Why did Jacob's wife have to be a non-Canaanite?

Answer 1

The traditional reason given for Jacob's wife having to be a non-Canaanite is to ensure that he was not influenced by their pagan beliefs. Leon R Kass (The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis) unintentionally shows the fallacy in this by saying that Leah, whom he did marry, quickly gave up her pagan beliefs, to adopt those of Jacob. The story of Rachel and Laban's idols shows that Rachel and Leah were from a pagan household.

Another explanation takes us back to ancient, pre-biblical Hebrew beliefs. There is substantial evidence in The Bible that Jacob may have originally been worshipped as a moon god before his story evolved into that of a Hebrew patriarch. In that view, Jacob was not permitted to marry a mortal. Canaanites were mortals. The two cousins, Rachel and Leah, were symbolic of Venus, known to have been worshipped up until later monarchical times as the goddess Asherah. The name Rachel means 'Ewe' and the name Leah means 'Wild Cow', although it can also mean 'weary'. Clearly, 'wild cow' is the more probable meaning here: Leah was described as 'tender eyed', or cow-eyed, and her sister's name was Ewe. This begins to make sense when we learn that several ancient hymns to the Sumerian goddess Inanna describe her as a splendid wild cow. Moreover, in shepherd communities, Inanna was usually associated with a ewe. And, while her Sumerian name was Inanna, her Hebrew name was Asherah.

Answer 2

Isaac commanded his son Jacob not to take a Canaanite wife (Genesis 28). The Canaanites were well-known for their wickedness (Leviticus 18, Deuteronomy 18:14).See also the Related Link.

Biography of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

Answer 3

Isaac commanded his son Jacob not to take a Canaanite wife.