Essay on Biblical Flood of Noah in Genesis and the...

The Flood of Noah and the Gilgamesh Flood 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. Column 1 on Tablet 11 begins the Sumero-Babylonian Flood narrative (Gardner 226). The sage Utnapishtim from Shurippak (100 miles south†¦show more content†¦In Column 2 of Tablet 11 the Sumero-Babylonian Flood narrative continues with the measurements and construction of the ark: One acre was its whole floorspace; ten dozen cubits the height of each wall; ten dozen cubits its deck, square on each side. I [Utnapishtim] laid out the contours, drew it all. I gave it six decks and divided it, thus, into seven parts. Its innards I divided into nine parts. I struck water-plugs into it. I checked the poles and laid in all that was necessary. I poured 24,000 gallons of bitumen into the kiln; the same amount I laid on the inside. The basket-bearers brought on three shars of oil in addition to the shar of oil consumed in the seed-meal and the two shars of oil stowed away by the boatman.(Gardner 231) On the seventh day the ark was completed. It was launched, and then loaded with â€Å"all my kin and family† and with â€Å"the animals of the fields.† This ark has twice the number of floors as Noah’s ark. After the Jewish Old Testament establishes reasons for the Flood, then it proceeds with specific building instructions to Noah in Genesis 6:14: Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and set the doorShow MoreRelatedSimilarities Between Gilgamesh And Noah818 Words   |  4 Pagesthe Tower of Babel. However, I will focus on the Epic of Gilgamesh, comparing and contrasting it to the Biblical narrative of Noah. While both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Biblical narrative of Noah explore a global flood, there are key differences in their use of gods and the specific details of the flood. Gilgamesh and the Biblical narrative of Noah seem to parallel each other. First, both have a significant protagonist, Utnapishtim and Noah. Both of them built a boat of some kind, and they bothRead 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 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 MoreEssay on Comparing Gilgamesh to Genesis772 Words   |  4 PagesComparing Gilgamesh to Genesis In both Gilgamesh and Noah and the Flood, man’s wickedness leads to death, destruction, and rebirth all caused by billions of gallons of water sweeping the earth’s surface. The flood in both stories destroys most of mankind. The floods represent rebirth and a new beginning for mankind, as well as the gods and God’s wrath. In Gilgamesh the gods decide to destroy mankind by flooding the earth for six days and nights. Utnapishtim is chosen to build a boat inRead 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 MoreGilgamesh vs Bible1424 Words   |  6 Pagesthe 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 More Flood Myth of the Holy Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh Flood Myth1641 Words   |  7 PagesThe Biblical Flood and The Epic of Gilgamesh Flood      Ã‚   In Genesis of the Old Testament the account of the Flood approximates 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.    N.K. Sandars in the Introduction to his book, The Epic of Gilgamesh, sums up the involvement by the pagan gods in the Sumero-Babylonian Flood narrative:    In the Gilgamesh flood Ishtar and Enlil areRead More Comparing the Great Flood in Epic of Gilgamesh and the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark1162 Words   |  5 PagesComparing the Great Flood in Epic of Gilgamesh and the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark Many of the same ancient stories can be found in different cultures. Each story differs in a small way, but the general idea remains synonymous. One story that is paralleled in several cultures is the legend of a great flood. The epic of Gilgamesh resembles the Bible’s story of Noah’s Ark, but specific details differ in several aspects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story of Gilgamesh originates from twelve fire-hardened,Read MoreThe Purpose of the Biblical Flood narrative1977 Words   |  8 Pagesrelationship 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 an ark under the guidance of God, and take with him family members and pairs of animals, to survive a catastrophic universal flood. â€Å"The flood narrative belongs to the genre of myth. We are meant to read itRead 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 same structure