The Flood of Noah and Gilgamesh With the discovery of texts from ancient civilizations, many people have come to believe that various texts are common to one another. Examples of these texts are the creation stories from the Hebrews found in the Bible, The Hymn of Ra from the Egyptians, and the Enuma Elish stories from the Babylonians. In addition to these stories are the flood stories. These stories have caused many discussions among scholars involved with ancient civilizations. The two main stories largely discussed are the Genesis and Gilgamesh flood stories. Although different in regards to the details, the main plot is similar between the two stories from two different civilizations. Because of this similarity, many people believe that either “Genesis was copied from an earlier Babylonian story, or the Gilgamesh myth was copied from an earlier Hebrew story, or both were copied from a common source that predates them both (Robinson). There are many similarities between the Noah flood story and the Gilgamesh flood story. In both stories, the divine are annoyed with humanity. In Genesis, God notices that man has become sinful and wicked in their actions and their thoughts. In Gilgamesh, the divine assembly find that humankind are too numerous and noisy. So to rid the earth of humankind, both stories tell of a flood that will destroy everything including animals. However, in each story, a righteous man finds favor with God (god) and has his life spared. In the bible, God finds favor with Noah and warns him of his plans to destroy the world. In Gilgamesh, Ea does not agree with Enlil and his plans to flood the earth, so Ea warns Utnapishtim through a dream of Enlil’s plan. After finding out about the flood, Noah and Utnapishtim build an ark using the specifications provided to them and bring in every living creature into the ark in order to spare them. After building the arks, Noah and Utnapishtim close the doors and it begins to rain. It continues to rain and the flood covers the earth and kills everything that is not in the ark. After the rain stops, both Noah and Utnapishtim arks land on a mountain, Mount Ararat for Noah and Mount Nisir for Utnapishtim; both mountains are located in the Middle East, only a few hundred miles apart (Robinson). Then, Noah and Utnapishtim each send out birds at regular intervals to see... ... middle of paper ... ...hat is what saves him, Enlil decides to bless Utnapishtim. Enlil lays his hand on Utnapishtim and his wife and proclaims, “Utnapishtim and his wife have been mortal, now they are immortal. They shall live far away, they shall dwell at the mouth of the rivers” (Matthews and Benjamin 28). Although, native to different civilizations, Noah to the Hebrews and Utnapishtim to the Babylonians, these two stories are very similar to each other, with only the specific details that are different. These similarities have brought some people to believe that one of the stories developed from a copy of the other story. Regardless of what people think, however, there is one thing that is for sure, these stories tell of the power of the all-powerful God (gods) of the people and how the people fear to displease their God (god). Works Cited Matthews, Victor H. and Don C. Benjamin. Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East. New York: Paulist, 1997. Robinson, B. A. Comparison of Babylonian and Noahic Flood Stories. 1 Feb. 2004. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 12 Mar. 2004 . Women’s Devotional Bible (NIV). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995.
Almost all myths around the world have the particular section on the “Great Flood.” It has been universal, indicating that at some point in their lifetime, all of the cultures experienced a flood that almost wiped their civilization out. However, many of the flood myths of different cultures take different features in time period, area that they happened, heroes, and the story itself. But, surprisingly, the flood myths in Bible and Gilgamesh are almost similar except for the slight differences for the names of the heroes, shapes of the arks, and story itself. Besides few small details of the story, though, everything else is very parallel to each other.
The rendition of the historic, worldwide Flood recorded in Genesis of the Old Testament is similar to the account recorded on Tablet 11of the Sumero-Babylonian version of the epic of Gilgamesh, discovered in the 1800’s by British archaeologists in Assyria. Let us compare the two in this essay.
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.
Even though The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis: Noah and The Flood have similar details they both differ dramatically, because of the religious aspects, their different views of destroying mankind , and the importance of the arc.
Throughout history myths play an important role in shaping cultures and civilizations. Since they’re meant to guide people morally it is not uncommon to find myths from different cultures with the same plots and lessons. The Epic of Gilgamesh, “Noah and the Flood”, “Deucalion”, and “Tata and Nena” all account of a great flood brought on by a God or gods. All four myths are similar in the sense that they describe a supreme being destroying life because of humanity wickedness and how a few commendable human beings repopulate the Earth giving birth to a new era; while the myths are remarkably similar they’re also very different.
