Comparing The Epic of Gilgamesh and Noah and the Flood Essay

Comparing The Epic of Gilgamesh and Noah and the Flood It is said that life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it. It is not the circumstances of life that determine a persons character. Rather, it is the way a character responds to those circumstances that provides a display of who he is. From the Epic of Gilgamesh, as translated by N.K. Sandars, and Noah and the Flood from the Book of Genesis, both Gilgamesh and Noah face similar circumstances, but don’t always respond to them the same way. Accepting immortality and the ultimate powerlessness to be in control of deaths inevitability is something that both Gilgamesh and Noah encounter. Gilgamesh faces the death of his closest companion, Enkidu, with†¦show more content†¦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 mor e. (p. 173) Both Noah and Gilgamesh, immediately upon leaving their boats, make a sacrifice. Gilgamesh says, Then I threw everything open toShow MoreRelatedSimilarities Between Gilgamesh And Noah818 Words   |  4 Pagesto the Tower of Babel. However, I will focus on the Epic of Gilgamesh, comparing and contrasting it to the Biblical narrative of Noah. While both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Biblical narrative of Noah explore a global flood, there are key differences in their use of gods and the specific details of the flood. Gilgamesh and the Biblical narrative of Noah seem to parallel each other. First, both have a significant protagonist, Utnapishtim and Noah. Both of them built a boat of some kind, and theyRead MoreGilgamesh VS â€Å"Genesis†: Noah and the Flood1121 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Religion is about turning untested belief into unshakable truth through the power of institutions and the passage of time- Richard Dawkins†. We all know the breath taking story of the Genesis flood, but have we ever noticed how similar it is to the Epic of Gilgamesh. Genesis is the story of how one God created mankind, along with everything else on Earth, and what punishments he put upon them when they acted wrong .Genesis is a chapter in the Holy Bible, which was written in the 18th century B.CRead MoreFlood, Atrahasis Flood And The Epic Of Gilgamesh Flood1354 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout the Genesis Flood, Atrahasis Flood and the Epic of Gilgamesh flood, there are many different ways to inte rpret the different views of The Flood. These different narratives in these stories have their own explanation on how this myth took place and the different beliefs that occurred during this flood. The way you portray each narrative is based on what exactly your beliefs are. When comparing the Genesis Flood narrative to that of the Gilgamesh Flood narrative, there are many similarRead More Two Great Floods - The Bible and Epic of Gilgamesh Essay776 Words   |  4 PagesTwo Great Floods In both the Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh the God or Gods create a flood to destroy mankind. In Gilgamesh,the Gods decide something needs to be done because the humans are being loud and disturbing the Gods. In the Bibles version of the flood story, God regrets creating mankind because the humans have become evil God chooses Noah and his family to start a new beginning. In the Bible God becomes regretful of creating mankind because he sees that they are wicked and theyRead More Flood in Epic of Gilgamish and Book of Genesis of the Holy Bible873 Words   |  4 PagesThe Flood in The Epic of Gilgamish and The Bible 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 Gods wrath as well as His hope that the human race can maintain peace and achieve everlasting salvation.   The tale of Noahs Ark begins with Gods expressionRead More Comparing and Contrasting Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bibles Noahs Ark642 Words   |  3 PagesComparing and Contrasting Epic of Gilgamesh and Noahs Ark Many cultures have stories of a great flood, and probably the best known story is of Noahs 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 theRead MoreComparing and Contrasting the Floods in Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh588 Words   |  3 PagesThe floods in Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh are in no doubt different but in so many ways similar. The two men are given a task to save humankind from a flood and succeed and are rewarded. The major basic events that take place in the stories a similar however the smaller details of them and how they are carried you are different. They two also tells us a lot about the relationship between humans to Divinity. The floods in The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis 6-9 are very similar. In both theRead More Comparing the Great Flood in Epic of Gilgamesh and the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark1162 Words   |  5 PagesComparing the Great Flood in Epic of Gilgamesh and the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark Many of the same ancient stories can be found in different cultures. Each story differs in a small way, but the general idea remains synonymous. One story that is paralleled in several cultures is the legend of a great flood. The epic of Gilgamesh resembles the Bible’s story of Noah’s Ark, but specific details differ in several aspects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story of Gilgamesh originates from twelve fire-hardened,Read More Comparing the Epic of Gilgamesh Flood Myth and Book of Genesis Biblical Flood Myth1792 Words   |  8 PagesComparing the Gilgamesh and Genesis Floods      Ã‚  Ã‚   The rendition of the historic, worldwide Flood recorded in Genesis of the Old Testament is similar to the account recorded on Tablet 11of the Sumero-Babylonian version of the epic of Gilgamesh, discovered in the 1800’s by British archaeologists in Assyria. Let us compare the two in this essay.    Alexander Heidel in his book, The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels, provides a background for the survivor of the Sumero-BabylonianRead MoreThe Old Testament And The Ancient Near East1543 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Earth was made, also known as cosmogony. While no ANE literature closely resembles the Old Testament story in Genesis 1-11, some civilization’s parallels point more towards the Hebrew beliefs, such as Akkadian’s Enuma Elish, or the famous Epic of Gilgamesh from ancient Babylon. The similarities between the Old Testament and the ANE don’t only exist within their origin stories. In Leviticus, we see the Israelites being given instructions on how to properly execute their sacrifices and worship to