וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ שְׁנֵ֣ים עָשָׂר֩ עֲבָדֶ֨יךָ אַחִ֧ים ׀ אֲנַ֛חְנוּ בְּנֵ֥י אִישׁ־אֶחָ֖ד בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וְהִנֵּ֨ה הַקָּטֹ֤ן אֶת־אָבִ֙ינוּ֙ הַיּ֔וֹם וְהָאֶחָ֖ד אֵינֶֽנּוּ׃
At sinabi nila: “Kaming inyong mga lingkod ay labindalawang magkakapatid, mga anak ng iisang lalaki sa lupain ng Canaan. At narito, ang bunso ay kasama ng aming ama ngayon, at ang isa ay wala na.”
Rashi
'ויאמרו שנים עשר עבדיך וגו AND THEY SAID, THY SERVANTS WERE TWELVE BRETHREN — [AND ONE IS NO MORE], and it is on account of that one who is no more that we dispersed ourselves through the city in order that we might search for him (Genesis Rabbah 91:6).
Kli Yakar
And they said: ‘Your twelve servants are brothers, etc.’ With this statement, they provided a defense against both accusations simultaneously. Regarding [Joseph’s] suspicion that they were spies because they had concealed themselves among those entering [the city], they said we are brothers, meaning they were afraid of the evil eye. And regarding his suspicion that they came to see the nakedness of the land, [which arose] because they had entered through 10 different gates of the city, they explained behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is gone, meaning that it was because of the one who was missing that they dispersed through all 10 gates to search for him.
Sforno
שנים עשר עבדיך אחים, בני איש אחד בארץ כנען, what we have said before can easily be proven. After all, our father is still alive in the land of Canaan. Both he and his neighbours will confirm what we have told you, i.e. that we used to be twelve brothers, that one went missing, and that the youngest remained to look after the affairs of our father’s household. You can confirm that we have spoken the truth by checking out all these details.