Flood Myth in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Biblical...

The Flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Flood of Genesis The Biblical book, Genesis, of the Old Testament contains an account of an historic Flood which has never been equaled in intensity. Tablet 11of the Sumero-Babylonian version of the epic of Gilgamesh also records a Flood quite expansive and quite devastating. Are they a record of the same event? E.A. Budge states in Babylonian Story of the Deluge and the Epic of Gilgamesh that the narration of the Flood in Sumero-Babylonian records may simply be related to a local flood instead of a worldwide Flood such as the Bible narrates: It is not too much to assume that the original event commemorated in the Legend of the Deluge was a serious and prolonged†¦show more content†¦According to Berossus, the deluge hero was the tenth Prediluvian king in Babylonia. Also in the Sumerian inscription he is referred to as king; there he occupies also a priestly office, viz., that of the administrator of the temple provisions of a certain god. In the Gilgamesh epic, Utnapishtim is not invested with any royal power or entrusted with any priestly office; from it we learn simply that he was a citizen of Shurippak (Tablet XI:23) and a man of considerable wealth (XI:70ff). (227) There is no reason given by Utnapishtim for the deluge. On the contrary, the Judaic version of the Flood in Genesis states in 6:5-8 a very clear, explicit reason for the Flood: The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that very imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, â€Å"I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the ground, man and beast and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.† Likewise in Genesis 11:13 God gives a reason for the Flood: And God said to Noah, â€Å"I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth. In Column 2 of Tablet 11 the Sumero-Babylonian Flood narrative continues with the measurements andShow MoreRelated Biblical Flood Myth of Genesis and the Flood Myth of the Epic of Gilgamesh573 Words   |  3 PagesThe Flood of the Bible and the Flood of Gilgamesh      Ã‚  Ã‚   The story of Noah’s Ark, as told in the old testament, tells how God punished the world because it had become corrupt. God accomplished this by flooding the world, and annihilating all the creatures upon it, except for Noah and his family and a pair of each type of creature on the earth. Each decade, more insight is gained into the origin of the flood story. Based on the information available at the present time, one could argue that theRead More Comparing the Epic of Gilgamesh Flood Myth and Book of Genesis Biblical Flood Myth1792 Words   |  8 Pagesthe Gilgamesh and Genesis Floods      Ã‚  Ã‚   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.    Alexander Heidel in his book, The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels, provides a background for the survivor of the Sumero-Babylonian Flood, Utnapishtim:Read More The Biblical Flood of Genesis Based Upon the Flood of the Epic of Gilgamesh1650 Words   |  7 PagesBiblical  Flood Based Upon the Flood of Gilgamesh      Ã‚  Ã‚   In the middle of the nineteenth century, archaeologists unearthed twelve clay tablets. Around the turn of the twentieth century, archaeologists finally managed to decipher the tablets written in Akkadian, the language of ancient royalty and diplomacy. The tablets tell of the story of Gilgamesh. (1) The eleventh tablet tells that Gilgamesh, in his quest for immortality set out on a long journey to look for his ancestor, UtnapishtimRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh And The Biblical Narrative Of The Genesis1332 Words   |  6 Pagesvariation among symbolism and moral values, however collective literary essentials exist. For instance, an abundance of flood stories that expand across the world verifies a connection among the traditions of mankind. The strong resemblance between the flood accounts in the ancient Mesopotamian myth The Epic of Gilgamesh and the biblical narrative of Noah’s Ark in The Genesis propose a closer relationship that encourages further analysis. The major plot points are echoed in both texts despite differentiationRead MoreGilgamesh vs Bible1424 Words   |  6 Pageswhy the Epic of Gilgamesh compares to the Bible in many different ways and the epic also has an extraordinarily different perspective than the Bible does. Yet the Bible and Gilgamesh, story or truth, myth or religion, these are questions that are applied to the ancient epic of Gilgamesh. Interestingly, these same questions apply to another major? They were written many years ago, both with many different versions, and in different languages work, the Bible. While the Sumerians wrote Gilgamesh as earlyRead MoreBiblical Flood Story Vs. Gilgamesh Flood1981 Words   |  8 PagesBiblical Flood Story versus Gilgamesh Flood Story The Biblical Flood story and the Gilgamesh Flood story include similarities and differences. There are two versions we know of the flood story in Babylonian literature, and both have different hero’s in each, although the cause of each flood is different. I will prove that I understand the task at hand by reading both of the stories, and taking it apart piece by piece to understand it in a whole. By doing this, I am able to know what I am readingRead MoreThe Purpose of the Biblical Flood narrative1977 Words   |  8 Pagesand early Judaism† (Coogen 2008) that contains many forms of writings and stories which address not only myth, main historical events and laws, but also those that follow the Israelites unique relationship with God. The first book of the Old Testament is known as Genesis, which is highly concerned with the world’s creation and its initial stages. It is also the origin of the biblical Flood Narrative concerning Noah and the Ark. The story is characterised by a man that is instructed to build anRead More Comparing and Contrasting Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bibles Noahs Ark642 Words   |  3 PagesComparing and Contrasting Epic of Gilgamesh and Noahs Ark Many cultures have stories of a great flood, and probably the best known story is of Noahs Ark. The next most notable is the Sumerian story of Ut-Napishtim found in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the ancient Babylonian depiction of the flood story, the god Enlil creates a flood to destroy a noisy mankind that is disturbing his sleep. Gilgamesh is told by another god, Ea, to build an ark (Monack 1). The Epic of Gilgamesh has broadly the sameRead MoreKnowledge in Gilgamesh and Genesis Essay1133 Words   |  5 Pagesboth the people of biblical times as well as those of the epic era. However, their stories have some differences according to cultural variation but the main structure, idea and theme are generally found correlative. It is hard to believe that that one work did not affect the others. The first great heroic epic poem of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament are two cultures that are hundreds of years apart. Upon studying the book of Genesis and the story of Gilgamesh; whereas one is m yth and the other oneRead MoreBiblical Vs. Classical Phenomenon2078 Words   |  9 PagesBiblical vs. Classical Phenomenon Throughout the semester, we have analyzed various texts that constitute some of the most important publications in the history of humankind. These myths and legends are known as the oldest in centuries and possibly the first sight of written text that humans have encountered. Dating back to the times of traditional oral-based stories, texts such as The Epic of Gilgamesh have given humankind a sense of emergence in the old times of script and literature. The Epic