Comparing Two Different Versions Of The Flood Myth

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. In stark contrast to

Perhaps more surprising, however, is the variations the individuals versions have from their counterpart creation stories. Version J, generally accepted as accompanying the creation story in genesis two and three, is written in quite a different tone than that of the its complementing creation story. In genesis two and three we are treated to a description of earths creation that seems much more in-depth than that of the creation story in genesis one. However, the version J flood myth seems to lose much of this detailed nature. While we are still treated to the occasional statistic or direct command, the version J flood story is much less detailed than one would expect, after reading its accompanying creation story. However, the opposite appears to be true for the P version flood story. Its accompanying creation story, genesis one, is a relatively vague passage, which leaves much open for interpretation. The P version flood story however, is much more detailed, going in depth about several issues such as Noah’s age, the dates of the flood and specific directions on how to build the