognised in this baby that though this child had only recently been born it already showed signs of physical maturity as she could hear by the manner in which it cried. נער בוכה, awakening, shaking himself like a child of this age.

ותחמול עליו, seeing that he was such a beautiful baby, far too perfect a creature to simply throw into the river.

ותאמר מילדי העברים זה, this is not an illegitimate baby, abandoned by its mother. Such a baby, when it grew up was likely to become a criminal, as we know from Isaiah 57,4 ילדי פשע זרע שקר, “children born in sin, offspring of treachery.”