ושאול בן הכנענית, נראה כי כולם נזהרו במצות אברהם זקנם שלא ליקח אשה מבנות כנען, ושמעון גם כן אלא אחר שלקח אשתו ראשונה והיה לו בנים ממנה לקח אשה אחרת כנענית והיה לו ממנה שאול, לפיכך פרסמו הכתוב. ורז"ל דרשו כי כנענית זאת היא דינה וקראה כנענית לפי שנבעלה לכנעני ושמעון נשאה לאשה כמו שכתבנו: ושאול בם הכנענית, it appears that all of Yaakov’s sons abided by his aversion to intermarry with Canaanites. Even Shimon also honoured this tradition. However, after he had married a woman who was not a Canaanite and had had children by her, he married an additional wife who was a Canaanite. Shaul was a son of that second wife of his. Seeing that this had been a breach of the tradition, the Torah alludes to it in considering this son as the “son of the Canaanite woman.” Our sages on 34,26 took the view that Shimon had taken pity on his sister Dinah who had been raped by a Canaanite, and married her and the son from the rape was the one named Shaul. (based on Bereshit Rabbah 80,11)