A Comparison of the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew Scriptures
The Hebrew Flood story of Noah and his obligation to preserve man kind after God had punished all living creatures for their inequities parallels The Epic of Gilgamesh in several ways. Even though these two compilations are passed on orally at different times in history the similarities and differences invoke deliberation when these stories are compared. Numerous underlining themes are illustrated throughout each story. Humans are guilty of transgressions and must be punished, God or Gods send a flood as punishment to destroy this evil race, a person is selected by the gods to build a craft that will withstand the flood and allow this person to create a new race. An investigation of the inconsistency and similarities of both flood stories exposes the relationship between the Gods and the stories hero, insight on each cultures moral perspective on friendship and values as it applies to the flood, and each stories common origin.
There are many similarities and differences in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew scriptures. In both works you have Supreme beings or a being that has come to the conclusion that the earth and the people that reside on it are wicked. Because of these iniquitous individuals the earth must be destroyed. The supreme beings chose to destroy the earth by flood. In the Epic of Gilgamesh the gods influenced by Enlil their counselor make the decision to destroy the earth “The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of the Babel. So the gods agreed to exterminate mankind.” (Norton35). In the Hebrew scriptures the same conclusion was made by God that the earth was evil and would need to be destroyed “And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” (Norton60). In both works the gods or God seem to have the same attitude and feelings after the flood. The Gods show feelings of remorse and grief in the Epic of Gilgamesh Ishtar speaks out in distress “Alas the Days of the old are turned to dust because I commanded evil: Why did I command this evil in the council of the Gods?” (Norton37). In the Hebrew scripture the Lord did not seem to be as remorseful but did acknowledge that what he did may no...
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...ulation” (Smith). Approximately 60 million copies, or portions thereof, are distributed annually. The Tanakh is a acronym that identifies the Hebrew bible. The acronym is based on the initial Hebrew letters of each of the text's three parts. The Law, The prophets and the writings.
In conclusion we have looked at the similarities and differences in the two flood stories and seen how the stories are so similar even though they were orally passed on at different time periods. Also we examined the moral differences of each society and what values each culture holds dearly. We have also discussed the origin of each compilation.
Works Cited
1. Unknown. The Epic of Gilgamesh.Trans. N.K. Sandars. Sarah Lawall. Norton Anthology of World Literature. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2002. 10-61.
2. Perlin, John. A Forest Journey: Mesopotamia. Pp 35-45, SIRS Renaissance:1989. Werner
3. Miller, John J. “The Worlds First Story”. Foundation for Cultural Review. v23 i2 p74(4) (2004): . InfoTrac OneFile. Gale. NC LIVE. Oct 2004 .
4.Karel van der Toorn. “Did Ecclesiastes Copy Gilgamesh?”. Bible Review.: Feb. 2000, pp. 22+. Gilgamesh (Legendary Character). SIRS. Feb 2000 )
Translated by N.K. Sandars, Gilgamesh, The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces Expanded Edition, ed. Maynard Mack, Expanded Edition, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1995), pp. 13-42
Most of us have probably heard the famous bible story about Noah’s Ark and The Flood. What most may not know, is that this story is just one of a great many. A variety of ancient cultures, from the Greeks and the Middle East, to Asia and the Americas, have in their mythologies a story of a Great Flood that drowns the earth. These stories mostly contain the same themes: a god or group of gods becomes angry; they flood the earth but save a small group of people. These people build a boat to survive. After the flood they repopulate the earth.
The Epic of Gilgamesh. Trans. Benjamin R. Foster. Text. Martin Puncher. New York: W.W and Company, 2013.Print.
The Gilgamesh Epic is an ancient Mesopotamian story about life and the suffering one must endure while alive. Included in the story, is a tale of a great flood that covered the earth, killing all but a select few of it’s inhabitants. This story of a great flood is common to most people, and has affected history in several ways. It’s presence in the Gilgamesh Epic has caused many people to search for evidence that a great flood actually happened. It has also caused several other religions and cultures to take the same basic story, claiming it for their own.
Heidel, Alexander. The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1949.
---. “The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 121.4 (2001): 614-622. JSTOR. Web. 28 Feb 2014.
The closest parallel to the Biblical story of the flood occurs in the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, our fullest version of which is furnished by an Akkadian recension prepared, in the seventh century B.C. for the great library of King Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. The story itself is far older. We have fragments of versions dating as much as a thousand years earlier, and we possess also portions of a Summerian archetype.
The Epic of Gilgamesh has many similarities to the Bible, especially in Genesis and it’s not just that the both begin with the letter “g”’! One major similarity being the flood story that is told in both works. The two stories are very similar but also very different. Another being the use of serpents in both works and how they represent the same thing. A third similarity being the power of God or gods and the influence they have on the people of the stories. Within these similarities there are also differences that need to be pointed out as well.
In both versions of the flood story something angers God (in Genesis) and the gods (in Gilgamesh). "The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reasons of the babel" (Gilgamesh 12). The Gilgamesh reason seems very illogical. The Gods decide to destroy mankind because they are making too much noise. It seems that the gods didn't think over their decision wisely. They are gods, wouldn't they have the power to block out the sound? One would think so, but obviously that was not the case. This is the first major difference between the two stories.
Comparing each record of the flood can reveal how different cultural and religious backgrounds explain events of the world, and despite the stories differences, their similarities prove
The Epic of Gilgamesh. Trans. Foster, Benjamin R. New York: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2001. Print.
Sandars, N. K., trans. The Epic of Gilgamesh. London: Penguin, 2006. Print. Editorial Team. "The Odyssey Writing
...a "stupor of despair went up to heaven" and "even the gods were terrified and the flood, they fled to the highest heaven." This apparently shows that the society in which Gilgamesh was written had little faith in the ability of the gods to control their anger or their own powers. It is this lack of faith, which contributes to the morose undertones of this epic.
Print. The. The “Gilgamesh Epic” is now available. (n.d.): Funk & Wagnalls, New World Encyclopedia.
"Epic of Gilgamesh." Academy for Ancient Texts. Ancient Texts Library. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. .