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Comparing Gilgamesh And Genesis

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1. One major similarity that seems obvious, but very outstanding, is that a flood is sent to earth with intentions to destroy creation. In Genesis 6:7 the Lord says, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created.” In the Epic of Gilgamesh in line 115-116, the gods send rain “submerging the mountain in water, / overwhelming the people like an attack.” It is glaring both stories are written concerning a great flood, but it is very significant that great floods come with the same intentions of destroying all living beings.

2. In both stories one man, of similar makeup, is entrusted with specific information about the coming flood. In the bible, the Lord calls upon Noah while in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utanapishtim is given authority …show more content…

One major difference between the stories is in the story of the Bible, the Lord is the only god. However, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, there are multiple gods that make up the story. The Epic of Gilgamesh speaks of the “Assembly of the Gods”, “The hearts of the Great Gods”, and lists a few of the gods who hold minor pieces that add to the story. This minor fact changes the theology behind the story completely.

2. The size of the boat in each story of the flood differ as the dimensions are not the same as in length, width, and height. The size of the boat in the bible are noticeably bigger than the Epic of Gilgamesh. Also, the dimensions of the boat in the Epic of Gilgamesh add up to a square as in line 57 it states, “the sides of its top were of equal length.” The shape of the ark in Genesis 6:14-16 gives specific length, width, and height that gives the image of a rectangle.

3. The characters in the flood stories differ because after the Utanapishtim is called to build a boat, he is concerned about what people will say and think. In lines 35-36 Utanapishtim says, “But what shall I answer the city, the populace, and the / Elders!”. However, Noah never asks what he shall say to the people or does not even seem concerned about the rest of humanity. He simply agrees to the Lord’s request and builds the boat without any …show more content…

I did not expect to come across another account of a different culture or religion with the same big picture as the story of Noah and the flood. In the beginning, I was not troubled because the important details of the story which hold great value were different. Also, I knew that Genesis was an oral tradition passed down for many of years before it was written down. I automatically assumed that the Epic of Gilgamesh was just a spin-off of the story of the flood; however, I realized the Epic of Gilgamesh is older than Genesis. This changed my opinion of the story because it if anything Genesis, the book of the bible that many Christians base their theology upon, has the possibility of being a spin-off of the polytheistic Epic of Gilgamesh. It troubles me because I do not believe that there could have been two floods, which makes me unsure of how to interpret this story in the

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Each story contains an individual who is selected by a deity to build an ark and survive the flood. Utnapishtim is the chosen one in the epic of Gilgamesh. The god Ea comes to him in a dream and says “... tear down your house and build a boat, abandon possessions and look for life, despise worldly goods and save your soul alive. These are the measurements of the barque as you shall build her… then take up into the boat the seed of all living creatures.” In order to keep humankind and all the other living animals on earth alive, Ea chose Utnapishtim to be the one to build the ark and survive.

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The Parallel Stories Whether God is real or not, there’ve been many stories in ancient times concerning god. Especially stories about floods. For example “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, and “Noah and the Flood”. The Epic of Gilgamesh, is one of the oldest epics ever to be created. The sumerian story was composed before 2000 B.C.

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While both versions of the great flood attempt to convey the same message of a flood to rid the world of evil, they do so in very different manners. Reading through the P and J versions of the flood story some obvious discrepancies become noticeable quite quickly. In the J version, we see a God who is much less in touch with Noah, and who is far less helpful in the creation of the arch. In P version God appears to already be in a relationship with Noah before the notion of a flood occurs to him, however in J version God only takes liking to Noah after he has decided to flood the earth. The P version God also is much more helpful in the design of Noah’s ark, giving him specific directions for the creation of the ark, a task J version God barely even mentions to Noah.

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‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ takes place in ancient Mesopotamia, which is a Greek for “between two rivers” because it is located between the river of Tigris and the Euphrates River. Mesopotamia is where one the earliest urban civilizations, so the inhabitants of that area are sophisticated and enterprising. The story in the Epic starts in Uruk, which is a very vividly described in the 17 lines that follow the first 8 lines of the Epic. “In Uruk he built walls, a great rampart, and the temple of blessed Eanna for the god of the firmament Anu, and for Ishtar the goddess of love. Look at it still today: the outer wall where the cornice runs, it shines with the brilliance of copper; and the inner wall, it has no equal.

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When Ishtar cries out, Enkidu cast one of the bull’s buttocks at her. The city of Uruk celebrates, but Enkidu has a sinister dream about his future failure. Gilgamesh is also an epic hero because he survived a 6-day 6-night flood. Gilgamesh tore his house down. Gilgamesh then built a boat out of his house.

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But still there are certain differences that can be drawn between them. The epic of Gilgamesh depicts the Sumerian culture and on the other hand iliad poem is set in ancient Greek culture. Even though they both grieve for the loss of their best friends, the main contrast is in how they react with this loss. Both Achilles and Gilgamesh were worried about the mortality and did not wanted to die at once in their life.

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