Origins of the Biblical Flood of Genesis and the Flood of Gilgamesh

Flood stories have been a common thread in many religions across the globe. One of the stories we are most familiar with in our culture, the story of Noah’s Ark, is a well-known segment of the old testament, and an interesting story of how God punished the world for how corrupt it had become. God accomplished this by flooding the world, and annihilating all the creatures upon it, save for Noah and his family and a pair of each type of creature on the earth . This story, however, has roots deep in the past, some of which have only come to light with the development of new archeological techniques and technology. As more and more is found out about the era from when this story originates, discoveries are made as to the origin of the story, what tale it was based upon, and as to the authenticity that such an event may have actually even occurred, if on a somewhat smaller scale. Based on the information available at the present time, one can make fairly confident inferences as to the root of this story. One could argue that the story of Noah’s Ark was based on the Epic of Gilgamesh, and that in turn was based on older stories that were based on a real flood of the Black Sea.

The story of Noah’s Ark was first written as part of the old testament by the Jewish people. However, it is predated by far by the story of the Epic of Gilgamesh, a story that originated in the same area that holds many striking similarities to the tale of Noah’s Ark. Though the story was modified to accommodate new characters, many properties of the story are similar, from small details like the creatures used as scouts to the religious purpose of the flood itself. For example, both the flood stories start with the characters receiving specific building instructions for a ship, which is to be used to spare the lives of one set of pairs of the creatures of the world. The dimensions of the ship underwent some drastic changes however, quite possibly because the dimensions of Gilgamesh’s boat were rather unreasonable: “Equal shall be her width and her length…” . Both Gilgamesh and Noah received 7 days notice, and after the flood ceased, both employed doves and ravens as scouts to determine if the land was dry yet (Gilgamesh also employed a swallow, but the results of its trip did not greatly differ from the first trip of the dove in Noah’s tale ).