Vayeishev 38:2 · unit 1

Parashas Vayeishev · Passuk 38:2

The Complete Passuk

וַיַּרְא־שָׁ֧ם יְהוּדָ֛ה בַּת־אִ֥ישׁ כְּנַעֲנִ֖י וּשְׁמ֣וֹ שׁ֑וּעַ וַיִּקָּחֶ֖הָ וַיָּבֹ֥א אֵלֶֽיהָ׃

And Yehudah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; and he took her, and went in unto her.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Pesachim 50a.

Sefaria — Pesachim 50a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
בַּת אִישׁ כְּנַעֲנִי — תָּנֵי רַב יוֹסֵף: כְּנַעֲנִי — תַּגָּר, דִּכְתִיב ״כְּנַעַן בְּיָדוֹ מֹאזְנֵי מִרְמָה״.

English: “A daughter of a Canaanite man” — Rav Yosef taught: Canaanite means a merchant, as it is written “As for the Canaanite, the balances of deceit are in his hand.”

On the daf / in context: Pesachim 50a reinterprets “Canaanite” in this context as a designation for a merchant rather than a member of the Canaanite nation.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The term “Canaanite” is taken in its commercial sense rather than ethnic sense.

What Is Learned

The “Canaanite” whose daughter Yehudah married is understood as a merchant. The verse does not imply intermarriage with the Canaanite people themselves.