Producing fire and hybrids as seen by the Midrash Aggadah: Polemic etiological myths?

Abstract

The current study analyzes several Midrashic sources that deal with the invention and discovery of fire and of the mule. It examines the narrative of the Midrashim, while comparing it with portrayal of the invention or source of these two elements in Greco-Roman mythology and culture. The rabbis did not openly voice their negative attitude to the mythological narrative concerning the discovery of fire or their reservations about crossbreeding in the Roman world. However, it seems that their homilies were polemical, aimed at presenting an alternative to the non-Jewish story. The Greek mythological narrative was rooted in a polytheistic world in which various mythological entities confronted each other, and fire figured in these confrontations. In contrast, in monotheistic Jewish thought, there is one God who grants fire to humankind with no restrictions or regret. The Jerusalem Talmud conveys the message that hybrids might be dangerous and harmful to humankind. The real-life existence of hybrid creatures that were particularly strong beasts led the ancients to assume that two animals of different species might bear other dangerous “monsters.” It is possible that the view of the Jewish sources is that crossbreeding is not merely a Jewish-religious prohibition but rather an environmental hazard. In fact, the two narratives are etiological stories. The story of Anah aims to explain an unclear verse describing the finding of the yemim and the story about the invention of fire explaining the meaning of the phrase “image of God” that sets aside human beings.