Is the Gilgamesh Flood the Basis of the Biblical Flood in the Book of Genesis?

     Another difference in the story is the instructions on how to build the ark. In the bible, God tells Noah to build the ark 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high (New International Version, Gen. 6:15). God continues to tell him to “make a roof and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top” (New International Version, Gen. 6:16a). Then “put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle, and upper decks” (New International Version, Gen. 6:16b). In Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim builds his ark 155 feet high, and the decks 175 feet wide. He also built a top deck and six lower decks (Matthews and Benjamin 26).

Many cultures have stories of a great flood, and probably the best known story is of Noah's 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 and plot as Noah's Ark, suggesting the possibility that the Biblical account has drawn influence from the archaeologically older Sumerian depiction. University professor Alexander Heidel concludes that these accounts are undeniably

Both the story of “Noah and the Flood” in the book of Genesis in The Hebrew Bible and the flood story in The Epic of Gilgamesh detail a grand flood in which a man saved life from extinction by building an ark, earning fame and immortality in some form. The theme of completing this grand task for a moral purpose holds true to both stories, but the depiction and actions of the divine and mortal characters in the stories contain different similarities and differences.

Although the stories are similar they are not identical. In Genesis God sent the Flood to destroy humankind because of man’s wickedness. Unlike The Gilgamesha where the reason was never said however the sender of the flood was a secret council of gods the idea was brought up by Enlil , the god of earth wind and air. God favored Noah because he was a righteous man therefore, he was chosen to build the ark that was three hundred cubits long, fifty cubit wide, and thirty cubits high, about three stories. Utnapishtim was chosen out of the cleverness of Ea, the god of wisdom and crafts. God came directly to Noah to tell him about the Flood where as Ea was swore to secrecy so “he repeated their plans to the reed fence” so he would no break the oath to the group. The boat Utnapishtim was directed to build was a rectangle shaped measuring one acre and about 6 stories high. When the floor came in Gilgamesh it was only rainwater however the Flood in Genesis was rain water as well as ground water. Both floods did indeed wipe out all of humankind but the did not last equal as long. After the flood Utnapishtim was gifted the gift of eternal life where as Noah was to multiply and have rule over the animals.

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.

The Mesopotamian society thought the Great Floods was “sent by the gods to destroy the impertinence of men” while the Egyptians saw it “as a gift rather than a challenge.” Both cultures had many myths about the Great Floods thus documenting the waters importance to

In the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ and ‘The Biblical Flood Story’ have a very similar plot line, but many several key differences. In both stories a flood occurs, which were caused by the God/s( This shows that in Gilgamesh they were polytheistic while in the Biblical version they were monotheistic. ) to destroy the people of the earth. For both flood stories, a specific person is chosen to build an arc but for different reasons. In the Biblical story, Noah builds the arc due to his righteous character but in Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim built the arc to save himself. Later on in both stories birds are released making them seem very similar. In the end, the stories are separated because of the covenants

The flood occurs in many creation myths such as the Theogony, Genesis, Yoruba Creation, Mayan Creation, and Popol Vhu. With the floods which occur, there are only a few survivors and the survivors build a boat. In Popol Vhu, the flood occurs to wipe out all of the incompetent people who were created to worship the gods and were notweren’t properly doing so; the incompetent people then become monkeys so the new people see what they should notshouldn’t be like. In the Yoruba creation, there is a flood caused by Olokun because he was not included in the process of humans and actually didn’t know the humans were being created; he then wiped these humans out with the

In this particular anecdote of the flood, it tells of long ago when the gods destroyed all of civilization with a massive rainfall (swallowing mankind underwater), paralleling the Christianity version of Noah and God’s flood. The story of the flood comes from the eleventh and twelfth tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and it tells the tale of Utnapishtim, the man who was warned about the flooding of his home city of Shurppak. He was warned by the gods to build a large boat and to fill

Page 22 of the World Civilizations textbook states, “The collection of stories called the Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest approaches to analyzing the relations of gods and humans. It portrays a society in search of a religious basis for human action. Stories of the Flood occur in many ancient cultural traditions, in which each case, the story tells of a disastrous flood that engulfed the entire earth and nearly annihilated humanity.” With that, The Epic of Gilgamesh did not just solely tell a story of the folks of a Sumerian Civilization and the battles of their ruler. The Epic spoke of current ecological and natural issues. This was the story of Ruler Gilgamesh of Uruk who tyrannizes and ruled the general population of his territory. This enraged the gods so much that the gods sent him a companion, Enkidu. He was his representation in a parallel sense, in the

In the Gilgamesh flood Ishtar and Enlil are as usual the advocates of destruction. Ishtar speaks, perhaps in her capacity as goddess of war, but Enlil prevails with his weapon of the storm. Only Ea, in superior wisdom, either was not present, or being present was silent, and with his

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Mesopotamian culture believes a flood from the gods can destroy mankind. Ancient Mesopotamians viewed the world as a small place. They were skilled craftsmen that built a boat that could withstand the might of the gods. They valued gold and silver. They needed to please the gods thru sacrifice and other religious practices. Their gods would communicate with them by secrecy and held council meetings like them. If it was not for the immortality and the divine powers the gods held they looked and acted much like the Mesopotamians.

These verses of the Genesis helps people to understand the ferocity of the flood at that time, but also offers many questions. Did it truly happen? Did it really cover entire earth? These questions overtime has been researched and some parts of them were answered. However, the water covering the entire world is

The clearest verses that show the extent of the flood are Genesis 7:19-23. Regarding the waters, “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 that moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and

The Epic of Gilgamesh contains an apocalyptic myth where a god indirectly chose a survivor to rescue the human race, and he receives a blessing from the gods in return for his bravery and success. In the epic about ancient Mesopotamian religion, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of how he became immortal after surviving the gods’ downpour. Utnapishtim lived on the banks of the Euphrates in a town called Shuruppak “when the great gods decided to send down the Deluge.” Each of the gods swore on this plan, and chose to keep it secret. However, one god named Ea yelled his swear at a