Genesis 43:2

Gen 43:2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.

Ver. 2. Buy us a little food.] They had learned to live with a little, which is a great skill; nature is content with a little, grace with less. Epicurus himself was wont to say, if he might have but aquam et offam, a draught of water, and a morsel of meat, he could live happily. {a}

{a} Paratum se esse cum Iove de faelicitate contendere, si aquam haberet et offam. - Aelian.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Judah spake unto him,.... Reuben the eldest son had met with a repulse already, Gen 42:36; Simeon the next was now in Egypt, Gen 42:24, and Levi, perhaps on account of the affair of Shechem, Gen 34:25, did not yet stand well in his father's favour and affection; wherefore Judah being next, with the consent of his brethren, undertakes to manage the affair with him, who had doubtless an interest in him, as well as authority among his brethren, and was a prudent man, and could speak well:

saying, the man did solemnly protest unto us; meaning Joseph, though he then knew not that it was he; whom he calls "the man", not by way of contempt, or as thinking and speaking meanly of him, but the reverse, the great man, the honourable man, the governor of Egypt; and so the Septuagint version adds, "the man, the lord of the land"; he in the strongest terms, and in the most solemn manner, protested by the life of Pharaoh:

saying, ye shall not see my face; with acceptance, should not be admitted to come near him, or treat with him, and purchase any corn of him:

except your brother be with you; their youngest brother Benjamin.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He saith a

little, either to show that he took no thought to satisfy his or their curiosity or luxury, but only their necessity, for which a little would suffice, and that they must all moderate their appetites, especially in a time of such scarcity; or to encourage them to the journey, by suggesting to them that they needed not bring great stores, but only what was sufficient for that year, and that God would provide better for them hereafter, so as they should not need to go so far for corn any more.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

כאשר כלו לאכל WHEN THEY HAD EATEN UP — Judah said to them: Leave the old man alone until the house will run short of bread (Midrash Tanchuma, Miketz 8).

כאשר כלו WHEN THEY HAD FINISHED [EATING THE GRAIN] — The Targum renders it by כד שציאו which means “when they finished” in the sense of making an end of doing an action. He who has the reading in the Targum כד ספיקו “when they had enough” is in error. The words (24:22) כאשר כלו הגמלים לשתות “when the camels had finished drinking” are rightly rendered in the Targum כד ספיקו which means “when they had drunk sufficient for their needs”, for that was the end of their drinking. Here, however, this phrase “when they had finished eating” refers to the time when the food came to an end, and we should render it in the Targum by כד שציאו when they had finished (which means finishing in the sense of nothing being left over).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.