Genesis 11: The Corruption Of The Earth

In Genesis, we are engaged with an omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent God. The Lord saw all the evil upon the earth and devised a plan to cleanse it and start anew with a righteous man named Noah and his family. The Lord’s plan consisted of a flood to destroy the earth and all the evil in and on it. He instructed Noah how to build an ark, so his family and two of each animal, male

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the lord said, ‘I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created-people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.”(Genesis 6:5-8)

The rains lasted for 40 days, but the waters rose for 110 days. The waters flooded the earth for a total of 150 days, which equals out to be five months. When the waters began to recede the ark was resting on Mount Ararat. At first the dove could not find a place to land, but eventually it was safe to leave the ark. The ark on the mountain was more than just a place to dock, it was the new beginning for the world now that it was clean and at rest.

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

God also told Noah about the plan for the flood, and what he was to do with the ark. Noah, his wife, his sons, and his sons wives would all be on the ark an spared from the destruction the flood would cause. Along with his family, God wanted Noah to bring two of all living creatures, one male, and one female. Brining a male and a female of each kind of creature would allow them to reproduce and repopulate their species. The last thing God commanded Noah to do was to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and stored for his family and the creatures.

Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.” 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” This was God’s command to Noah, unlike Utnapishtim who was told the secret of the flood by one of the gods.

At the time of this story God saw how the thoughts of mankind were evil and he decided to destroy what he had created with a great flood intending to drown the earth. He chose Noah and his family to build an ark big enough to contain two of every animal to repopulate the earth. The world was flooded for a hundred and fifty days until the water subsided back into land.

“And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy the earth. Make yourself an ark…” (Genesis 6:13-14, English Standard Version) “For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.” (Genesis 6:17, ESV) “And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.” (Genesis 6:19, ESV) “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” (Genesis 6:22, ESV) “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of

God cast Adam and Eve out of garden. The Flood: * God cause rain for first time. * Noah, only good human on earth. * Noah and 3 sons build Ark. *

The story of the great flood is probably the most popular story that has survived for thousands of years and is still being retold today.  It is most commonly related within the context of Judeo-Christian tradition.  In the Holy Bible, the book of Genesis uses the flood as a symbol of God's wrath as well as His hope that the human race can maintain peace and achieve everlasting salvation.  The tale of Noah's Ark begins with God's expression of dismay as to the degenerate state of the human race at the time.  People were behaving wickedly and sinfully and God decided that a genetic cleansing was necessary.  He spared only Noah and his family, along with two of every type of animal; one

Both Gilgamesh and Noah build arks because of an impending devastation of the earth by rain and flooding. Shamash had warned, "In the evening, when the rider of the storm sends down the destroying rain, enter the boat and batten her down." (p. 147) God told Noah, "For in seven days' time I will make it rain upon the earth, forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out from the earth all existence that I created." (p. 172) Both boats were built to detailed specifications in order to withstand the torrents of rain. Following the cessation of the rain, both Noah and Gilgamesh send out birds as a test of the recession of the waters so that they can safely exit onto the land. Gilgamesh sends first a dove, then a swallow, and then a raven, who, "…saw that the waters had retreated, she ate, she flew around, she cawed, and she did not come back." (p. 148) Noah first sends a raven which, "…went to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. " (p. 173) He then sends a dove that returns to the ark having found no resting place. After seven days Noah again sends the dove which returns with an olive leaf in its bill. "Then Noah knew that the waters had decreased on the earth. He waited still another seven days and sent the dove forth; and it did not return to him any more." (p. 173) Both Noah and Gilgamesh, immediately upon leaving their boats, make a sacrifice. Gilgamesh says, "Then I threw everything open to

In the Bible, God speaks to Noah, saying many times over that the world that he created has become

Noah had much faith in God. Anything that God told Noah to do, he did. One day, God asked Noah to do something huge. God told Noah to build an ark and that he would send a huge flood. God told Noah to put two of each animal that He had created in the ark and that they had to be male and female, so that they could reproduce after the flood. He also told Noah to bring his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth and their wives with him.

Reading Noah’s story from the Bible and Qur’an shows the readers that are many similarities that come up between them. They both start off with a world that has turned wicked. God in both of the texts tells Noah to construct an Ark and to make sure a pair of every animal and his family is on the Ark. When the Ark was completed and all the creatures and his family were inside, the rain came for many days. In both texts, they described that the flood covered over the highest mountains and wiping out all of civilization and all of the creatures that roamed the Earth. When the rain stopped and the flood started to dry up, Noah from the Bible and the Qur’an waited patiently in the Ark, until his boat was placed on a mountain side and he was commanded

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month – on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in. For forty days the flood kept coming on earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The water rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.