The Sumero-Babylonian version of the epic of Gilgamesh, after two and a half millennia of dormancy, was resurrected by British archaeologists in the nineteenth century. Amid the rubble of an Assyrian palace, the twelve clay tablets inscribed the adventures of the first hero of world literature – King Gilgamesh, whose oral folk tales go back to at least 3000 years before Christ (Harris 1). Tablet XI contains the story of the Flood. In this essay let us compare this flood account to the more recent Noah’s Flood account in Genesis of the Old Testament.
It is interesting that despite cultural differences, many cultures have similar stories relating to a great flood. These stories have been passed down through the generations. Both Aboriginal mythology and the Bible on which Christianity is based, use stories to teach lessons to their people. To demonstrate this, one only has to compare the story of Noah's Ark (Genesis 6-9) with the Bundaba Flood Story told by the Bundaba people from Western Australia, to understand that the story of a great flood appears to be similar in many very cultures.
Most comparisons between Genesis and ancient Creation or Flood stories can be classified as comparative religious studies. They generally involve one text isolated from its original historical context (e.g., the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish or the Flood tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic) and one related biblical narrative. On the basis of currently available evidence, their earliest-known written form can be dated only to the first half of the first millenium B.C.
The flood story that is told in The Epic of Gilgamesh has the same principle as the story of Noah told in the book of Genesis in the Bible, but there are some major differences. In the epic, Utnapishtim is immortal and, although Noah was extremely old when he died, he wasn’t immortal. Utnapishtim was a human, but because he saved mankind, Enlil said, “Hitherto Utnapishtim has been a human, now Utnapishtim and his wife shall become like us gods.” (Gilgamesh 11.206-207) In the Biblical story, God told Noah that he was going to send a flood and asked him specifically to make the ark in order to save mankind. In Genesis 6:13-22, God tells Noah why he’s flooding the earth and exact instructions to build the ark. “13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[a] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[b] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[c] high all arou...
The two stories closely parallel each other, though Gilgamesh was written down before 2000 BCE and the version in Genesis was compiled ca. 400 BCE. Biblical writers probably knew of the much older myth but revised it so that it fit with their own history and worldview. They intended it to fit with their own mythology. Despite the many similarities between the two stories, this difference in intention is revealed in a number of motifs that distinguish the biblical story from the ancient myth:
Perhaps the most popular comparison with Noah's Flood is that of an ancient Babylonian story of a similar flood. A quick look at the text does show some key similarities between them however there are also some pointed differences. I will show you both and let you decide whether there is or is not a connection.
A good number of people know the famous story of the Genesis flood, but do they know how it resembles to the Gilgamesh flood story? It is mind bending how the main stories are so alike. The main theme is the biggest similarity between the two. They also differ greatly in the smaller details in the events that take place. In both stories the number of days for events are different, but the same basic event takes place. Along with many other similarities and differences. The stories are very much the same, but when comparing the details within they are very different.
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 roles of Noah and Utnapishtim in the Flood Myths are quite similar. There are several differences regarding the two flood myths, but the general idea behind the two remains consistent. In the Mesopotamian Flood Myth, the Gods were overwhelmed by the amount of humans that existed on Earth and were unable to sleep due to the noise of men. So they decided to "exterminate mankind." While in the Hebrew story of Noah and the Flood Myth, God grew tired of the evil that had plagued mankind and engulfed the earth. So God decided to start the world over to undue the mistakes of man. Both of these stories display an attempt by the Gods to start the world over to cleanse the earth. Both Utnapishtim and Noah were spoken to by Gods and asked to build large boats from which all who were to be spared would seek shelter during the storm. Both men were allowed to spare the lives of their family via the safety of the boats. Also, the method used by the Gods in these myths are the same, the skies would rain down upon the earth flooding the land and killing all who were not ordered onto the boats.
While the Hebrews and Egyptians creation theories bear resemblances and differences, the study and comparison of both the Egyptian myths and the biblical account allow us to comprehend the religious views of ancient civilizations in a better light. One may come to the conclusion that the Hebrews were influenced by the cultures of Egyptians by creating similarities in their own beliefs, or by drawing a line of defense of what is in their terms true, by separating from the mass ideals of the Egyptians and establishing distinct