Facing harsh accusations of espionage from the powerful Egyptian ruler, a group of simple shepherds finds themselves in deep distress. In a desperate bid to defend themselves, they decide to lay out their entire family history, sharing details that might initially seem unrelated to the interrogation [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. They begin by establishing their family structure, emphasizing that while only ten men stand before the ruler, they are actually twelve brothers [שד״ל]. They present themselves collectively as his twelve servants who are all brothers [ברכת אשר על התורה]. The fact that so many sons share a single father is simply the result of their father having four wives [קונטרס חיבה יתירה].
The primary approach among commentators is that this detailed family background is intentionally provided as verifiable information. The brothers offer the ruler a way to check their story with their father and neighbors, thereby proving they are not spies. Furthermore, they present a logical defense: no father would send ten of his twelve sons on a dangerous espionage mission, risking the loss of nearly his entire family. They also note that they are the sons of a commoner, not a king who might sacrifice his children for the sake of the state [מלבי״ם].
Their place of residence in the land of Canaan serves as further proof of their innocence. They clarify that they are merely strangers and Hebrews residing in Canaan, not native citizens. Consequently, they hold no political interest in spying or fighting on behalf of the land [מלבי״ם, העמק דבר, קונטרס חיבה יתירה]. Additionally, knowing that their lost brother might be somewhere in Egypt, they would never instigate a conflict that could put his life in danger [העמק דבר]. As for why they traveled in such a large group, they explain that as a family, they do not separate, or perhaps they stayed together to protect the grain they purchased from robbers [רבנו בחיי].
Addressing the brothers who are not present, they explain that the youngest remained at home to serve and provide for their aging father [רד״ק, ביאור יש״ר]. A crucial point of their defense revolves around the missing brother. They explain that he is no longer with them, which serves as their justification for entering the city through ten different gates; they had simply scattered to search for him [רש״י, כלי יקר, אור החיים].
In reality, their father had instructed them to enter the city separately to avoid the evil eye, but they chose to hide this truth. If they had mentioned the evil eye, the ruler might have accused them of slandering Egypt as a land of sorcerers [משכיל לדוד]. Alternatively, if they claimed they separated to avoid the evil eye, the ruler could easily challenge them by asking why they were now standing together in a single group [ברכת אשר על התורה]. Therefore, they used the search for their lost brother as a practical excuse for splitting up, while their explicit declaration of being twelve brothers was intended as a spiritual shield against the evil eye [כלי יקר].
When speaking of the missing brother, they are careful not to state that he is dead. Since they do not know his fate with absolute certainty, they fear the ruler might somehow prove they are lying. Instead, they use precise language to indicate only that he is no longer in their father's house [רד״ק]. Remarkably, by stating in the present tense that they are twelve brothers, they unknowingly utter a prophecy, confirming that all twelve brothers are indeed still alive [רבנו בחיי].