Noah Vs Gilgamesh Research Paper

Comparing the Great Flood in Epic of Gilgamesh and the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark

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.

Noah and Gilgamesh were both ordered to build boats and to fill the boats with animals from different species to brace themselves from impending floods; the floods talked about in both stories were caused by man’s wrongdoings and sins. Noah and Gilgamesh were deemed honorable and virtuous characters. Unlike Noah. Gilgamesh never reached his ultimate goal (he doesn’t find the key to everlasting life or a reason to live).

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.

One of the differences was that the duration of the flood in the texts was different. In the Bible the flood lasted for 40 days. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the flood lasted for only 7 days. I am interested to know why there is such a big difference between the two texts. I came to one reason which is that in

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 flood story that is told in The Epic of Gilgamesh has the same principle as the story of Noah told in the book of Genesis in the Bible, but there are some major differences. In the epic,

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 stories of “Genesis” and Gilgamesh were written centuries a part, yet there is one undeniable similarity between them. There is a section of each text that talks of a flood that the gods brought down upon the earth to kill all living things, but there was an ark that saved each species. The flood stories within these two texts have analogous events within them, but there is one difference that sets the two stories apart. There are many elements of the stories that gives the reader a deeper understanding of just how different the two stories are. These include the reason for the flood, how the individuals were chosen to be saved, how they were awarded, and the ultimate acts of the individuals at the conclusion of the flood. The relationship between the gods and the humans is the pivotal difference between the two stories by the fact that it encompasses all these differences.

A lot of stories concerning religions and cultures have lot of similarities and differences, despite the fact that they are not from the same era of time. Humans used these stories and writings to express their culture and religious views. “By the Waters of Babylon” is very similar to the writings of the Mesopotamian writings in The Epic of Gilgamesh more specificlay “The story of the flood” and “The Return”. These similarities include many gods in both, a unique quality in the characters of both than can include “born to greatness”, people of both writings lead to their death themselves, John and Gilgamesh Come home with lessons.etc

The heroes in the two stories are heroes in different way but also similar ways. Utnapishtim from “the Epic of Gilgamesh” and Noah from “Noah and the Flood” had the same start in become a hero they both were chosen by their god to build an ark and survive the flood because they are both willing to do anything for their god. In “Noah and the flood” “Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with

Firstly, Gilgamesh and Noah are both very similar and different in terms of personality. Gilgamesh was a loyal, persistent, and heroic man who was two thirds god. Despite his tales of renown and extravagant reputation he was not without his flaws. His whole journey of searching for immortality was all done out of selfishness and grief. “How can I be silent, how can I rest, when Enkidu whom I loved is dust, and I too shall die and be laid in the earth” (“Epic…” 144). Noah was a simple mortal man who had great faith in God, which led to his own and family's safety. ”Go into the ark, with all your household, for you alone have I found righteous before Me in this generation” (“Noah…” 171- 172). Gilgamesh on the contrary was very angry with the gods after losing his friend. Noah was righteous and selfless putting God’s will first before all else. Noah was also imperfect and got drunk one

The other really large change was that God showed some signs of remorse and sorrow in Noah’s tale, opposed to Gilgamesh’s tale, where God showed little involvement beyond the initial instructions and the flood itself. It was Gilgamesh alone who displayed sorrow for the loss of his people. The shift of sympathy from Gilgamesh to God, however, does good to accommodate the Christian and Jewish perspective of a loving and forgiving God, who would only sweep the world of his own creations at a deep sentimental price. This idea is further confirmed by his promise never to commit such an act again after the flood ceases: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every

Though Gilgamesh and Genesis are completely different stories, they both contain flood narratives that have similarities and differences within each. The three comparable points in these texts deal with the gods and heroes of the stories. First the gods in these narratives all have a specific reason behind their decision to wipe out mankind. Second the unique characteristics of the heroes or survivors of the flood are shown throughout the events of the texts. Finally the gods who bring these floods upon earth all reveal their qualities through their actions against humanity. These three topics relate from one book to another in many ways.