Biblical Vs. Sumerian Text Traditional tales of heroic journey’s and gods have been part of mankind’s culture for thousands of years. Creations of stories allowed people to bring their ideas and imagination to life to the point where stories were thought to be the legitimate truth. For centuries stories have been retold, rewritten, and reimagined in various manners. One of the most used elements of tales was floods, which were used to describe creation and destruction. Floods were an important part of life for ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians, where the flooding of the Nile River brought fertilized land helpful for growing crops. Two of the most known flood stories are the Flood of Noah from the bible and the Flood of Gilgamesh …show more content…
The Epic was discovered on twelve large cuneiform tablets in the ruins of the Great Library in Nineveh. The flood of Gilgamesh was written before 2000 BC, while the Genesis story was written in 400 BC. A controversial theory states that the biblical writers of the time knew about the older flood story and revised it to fit their worldview and history. Alongside the striking similarities, there are also a number of large and small differences that separate the ancient version of the story from the biblical …show more content…
One major difference is how the floods to destroy mankind were created. In both stories, a great flood wipes out all of mankind except for the passengers of the boat. In the Gilgamesh version, the flood was created when the gods cried, "The great gods of heaven and hell wept" (Gilgamesh 13). The rain lasted for 6 days and 6 nights, and when the waters started to recede, the boat landed on Mount Nisir. In the Genesis, God sends the destructive flood using his powers, "After seven days the waters of the flood were upon the earth" (Gen.7:10). The rain in the Genesis lasted longer than in the Gilgamesh version, lasting for forty days and forty nights, while the flood lasted for a hundred and fifty days. When the waters finally started to recede, the arc landed on top pf Mount Ararat. These differences are minor to the plot of the story but they set a boundary between the two versions in showing how they are both strikingly