"And Judah saw there the daughter of a certain Canaanite man" (Genesis 38:2). What is "Canaanite"? If you say an actual Canaanite — is it possible? Abraham came and warned Isaac, Isaac came and warned Jacob, and Judah would go and take one? Rather, it means the son of a merchant man, as it is written, "Canaan, in whose hand are deceitful balances" (Hosea 12:8). And if you wish, say from here: "her merchants are the honored of the earth" (Isaiah 23:8). The daughter of a merchant man, the luminary of the place.
What Canaanite Means When Judah Marries a Merchant's Daughter
Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 145:1
וַיַּרְא שָׁם יְהוּדָה בַּת אִישׁ כְּנַעֲנִי. מַאי כְּנַעֲנִי, אִילֵימָא כְּנַעֲנִי מַמָּשׁ אֶפְשַׁר בָּא אַבְרָהָם וְהִזְהִיר לְיִצְחָק בָּא יִצְחָק וְהִזְהִיר לְיַעֲקֹב וִיהוּדָה אָזִיל וְנָסִיב אֶלָּא בַּר גְּבַר תַּגָּרָא כְּדִכְתִיב "כְּנָעַן בְּיָדוֹ" וְגוֹ'. וְאִיתֵימָא מֵהָכָא, (ישעיה כג, ח) "כִּנְעָנֶיהָ נִכְבַּדֵּי אָרֶץ". בַּת גְּבַר תַּגָּרָא בּוֹצִינָא דְּאַתְרָא.