According to Taberî, when Joseph's brothers said to their father 'what more do we seek' (mā nabghī), this was an expression aimed at pleasing their father's heart through the return of their capital to them. In this case, 'mā' is an interrogative particle that takes the accusative case with the verb 'nabghī'. He also explains that the expression 'nemīru ahlenā' means bringing food to their families, and that if they were to send their brother along, an additional camel-load would be added to their cargo and they would obtain more grain.

وإذا وجه الكلام إلى هذا المعنى كانت «ما» استفهاما في موضع نصب بقوله: {نبغي} وإلى هذا التأويل كان يوجهه قتادة

This text explains Joseph's brothers' expression 'mā nabghī' by stating that when they return with their brother Benjamin, what they had feared before the king would not happen, and they would also gain an additional load of grain, meaning there is no longer any other benefit they need to seek. Zemahşerî shows that the word 'baghy' can mean 'seeking' as well as 'lying' or 'going to excess', and thus the sentence can be interpreted in different ways. He also notes that the sentence can be read as an independent opening statement meaning 'we must bring grain to our family', or it may have been said to declare that the brothers were not wrong in their views and spoke the truth.

فأي شيء نبتغي وراء هذه المباغي التي نستصلح بها أحوالنا ونوسع ذات أيدينا : وإنما قالوا : لما ذكرنا أنه كان لا يزيد للرجل على حمل بعير للتقسيط

According to this scholar, there is a difference in the reading of the word 'ruddat' (the majority read it with damma, while Alkama read it with kasra). The main discussion concerns the meaning of the letter 'mā' in the expression 'mā nabghī': it can be for negation, in which case it expresses that the brothers did not deny Joseph's generosity or that they desired nothing else after their capital was returned to them; or 'mā' can be for interrogation, in which case it means 'what more can we desire after such generous treatment'.

وأما قوله : { ما نبغى } ففي كلمة { ما } قولان : القول الأول : أنها للنفي ، وعلى هذا التقدير ففيه وجوه

Kurtubî explains the expression 'mā nabghī' in two possibilities: the first is that 'mā' is an interrogative particle meaning 'what else can we seek, our measure is complete and our capital has been returned to us', and by this they intended to please their father's heart; the second is that 'mā' is a negative particle meaning 'we do not ask you for a dirham or any other wealth, this capital returned to us is sufficient'. He also reports from Alkama that in the expression 'ruddat ileynā', the word 'ruddat' is read with kasra on the ra', because its original form is 'radadat' and through assimilation the vowel of the dal passes to the ra'. Finally, he notes that the verb 'namīr' means 'we bring food to them' and reports that al-Sulamī read this word with damma on the nun, which means 'we help them regarding grain'.

ما استفهام في موضع نصب والمعنى : أي شيء نطلب وراء هذا وفي لنا الكيل ورد علينا الثمن أرادوا بذلك أن يطيبوا نفس أبيهم وقيل : هي نافية أي لا نبغي منك دراهم ولا بضاعة بل تكفينا بضاعتنا هذه التي ردت إلينا

Ibn Kesîr relates that Joseph gave each man a camel-load of grain, that Mujāhid said it was a donkey-load and that in some languages the donkey is also called 'bair'. He presents this information as a complementary and beautifying element of the brothers' statement; that is, an amount of load this large would be insignificant in return for bringing their brother with them.

وذلك أن يوسف عليه اسلام كان يعطي كل رجل حمل بعير وقال مجاهد حمل حمار وقد يسمى في بعض اللغات بعيرا كذا قال هذا من تمام الكلام وتحسينه

According to Beydāwī, the expression 'mā nabghī' is the brothers' interrogative statement expressing that the return of the wealth they presented to their father is a clear proof of the king's kindness and good treatment toward them, and that they can desire nothing beyond this; the sentence 'hādhihī bidāatunā ruddat ileynā' comes as an explanation of this unwillingness. Moreover, the expressions 'namīru ahlenā' and 'nahfezu ahānā' are connected to their intention of bringing grain to their families and protecting their brother from dangers along the way by returning to the king. The expression 'dhālike kaylun yasīr' refers to either the grain measured for them being small and insufficient, or the additional load the king would measure for the brothers being insignificant for the king, or as the words of Jacob, that a camel-load is insignificant enough not to be worth putting his son in danger.

قالوا يا أبانا ما نبغي ماذا نطلب هل من مزيد على ذلك أكرمنا وأحسن مثوانا وباع منا ورد علينا متاعنا. أو لا نطلب وراء ذلك إحسانا أو لا نبغي في القول ولا نزيد فيما حكينا لك من إحسانه.