Genesis 47:12 - Exposition

And Joseph nourished — ἐσιτομέτρει ( LXX .), i.e. gave them their measure of corn— his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families— literally, to, or according to, the mouth of the little ones, meaning either in proportion to the size of their families ( LXX ; Keil, Kalisch, Murphy), or with all the tenderness with which a parent provides for his offspring (Murphy), or the whole body of them, from the greatest even to the least (Calvin), or completely, down even to the food for their children ('Speaker's Commentary').