Monday, November 19, 2018

midrash - Canaanite wives of the Bnei Ya'akov (Sefer HaYashar)


Avraham was extremely careful that Yitzchak not marry a Canaanite and as we know, he married Rivkah bas Besuel ben Nachor. Yitzchak was very careful that Ya'akov not marry a Canaanite and as we know he married Leah and Rachel bnos Lavan ben Besuel ben Nachor. The pasuk in VaYeishev specifically says that Yehudah married the daughter of Shua the Canaanite. VaYigash says that Shimon's youngest son Shaul was a son of a Canaanitess.


Sefer HaYashar to Parshas VaYeishev (Chapter 45) says as follows:


"Then Re'uven ben Ya'akov went towards Timnas and took Elioram bas Evi the Canaanite for a wife for himself and he came to her. She conceived and Elioram wife of Re'uven bore him Chanoch and Pallu and Chetzron and Karmi four sons. And Shimon his brother had taken Dinah his sister for a wife and she bore him Yemuel and Yamin and Ohad and Tzochar five sons. And after that, Shimon had come to Bonah the Canaanite that is Bonah who Shimon had captured from the city of Shechem. Bonah was before Dinah and she attended to her and Shimon came to her and she bore him Shaul. And Yehudah had gone at that time to Adulam and he turned to an Adullamite man and his name was Chirah. Then Yehudah saw there a daughter of a Canaanite man and her name was Eilis bas Shua and he took her and he came to her. Then Eilis bore to Yehudah Er and Onan and Shelah three sons."


The rest of the brothers do not marry Cana'anites, Levi and Yissachar marry two granddaughters of Yoktan ben Ever. Dan marries a Moabite. Gad and Naphtali marry two great-granddaughters of Nachor. Asher marries a Yishmaelite and then a granddaughter of Yoktan. Zevulun marries a Midianite (discussed here The wife of Zevulun (Sefer HaYashar)). Binyamin marries an Aram-Zovah-ite and a daughter of Zimran ben Avraham. Yehudah then Tamar bas Eilam ben Shem and Yoseph marries Osenas.


Why was Ya'akov not so careful that his sons not marry Canaanites?


In addition, I heard that Osenas was actually the daughter that Dinah had with Shechem, which would make Osenas a Canaanite as well.



Answer



According to Pesahim 50a, the very premise of the question; that Jacob's sons married Canaanite women is wrong. Indeed, the very notion is so inconceivable that that the Talmud interprets Genesis (38:2) as not implying that Judah married a Canaanite wife:




דכתיב וירא שם יהודה בת איש כנעני. מאי כנעני? אילימא כנעני ממש - אפשר בא אברהם והזהיר את יצחק, בא יצחק והזהיר את יעקב, ויהודה אזיל ונסיב? אלא אמר רבי שמעון בן לקיש: בת גברא תגרא


For it is written 'And there Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man'. What is meant by Canaanite? If you say an actual Canaanite, is it possible that Abraham warned Isaac, and Isaac warned Jacob [not to marry Canaanites] and Judah went and marries [one]? Rather Said R. Simon ben Lakish, [it means that] she was the daughter of a merchant.



According to R. Hayyim Paltiel (Genesis 37:35) even according to the opinion that the tribes married Canaanites, it is possible that they weren't ethnic Canaanites, but only resident there:



ר' יהודא אמר כנעניות היו. וצ"ע דסוף פרק אילו עוברין אמרינן בת איש כנעני אילימא בת כנעני ממש, אי אפשר, בא אברהם והזהיר בא יעקב והזהיר ויהודה נשא כנענית, ואילו הכא אמרינן השבטים נשאו כנעניות... ושמא י"ל דלא היו אלא מארץ כנען



Based on the above understanding the the brothers didnt marry Canaanites, Simon seems to be the exception that proves the rule. As Radak writes in Genesis (38:2):



בת איש כנעני ...וכנעני כתרגומו סוחר היה משאר האומות והתגורר שם, כי בני יעקב היו נזהרים מלהתחתן עם בנות כנען כמו האבות, כי שמעון שלקח אשה מבנות כנען זכרו לגנאי והפרידו מאחיו ואמר ושאול בן הכנענית:



The daughter of a Canaanite...And 'Canaanite' is identical in meaning to its Targumic explanation; that he was a merchant from a different nation [other than Canaan]. For Simon who took a wife from the daughters of Canaan, was mentioned negatively, and [listed] separately from his brothers, and it is said 'and Saul the son of the Canaanite'.



See also Ramban to Genesis (38:2).


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