Genesis 46:10 – THE SON OF A CANAANITISH WOMAN
Genesis 46:10 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.
Jacob is on his way to Egypt and scripture records for us the names of those who were born unto Jacob and to the sons of Jacob who were traveling to Egypt with Jacob. In the midst of this list, we see that Simeon had six sons, but one of them appears to have a different mother, a Canaanite woman. We know that Judah had married a Canaanite woman and all of his sons were born of a Canaanite woman, but this genealogy does not deem it important to remind us who the wife and concubine of Judah were.
Simeon had six sons but one of them was born to him by a Canaanite woman. We do not know if this Canaanite woman was a wife, a concubine, or a harlot that bore him children. Scripture does not deem it necessary to inform us who this Canaanite woman was, but that it was important that we know that Shaul was the son of a Canaanite woman.
Scripture is clear that Abraham did not want Isaac marrying a Canaanite woman nor did Rebekah desire that Jacob marry a Canaanite woman. We do not know where Simeon found his first wife who bore him five sons, but it is clear by this passage that she was not a Canaanite.
We do not know too much about Simeon. We do know that it was Simeon and Levi who defended their sister’s honor after she was raped. We do know that when Joseph chose one of his brothers to stay in prison for a year, that he chose Simeon. Many Bible scholars believe that Joseph chose Simeon because Simeon was apparently in the forefront when Joseph was being sold as a slave.
God had called Abraham and his descendants to separate themselves and to be a chosen people. Because God knew that the sons of Jacob were not going to withhold themselves from the Canaanite women, God had to remove them from the Promise Land and put them in a place where they would not intermingle but instead would become a special people.
Simeon’s relationship with this Canaanite woman may have been completely moral as he could have waited until his wife died before he married this Canaanite woman. Scripture does not give us any indication what the relationship with the Canaanite woman was, but that we needed to know that she was a Canaanite.
Simeon was the great-grandson of Abraham and the promise to Abraham applied to him also. Simeon was willing to forget about being a special people so that he could pursue what his heart desired. Simeon saw this Canaanite woman and he had a son by her.
Marriage is honorable in the sight of God. Being fruitful and multiplying is one of the earliest commandments that God gave to mankind. Nonetheless, this does not mean that one should not be careful when it comes to marrying their spouse. Simeon was indiscriminate and scripture deems it important to highlight this fact.
Simeon needed to add temperance to his life. Rather than simply have a relationship with any beautiful woman who caught his eye, Simeon needed to exercise self-control and to pursue a woman of a people who were not cursed of the Lord. The lesson from this passage is that we should be prepared to say no to the desires of our heart if they are contrary to the direction God.