Genesis 44:18

And Jehuda came near to him and said, In imploring my lord, let thy servant, I implore, speak a word in the hearing of my lord, and let not thy anger grow strong against thy servant; for at the hour that we came to thee thou didst say to us, I fear before the Lord; and now thy judgments are rendered like (the judgments) of a prince of Pharoh.

LET THY SERVANT, I PRAY THEE, SPEAK A WORD. The intent thereof is to say that he [Judah] will speak but a few words which will not burden Joseph. In my opinion, the correct interpretation is that “a word” refers to the exchange concerning which he is to plead before him, namely, that Joseph exchange him for his brother Benjamin, for he will not ask any other thing of him, and all of the rest of his words are an appeasement and a plea for this exchange.

AND LET NOT THINE ANGER BURN AGAINST THY SERVANT. Judah is saying: “Do not be angry at me for speaking before you.”

FOR THOU ART EVEN AS PHARAOH, i.e., “it is with great fear that I speak before you, as if I was speaking before Pharaoh.”

כי כמוך כפרעה, seeing that Your position is one equivalent to that of king, I am afraid of your anger.

ויגש אליו. ידבר נא עבדך דבר. After you yourself have said (verse 17) that you do not want to do anything which would pervert justice,

ידבר נא עבדך, let me explain to you what unfairness and perversion of justice would result from the course of action you plan.

ואל יחר אפך, and do not become angry when I tell you that you will be guilty of this perversion of justice unwittingly.

כי כמוך כפרעה, the fact that I address my words to you is not to be considered personally, as I address them to you in your capacity of representing Pharaoh himself.

כי כמוך כפרעה, the repeated use of the prefix כ is meant to draw a comparison between the two subjects mentioned. We find a parallel construction in Isaiah 24,2 כעבד כאדוניו, “like master like servant.” [that verse contains a string of these comparisons. Ed.] What Yehudah meant was “on the one hand you rule like Pharaoh, and Pharaoh is like you in many respects.” I am therefore as afraid to speak up in front of you as I would be afraid to speak up in front of Pharaoh. However, due to the extreme difficulty we are finding ourselves in I cannot remain silent. I can only ask that in all that I am going to say אל יחר אפך בעבדך, “do not become angry at your servant.” You have already accused us of crimes when we first came here, as distinct from other people who came to buy grain whom you did not subject to such treatment.”

Then Judah approached him: The last letters of these three words create שָׁוֶה (equal.) Judah said to Joseph, "I am equal to you, just as you are a king, I am a king." And for this he demands in the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 93:6) For behold the kings have assembled (Psalms 48:5).

ויגש אליו וגו'...בי אדוני, “he came near to him;....oh my lord.” Yehudah”s logic in challenging Joseph’s punishment for Binyamin was as follows: normally when a slave owner buys additional slaves and finds out that they steal from him, he demands his money back from the seller and returns such slaves to him. Why, do you do the opposite, by preferring to have a thief as your slave?

כי כמוך כפרעה, “for you are just like Pharaoh;” just as an earlier Pharaoh lusted after the founding mother of the Hebrews, because of her physical beauty, our matriarch Sarah, you lust after our brother because you are attracted by the fact that he is so handsome.” An alternate interpretation: “just as you are great and mighty in your country, so we are great and mighty in the region which we call our home.” (Compare B’reshit Rabbah 93,6 and Tanchuma on this portion section 5)