1 A Comparison Between the Flood Myths

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A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE FLOOD MYTHS IN THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH AND THE BOOK OF GENESIS

The Biblical story of the Flood as found in the Book of Genesis contains many similarities to the Mesopotamian myth known as the Epic of Gilgamesh; in fact, it appears that the Biblical account as related by Noah, ca. 1400-1200 B.C.E., may have been entirely derived from the Epic of Gilgamesh, written some six hundred years earlier in 2000 B.C.E. when the so-called Flood Myths had their origins. Among these similarities between the two ancient accounts is that the Gods were very displeased with how their creation, being Man, was behaving on Earth which served as the main impetus for destroying every living thing that breathed, swam or walked. In Genesis, chapter 6, verses 5-7, we find "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" which induces Him to "destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth" (Holy Bible, King James Version, 12) by a great flood. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim, "the Sumerian Noah who had discovered the secret of life" (Clough, Internet), relates to Gilgamesh the story of the Great Flood which was brought about to destroy the city of Shurippak, "ancient, as were the gods within it, when their hearts led the great gods to produce the flood" (Kovacs, 45). Also, the characters of Utnapishtim and the Biblical Noah were spared from the great deluge, for both were ordered by the Gods to build a vessel in order to survive the flood. In Genesis, chapter 6, verse 14, God tells Noah to "Make thee an ark of gopher 2 wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without" (Holy Bible, 12); in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim is told by his Gods to "Tear down (his) house, build a ship; give up possessions, seek thou life. . . aboard the ship take thou the seed of all living things" (Magill, 1081). The demand to Utnapishtim to save "all livings things" is comparable with the account in Genesis (chapter 7, verses 2-3) when Noah is ordered by God to take "every clean beast. . . the male and his female. . . (the) fowls of the air. . . to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth" (Holy Bible, 12) into the ark. In addition, Noah is instructed by God as to the design and manufacture of the ark, for He tells him that "the ark shall be three hundred cubits (in length), the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits" (Holy Bible, 12); similarly, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim is told that his vessel must be "ten dozen cubits the height of each of her walls, ten dozen cubits each edge of the square deck" (Magill, 1082). Towards the conclusion of both of these Flood Myths, the Gods tell their respective worshipers to release a bird from their vessel in order to determine if the land is dry and safe for habitation once the flood waters have subsided. In the Genesis account (chapter 8, verses 7-8), Noah ". . . sent forth a raven, which went to and fro, until the waters were abated," and then sent out "a dove. . . to see if the waters were abated" (Holy Bible, 13). Likewise, Utnapishtim ". . . sent forth. . . a dove (which) went forth, but came back" and then released a raven that ". . . went forth and seeing that the waters had diminished. . . (turned) not around" (Magill 1082). Finally, both Noah and Utnapishtim were blessed by their Gods; "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said. . . Be fruitful and multiply" (Holy Bible, 14), and Utnapishtim 3 was granted immortality, "a gift bestowed by the repentant Gods in recognition of his ingenuity and faithfulness" (Mendelsohn, 106). SOURCES CITED Clough, Brenda W. A Short Discussion on the Influence of the Gilgamesh Epic on the Bible. Internet. July 3, 1999. Accessed March 5, 2003. Kovacs, Maureen G. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Connecticut: Stanford University Press, 1989. Magill, Frank N., Ed. Masterplots. Vol. 4. New York: Salem Press, 1964. Mendelsohn, Isaac. Religions of the Ancient Near East. New York: Library of Religion, 1955: 100-06. The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1960.