Or HaChaim on Genesis 43:27/אור החיים על בראשית מ״ג:כ״ז

1 וישאל להם לשלום. He asked them how they were, etc. Joseph first enquired how the brothers were before he enquired after their father's wellbeing. One first greets the people present before enquiring after those who are not present.

2השלום אביכם הזקן, is your aged father well? How could Joseph enquire after the wellbeing of the brothers' father before he had even ascertained that Jacob was still alive as he did at the end of the verse? If the enquiry after their father's wellbeing meant if he was still alive , why did Joseph ask about this twice? The brothers' reply is difficult also. They too first answered that their father was well and then added that he was alive. What news did they add by confirming that their father was still alive?

3Perhaps Joseph wanted to know if Jacob's wellbeing had been affected by his aging or whether he was as spry as ever. Perhaps this is why he added the word עודנו, i.e. is he as well as when you came here the last time? This is why Joseph was clever in asking first about their father's welfare before asking if he was still alive. The question then was not whether Jacob was actually alive, but whether he was as alive as the last time. An aging father could have been described as being well even if his mental and physical alertness had declined somewhat with age.