Comparison Of Gilgamesh And The Book Of Job

The Epic of Gilgamesh: story of the flood is a story telling of the time when the Sumerian gods flood the Earth hoping to get rid of the annoying humans. Throughout the story, Utnapishtim would be the preserver of life; by building a ship that would carry two of every animal. In Genesis 6-9, the Hebrew God chose to cleanse humanity by flooding the Earth, and in this story Noah would be instructed by the Lord to build an ark and put two of every animal with this ark. These stories of the flood have many differences, one major difference being that The Epic of Gilgamesh is a fictional story of Sumerian gods, while Genesis is a religious book with in the Bible. Although there are many differences between Genesis’ and Gilgamesh’s story of the flood, there are significantly more similarities linking the two stories.

A mortal, “two-thirds a god, one-third a man,” and his companion fight adversaries that threaten the power the men possess in Gilgamesh (Ferry 4). A man leads a race from oppression given power through God in Exodus. All three men hold power, which others in their time do not hold; however, they face obstacles that threaten their power. Gilgamesh and Moses conquer their challenges and achieve victory enriched with power; while, the men face the foes in their path with determination and discover the level of power between mortals and immortals

In his quest for immortality to change his unavoidable destiny, Gilgamesh tried to secure a way to preserve his life in order to avoid suffering because his belief was flawed, while Job secured his life in his belief. He was not afraid of death or of his God, neither did he wish to become one, he just wanted his suffering to be ended by the one whom he believed brought it upon him in the first place. Gilgamesh, on the other hand, sought his own ways to end his suffering and to avoid future sorrow that comes with being human, even though he knew that there was a higher plan that ruled that everlasting life was not his destiny. In contrast, Job was not aware that there was a higher plan that endorsed his agony or the reasons for it. All he had was his faith and integrity, which he held on to despite the undeserved affliction he received through the very hands of the one he expected to redeem him, to later discover that he would. Gilgamesh, in his restless heart, hoped the redemption for his self-inflicted suffering would come from his personal sacrifices, only to find out that it could not.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Mesopotamian myth and the oldest known narrative there is, originally created on clay tablets written in cuneiform. The story focuses on two individuals. Gilgamesh, who is the tyrannical ruler of the kingdom of Uruk. Then his counterweight, Enkidu who resides in the forest and was raised by animals. It may seem that neither would have much in common, considering one is royalty and one is a wild man. However, these two characters balance each other despite their differences, which results in a beautiful friendship, but both will lose as well as gain in the end.

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 in order to restart mankind after the flood. In the Bible God also decides to flood the earth due to the increase in wickedness. God chooses Noah to build an ark and store seven pairs of every clean animal and two of every other kind of animal on it

The Hebrew Flood story of Noah and his obligation to preserve man kind after God had punished all living creatures for their inequities parallels The Epic of Gilgamesh in several ways. Even though these two compilations are passed on orally at different times in history the similarities and differences invoke deliberation when these stories are compared. Numerous underlining themes are illustrated throughout each story. Humans are guilty of transgressions and must be punished, God or Gods send a flood as punishment to destroy this evil race, a person is selected by the gods to build a craft that will withstand the flood and allow this person to create a new race. An

The Epic of Gilgamesh has many similarities to the Bible, especially in Genesis and it’s not just that the both begin with the letter “g”’! One major similarity being the flood story that is told in both works. The two stories are very similar but also very different. Another being the use of serpents in both works and how they represent the same thing. A third similarity being the power of God or gods and the influence they have on the people of the stories. Within these similarities there are also differences that need to be pointed out as well.

While Genesis in the bible and The Epic of Gilgamesh have striking similarities in the sense of creation and the great flood, the interactions between the divine beings and humans differ greatly. One matter that impacts the entire relationship between gods and humans in both accounts is that the gods in the epic are not almighty beings like God in Genesis since they cannot control each other’s domain. Because of this, they must travel from place to place and work with other gods to carry out a certain task. The gods in The Epic of Gilgamesh act very much like humans and interfere more with their daily lives. In contrast, the all-powerful god in Genesis seems distant and far from having human-like characteristics and does not need to interact with other gods. At the same time, both stories display the reverence and fear humans have for the supreme beings because of their authoritative qualities.

