Looking over the two accounts of the Flood narrative form The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis one would think that they were both similar. The Flood has the same origin in both accounts, the Mesopotamian region. They both have a main person that is warned of the Flood. They both release birds to determine if the water level has receded. They both come to rest on a mountain, when the waters subside. And at the end they both sacrifice an offering to the gods or God.
Regardless of the similarities there are a number of differences. The reason for the Flood from The Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods could not sleep “The gods are sleepless… They are troubled, restless (! )… Long ago it has been established…
.” (39).
So the gods assembled to discuss what to do. According to Genesis, God caused the Flood because of .”.. evil of the human creature… .” (28).
Also the Flood was intended for all humans in The Epic of Gilgamesh, where as in the Genesis narrative it was intended for all except Noah and his family.
A second difference in both of the Flood narratives is the boat itself. According to The Epic of Gilgamesh, the boat was a cube. The text reads as follows: “its walls were each 10 times 12 cubits in height, the sides of its top were of equal length, 10 times 12 cubits each.” (41) This does not seem logical that the boat would be able to survive a flood. The Genesis text states that the ark was: .”.. three hundred cubits, the ark’s length; fifty cubits, its width; thirty cubits, its height. Make a skylight in the ark on one side.
The Essay on Common Threads Great Flood And The Flood In The Epic Of Gilgamesh
Common Threads: Great Flood and the Flood in The Epic of Gilgamesh Did the authors of the Old Testament have a copy of The Epic of Gilgamesh? Or was this fantastic plot, and its unmistakably recognizable specifics, simply a part of the broader oral history of the time, which possibly originated with a real event? The story of the Great Flood that takes place in Genesis would have probably sounded ...
With lower and middle and upper decks you shall make it.” (29) The ark from Genesis seems like it would be able to face a flood of global proportions. A third noticeable difference is the length of time to build the boat. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, it seemed to have taken five days to build the boat. “On the fifth day I laid out her exterior. It was a field in area, its walls were each 10 times 12 cubits in height, the sides of its top were of equal length, 10 times 12 cubits each. I laid out its (interior) structure and drew a picture of it (? ).
I provided it with six decks… I butchered oxen for the meat (! ), and day upon day I slaughtered sheep. I gave the workmen (? ) ale, beer, oil, and wine, as if it were river water, so they could make a party like the New Year’s Festival… and I set my hand to the oiling (! ).
The boat was finished by sunset.” (41) Which is highly unlikely that the boat was built in five days. According to Genesis, Noah was five hundred years old (25), before God told him to build the ark. Then when God told Noah to enter the ark he was six hundred years old (31).
So it is to be assumed it took around one hundred years to build the ark.
A fourth difference is the way that the gods were in control of the flood. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods are running around scared trying to get away from the rising water. “The gods were frightened by the Flood, and retreated, ascending to the heaven of Anu. The gods were cowering like dogs, crouching by the outer wall.” (42) In the Genesis, God seemed to be in control the entire time. There was no mention God regretting what was done or of him being scared. In conclusion, even though there are similarities in both texts, there are many more differences.
Some seem to think that the Genesis version may have been written from The Epic of Gilgamesh, but with the number of differences this does not seem to be the case.
