Did Yaakov's Sons Marry Canaanites/2

Did Yaakov's Sons Marry Canaanites?

Exegetical Approaches

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Yaakov's sons, like their father and grandfather before them, were careful not to marry from the women of Canaan.

Is marriage to a Canaanite problematic? These sources all assume that marrying a Canaanite would have been problematic, either because it is prohibited by Torah law, or because the Canaanites were viewed as an abhorrent and cursed people who would have tainted the line of Yaakov.

Yehuda and Bat-Shua, "בַּת אִישׁ כְּנַעֲנִי" – These sources assert that the term "כְּנַעֲנִי"  refers not to the ethnicity of Shua but to his profession as a merchant.¹  As evidence for this meaning, Resh LakishPesachim 50aAbout the Bavli points to Hoshea 12:8 and Yeshayahu 23:8.²  However, in Divrei HaYamim I 2:3, Bat Shua herself is referred to as "הַכְּנַעֲנִית" which makes this read somewhat difficult.  Ramban answers that she  was so called after her father, who was well known and an expert in his field.

"שָׁאוּל בֶּן הַכְּנַעֲנִית" – According to this position, the word Canaanite in this verse, too, is not to be taken as a marker of nationality.   Opinions in Bereshit Rabbah³ identify the Canaanite woman with Dinah and assert that she is given the title either because she had slept with a Canaanite or acted like one.⁴  They suggest that after Dinah was violated by Shechem, Shimon agreed to marry her so she would not be forsaken in disgraced.⁵

Tamar – This approach assumes that Tamar, as well, was not of Canaanite origins.  According to R. Meir⁶ and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, she was the daughter of Shem, whom they identify with Malkizedek,⁷ priest of Shalem,⁸ while Bavli Sotah asserts that she was a convert.

Whom did everyone else marry?

• Sisters – R. Yehuda asserts that the tribes married their sisters.⁹  One might question if this action is not also problematic as Torah law prohibits marriage to sisters.  Under Noachide law, however, marriage to a half sister is permitted, so the Patriarchs might have found this preferable to marrying the "abominable" Canaanites.¹⁰
• Local non-Canaanites – Alternatively, one could suggest that they married local women who were not of  Canaanite origin.¹¹

Avot and Mitzvot

• Kept all of Torah – These sources assume that the forefathers were careful to keep even laws that were not yet commanded to them, such as the prohibition to marry a Canaanite.¹²
• Did Not Keep All – Alternatively, even though the forefathers were not obligated in future commandments, Yaakov's sons followed Avraham and Yitzchak's warning not to marry Canaanites.  For various understandings of what might have motivated Avraham's directive see Wanted: A Wife for Yitzchak.

Evaluation of the Avot – The readings of this position are all motivated by a desire to show the marriages of the sons of Yaakov in the best possible light.

Rare Exception

Though most of Yaakov's sons married non-Canaanites, either Yehudah, Shimon, or both, married Canaanites.

Sources:Jubilees41:1-9About Jubilees, Testaments of YehudaChapters 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, Bereshit Rabbah85:185:2About Bereshit Rabbah, Tanchuma (Buber)Vayeshev 9About the Tanchuma, Ibn EzraBereshit 38:2Bereshit 46:10About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, RadakBereshit 38:2Bereshit 46:10About R. David Kimchi, RambanBereshit 38:2About R. Moshe b. Nachman, Ma'asei Hashem

Meaning of the word "כְּנַעֲנִי/ת" – According to Ibn Ezra and Ma'asei Hashem, by the marriages of both Yehuda and Shimon, the word "כְּנַעֲנִי/ת" refers to an ethnicity (an actual Canaanite).  Radak and Ramban agree with this reading by the marriage of Shimon, but not by Yehuda,¹³ while Jubilees and Testament of Yehuda agree with this explanation with regards to Yehuda, but do not address the case of Shimon.

Tamar – Jubilees, Testament of Yehuda, and Ramban all claim that Tamar was a non-Canaanite, with the earlier sources suggesting that she was from Aram and Ramban positing that she was the daughter of one of the sojourners in the land. Though the text makes no mention of Tamar's origins at all, Ramban argues that it is not possible that David and the Mashiach would have descended from the cursed line of Canaan.

Whom did everyone else marry? Ibn Ezra points out that it is only by Shimon and Yehuda that Canaanites are mentioned, because they were the only ones to marry them.  He and Ramban assume that the other brothers married women from the surrounding nations (Egyptians, Midianites, Edomites etc). 

Evaluation of the action – These sources all evaluate those who married non-Canaanites negatively.  Bereshit Rabbah asserts that the language of "וַיֵּרֶד יְהוּדָה" suggests that in marrying a non-Jew, Yehuda lowered himself.  Moreover, Jubilees, Tetament of Yehuda and Ibn Ezra all suggest that Yehuda was punished for his actions through the death of his sons.

Avot and Mitzvot – In the Testmanet fo Yehuda , Yehuda says of himslef that inmarrying Bat Shua he trangressed both the word of God and his father.

Several

A number of Yaakov's sons might have married Canaanites. The cases of Yehuda and Shimon mentioned in Tanakh were not singular occurrences.

¹ One might question why the Torah would bother to tell the reader what Yehuda's father-in-law's profession was, as it seems to be irrelevant.

² For similar usage see also Mishlei 31:24.  See, though, M. Ben Yashar, "פרשת יהודה ותמר", who points out that the metaphoric meaning of merchant is found only in poetic passages and may not be a viable understanding in Biblical prose. See, also, R"E Samet, "סיפור יהודה ותמר, סיפור בתוך סיפור?" who questions whether this usage would have been prevalent before the Monarchic period, as it was only then that Canaanites stood out as merchants.  In the Patriarchal period, in contrast, they were masters of the land, and not singled out in this capacity.

³ See R. Huna, R. Yehuda, R. Nechemya there and Rashi in their wake.

⁴ See also Targum Pseudo Jonathan who agrees that the term is a metaphoric, but identifies Shaul with Zimri who fornicated in the way of the Cananaites.  This identification is extremely difficult according to the simple sense of the text as it assumes that  Zimri lived for hundreds of years.

⁵ See below that this solution causes a new problem - how could Shimon marry his sister?

⁶ See Bereshit Rabbah85:10About Bereshit Rabbah and TanhumaVayeshev 17About the Tanchuma.

⁷ See Bereshit Rabbah 42:7 which identifies the two.

⁸ This identification is motivated by the fact that Yehuda condemns Tamar to death by burning which is not the regular penalty for adultery.  According to Vayikra 21:9, though, it is the punishment for a daughter of a priest who prostitutes.  However, see Ma'asei Hashem who points out that this would make Tamar extremely old.

⁹ See R. Yehoshua who claims that each of the brothers was born with a twin sister.  Even though Dina is the only daughter of Yaakov mentioned by name, Bereshit 37:35 says, "וַיָּקֻמוּ כׇל בָּנָיו וְכׇל בְּנֹתָיו לְנַחֲמוֹ" suggesting that he might have had other girls as well.

¹⁰ This would not explain the position above which asserts that Shimon married Dinah, as they were full siblings.

¹¹ See, for instance, the opinion brought in Bereshit Rabbati and Ibn Ezra.

¹² See above, though, that if one assumes that they married their sisters instead, the solution is not much better than the problem.  See Maharal's full discussion of the issue and his suggestion that although the forefathers kept commandments, they were like converts who are not obligated in areas of sexual misdemeanors connected to relatives since they are as if reborn with no relatives.

¹³ They assert, like the position above, that there the word is synonymous with merchant.