Essay on Gilgamesh vs. Genesis

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.

Along with providing information on the origins of the natural world, Genesis also provides insight into how the world was originally intended to function. After God was finished with his creative work, He declared that everything was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). At this point in time, all of creation was living in perfect harmony—until Adam and Eve sinned. After Adam and Eve gave into Satan’s temptation, sin entered the world and changed how the natural world functioned. Genesis chapters 3-11 show continuous examples of how sin infected the natural world. Animals had to be killed (Genesis 3:21 and 4:4), death entered the human race (as can be implied from 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 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 passage that I choose to write about was Genesis chapter 1 verses 1-5. I choose this passage because I was interested in studying how God supposedly created the earth and turned darkness into a world full of life and spirit. Genesis 1 begins by saying “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”(NKJV) I think that the purpose of this verse is to summarize the things that God would do in the future. This text tells us that God existed before the heavens and the earth. We also learn that before God started to create, the earth was empty, dark, and lifeless. The text also represents the beginning of everything earthly by saying God will create life on earth and in

Abel: Killed by his brother Cain out of jealousy because God preferred Abel’s offering rather than Cain’s. He also tended to his family’s flocks on their farm.

Noah to build an ark for God to be able to restore his creation into goodness. (6:9-9:17)

Genesis introduces the creation of heaven, earth, and all that lives today. Along with the creation of humankind, came the germination of evil and violence. God gifts the first human with “the tree of knowledge, good and evil,” and expects the human to have self control

So the gods in both the Christian story and Greek myth wanted to end the world and restart. This caused all the people to die as a flood covered the entire earth. In the book of genesis “ And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart”(Genesis 6). “And the Lord Said, I will destroy man whom i created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping things and the fowls of the air; for repenteth me that i have made them”(Genesis 6).

The actions of all organisms, no matter the level of intellect are usually based on specific desires to enhance his or her current lifestyle and sustain existence. In The Epic Of Gilgamesh, character motives and desires are triggered by desires of power and pleasure, and can be witnessed through various events and circumstances that contain journeys, competition, and companionship. Both Sigmund Freud's Civilization And Its Discontents and The Holy Bible's "Genesis" recount this theme through various perspectives that often ponder the differences between the "organic" and "synthetic" human through time. The texts provide evidence that Enkidu’s early death derived from a lifestyle transformation influenced by Gilgamesh, and place Gilgamesh’s

He then flooded the earth to wipe out everyone. In the Hebrew creation, God had flooded the earth because he was very angered by the human being so violent. Similar to the Hebrew creation, Zeus, who is apart of the Greek creation flooded the earth because of violent behavior, as well. Zeus was furious after he saw the people taking part in cannibalism and decided to wipe out humanity. In the Mayan creation, Gucumatz and Tepeu tried multiple times to create humans in order for them to take care of the earth and praise them.

Society today is fascinated with learning about the history of human culture and society with new information and revelations being made almost daily. Although with new technology discovering the past is becoming easier and easier, due to the massive span of human existence, relatively little, in regards to the grand span of things, is truly known. As time continues to pass, ancient artifacts continue to deteriorate and history is lost. When The Epic of Gilgamesh was rediscovered in the nineteenth-century, a whole new perspective on life in the past was opened. This story allowed greater insight into the large flood that occurred many years ago and helped to put the Hebrew Bible into a time perspective.

In the ancient Mesopotamian world, the realm of civilization was viewed to be highly illustrious. At the same time, this state of advancement of great antiquity was also an attribute of divinity. The elements of civilization were intimately associated to the highly esteemed divine mediation. Despite the prominent theology culture in The Epic of Gilgamesh, divine intervention is not the only element that could transform the crude heroic figures into sagacious men. Strength and power are definitely not the only possessions that could advance one in life even though they clearly distinguish the heroes from ordinary men. It is rather, more significantly, the process of internalization. No civilization emerges directly and independently – it is

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from four thousand years ago, from ancient Mesopotamia. It was written on clay tablets, and even if some part of sentences were not able to be recovered, the tale is understable. It is the oldest Epic found, and still one of the most famous too. While the stories are made of different Gods, cows talking, King with perfect strength, giant monsters, it seems hard to find similarities between the Epic and the 21st century. Yet by reading closely the passage from the Epic of Gilgamesh, some aspects are quite similar in both societies. First this passage suggests that the human nature is violent. Second, it also shows that while the male gender possesses all the knowledge, the female gender cannot create anything on her own.

“So the LORD said, "I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created--and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground--for I regret that I have made them."(Genesis

While the Old Testament focuses much on God’s covenant with man—starting first with the patriarch Abraham—the book of Genesis establishes the foundation for such concepts as the forbidden, original sin, and perhaps the most intriguing, evil. This latter presents itself early in the text, most notably through God’s creation of the Tree of Knowledge. Some scholars have questioned the reasoning behind the tree, stating that if God knew the outcome of Adam and Eve’s decision, then why allow its existence. Similar arguments arise when addressing the murder of Able by his brother, Cain. There is, however, an explanation for God’s inclusion of evil in the Garden and throughout the remainder of the Old Testament. God’s allowance of evil in the book of Genesis—while simultaneously offering man free will—acts as a test, one rooted in hope, loneliness, and love.