Did Yaakov's Sons Marry Canaanites/2

Did Yaakov's Sons Marry Canaanites?

Exegetical Approaches

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None

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

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.

Tamar – This approach assumes that Tamar was not of Canaanite origins.  According to R. Meir⁵ and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan identify her with the daughter of Shem, or Malkizedek, priest of Shalem,⁶ while Bavli Sotah asserts that she was a convert.

Rare Exception

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

Several

A number of Yaakov's sons might have married Canaanites and this was not viewed a singular occurrence.

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

⁶ This identification is motivated by the fact that Yehuda condemns her to death by burning which is not the regular penalty for adultery, but rather for the daughter of a priest.  See Maasei Hashem, though, who points out that would make Tamar extremely old.