Genesis 43:2

Go again. When the grain brought from Egypt had all been consumed, and the continued drought brought no relief from famine, Jacob called upon his sons to return to Egypt for “a little food.” The sons themselves were not taking the initiative; they knew the uselessness of returning without Benjamin, and the apparent impossibility of changing their father’s mind. Judah, becoming spokesman for the others, firmly maintained that they would not go unless Benjamin should accompany them, since the Egyptian lord had solemnly declared that they should not see his face without their youngest brother. Judah, Jacob’s fourth son, was spokesman upon this occasion because Reuben, Jacob’s eldest son, had already been refused, Simeon was in an Egyptian prison, and Levi had probably forfeited his father’s confidence as a result of his treachery against the Shechemites (ch. 34).