(1) The black demon saw a beautiful woman and out of all the nobel women. He picked the one that was about the be married. He kidnapped her on her wedding night. It shows that the black demon does things impulsively. He does not care of the consequences. It shows that since he is a demon. He does not fear the consequences of men. When he saw her he could not longer live without her. When he kidnap her. He locked her in box showing that he does not trust the women he kidnap with other men. It also means he wants to keep her pure. She was kidnap on her wedding night so she did not have sex yet so the demon believed she was pure. The untainted virgin that has not been violated by men was his and his only. When he traveled he took her out of the box and wanted to sleep beside her. It shows when he his comfortable. He would sleep better beside her. The women was the demon's most prized possession. It is like comparing the women to a boy's secret toy. When a boy is around someone he would hide his secret toy from everyone. When the boy is alone he would take it and worship it. This meaning is similar to Metamorphoses when Apollo wanted Daphne. Even though she refused him. He impulsively try to rape her. She was turned into a tree, but he still tried to rape the tree. Another text with the similar meaning is in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Any women Gilgamesh desired he would take married or not. Since he was part god and king. He did not care of consequence like the demon.

Cited The Epic of Gilgamesh, Trans. George, Andrew. England. Penguin Group Holy Bible, Nashville. Thomas Nelson Publishers TOPIC #2. Does one come to the same view of human suffering in the case of Gilgamesh and Enkidu as one does in the case of Job? Ishtar opened her mouth to speak, saying to her father, Anu: 'Father, give me, please, the Bull of Heaven, so in his dwelling I may slay Gilgamesh! TVI.92-100 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath he will gi

Many people believe that everything happens for a reason. Some people believe there is a God out there deciding their fate, and others believe it’s their actions that create the path they will take. No matter the idea, everyone has a different relationship with what they believe in. In Gilgamesh, edited by Steven Mitchell, demigod Gilgamesh struggles with his relationship to the gods. When the council of gods kill his best friend, Enkidu, Gilgamesh goes on a difficult journey aiming to become immortal and truly equal to them. His relationship with the gods is complicated because without them, Gilgamesh cannot succeed. Yet somehow, they are also the only thing in his way. In this epic, the relationship between gods and men is filled with tension because the gods have immense power over the humans, including the ability to decide the fate of their entire world.

Human problems does not change throughout history but instead get told in different forms. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of Job are a quest for immortality and deal with the realization that death is final and will come for everyone. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of Job have a similar main theme of immortality and context, but the Book of Job has a more optimistic and friendly world view.

Gilgamesh – An unstable compound of two parts god and one part man, Gilgamesh suffers most from immoderation. He is the greatest of all men, and both his virtues and his flaws are outsized. He is the fiercest of warriors and the most ambitious of builders. Yet until Enkidu, his near equal, arrives to serve as a counterweight to Gilgamesh’s restless energies, he exhausts his subjects with ceaseless battle, forced labor, and arbitrary exercises of power. Beautiful to behold, Gilgamesh selfishly indulges his appetites, raping whatever woman he desires, whether she is the wife of a warrior or the daughter of a noble—or a bride on her wedding night.

The tales of Gilgamesh and Noah are as memorable as they are incredible. They materialize the beliefs of two cultures telling very similar yet very different stories. Gilgamesh, a mighty warrior overwhelmed by grief of his passed friend, went an an epic adventure to find the secret of eternal life. Noah, a morally right and genuine man saved the future of the entire human race and every animal through great endurance and faith. The personality traits, reasons for journeys, and stories of origin of each myth have a plentiful amount of both commonalities and diversities.

Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, develops a fancy for Gilgamesh and propositions him quite adeptly saying “Do but grant me of thy fruit. Thou shalt be my husband and I will be thy wife”. Gilgamesh does not seem to look too kindly upon Ishtar and rejects her advances by describing her past failed relationships and calling her “A back door [which does not] keep out blast and wind-storm”. Gilgamesh’s tirade against the goddess is not well received and she requests that her father, Anu, “make me the Bull of Heave [that he smite Gilgamesh]”. Ishtar successfully unleashes the Bull of Heaven upon Gilgamesh and Enkidu but ultimately fails, as it is the Bull that dies, not Gilgamesh. The Bull’s death in turn, prompts Enkidu’s unfortunate death. In short, Ishtar is liable for both the deaths of the Bull of Heaven and Enkidu, as well as being the agitator of Gilgamesh’s great quest for immortality. Ishtar was imperative to the development of Gilgamesh’s character through his search for eternal life. While Ishtar is afforded more of a characterization than the harlot, she too, is a one dimensional character. Ishtar is branded as shallow, from her interest in Gilgamesh’s looks alone, (“Glorious Ishtar raised an eye at the beauty of Gilgamesh”), sexually deviant (“Which lover didst thou love forever?”) and vengeful (“I will smash [the doors of the nether world]… I will [raise up the dead eating (and)