Reframing the Discourse

An etiological narrative is a story told in order to explain a pre-existing fact (αἰτία in Greek means cause). The Adam and Eve account is a classic example as it explains many of the world’s features, like why men and women mate, why humans wear clothing, why snakes don’t have legs, why childbirth is painful, why work is so hard, etc. In contemporary literature, the classic example is Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories.

There is a debate raging now among archaeologists regarding when Israel began to build itself up as a centralized power with fortified cities. The standard chronology assumes a 10th century date and attributes the buildings to Solomon. An alternative model was put forward by Israel Finkelstein which argues for a 9th century date, which would make Omri and his son Ahab the kings responsible for the building program in Israel. Omri is explicitly credited by non-Israelite kings (Shalmaneser III and Mesha) as being the founder and powerful leader of Israel. Even the Bible credits him with the building of the capital city of the north, Samaria. For an accessible work detailing both sides of the debate about chronology, see: Israel Finkelstein, Amihai Mazar, and Brian B. Schmidt, The Quest for the Historical Israel: Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel, Archaeology and Biblical Studies (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007).

Genesis Rabba (Vilna ed., “Breishit” 8:2)