Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 43:8

"And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones." — Genesis 43:8 (ASV)

The lad. —Benjamin was now between twenty and thirty years of age. The term “lad” in Judah’s mouth is one of affection, but even in itself it suits a youth of this age very well. Rebekah is called in the Hebrew a lad (see Note there), and so is Shechem in Genesis 34:19. The assertion, therefore, that Benjamin is here represented as a mere boy, is disproved by the use of the word in the Hebrew.

Our little ones. —Hebrew, our “tafs” that is, our households. (See Note on Genesis 34:29.)