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The Bible's Great Flood Mythology

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Legends began to surface in hundreds of cultures throughout the world that tell of a colossal, catastrophic flood that destroyed a majority of mankind. According to these legends, only few individuals and animals survived. Although a majority of historians that previously studied this matter, estimate these legends number in the two hundreds, other subject matter experts claim the more accurate number is closer to five hundred accounts of the flood throughout the world. Approximately two hundred flood myths surfaced around the world. The similarity between much of their content remains equally as impressive. Even more impressive, archaeologists found these stories on every inhabited continent on the planet. These legends come from different …show more content…

Folks sympathetic to the biblical message claimed this document confirms the truth in the bible’s great flood. On the other hand, biblical critics, claimed that it proves the Hebrews simply borrowed the epic, reworked it, and used it for their own purposes. Innumerable accounts of a great deluge surfaced since the time of the unearthing of The Epic of Gilgamesh. The Sumerians, the Mesopotamians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, even the Hittites all have an account of a long distant memory of a great flood. Whether they all share a common source or possibly independent memories of a great cataclysm remains a wide open debate. The actuality this event occurring proves extremely difficult to deny due to the overwhelming amount of stories. Now, the overlapping of these two stories continues with Noah and Utnapishtim, the far away. The story of Utnapishtim’s character survived a great flood by building a boat and putting all his family into this boat. Clearly, Utnapishtim acts as the counterpart to Noah in Genesis, and this boat he built compares to that of the ark. In the epic, Gilgamesh, concerned with his mortality, decided to visit Utnapishtim to find out how God gave him the gift of

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For Utnapishtim he was warned in a dream by Ea. On the other hand Noah was warned directly from the lord as in the lord was speaking directly to him. As they the two soon received their warning and instructions, they soon started to work. They followed the god’s direction and measurement on how to build the specific craft they needed to survive the flood. “Ea because of his oath warned me in a dream”(29).

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Noah’s Ark: Voyage for the Truth The Genesis Flood is an extraordinary event that occurred thousands of years ago. Approximately 4,800 years ago, God decided to flood the Earth in order to cleanse the world of sin. God gave Noah the task of building a gigantic vessel large enough to hold two of every species in the world.

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The flood story is based on the geologic ages identified through scientific understanding of the changing physical features of the earth (Origin myths: The Flood, 37). The period is between about 12,000 and 7000 BCE which was a period of worldwide warming (Origin myths, 37). Changing environmental conditions was common throughout the world. The rainfall and ocean levels rose some 300 feet (Origin myths 37). Some people began to believe their creator was punishing humans who were displeasing, so the Great Flood become part of the origin myth.

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2. Water in the Old Testament In the Old Testament, we see water rightly at the creation story. The first mention of water is found in Genesis, where it is said: “the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the water”. Furthermore, in Genesis, it says: “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures”.

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The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest story known to mankind, being written on Sumerian clay almost five thousand years ago (Garone). Since the story was originally known orally, the culture and themes from The Epic of Gilgamesh must have existed long before it was finally inscribed (Mark 4). Having known this, the cultures and themes can be compared to today’s society, discovering about how they have shifted and evolved, and also observe how they are similar. The ancient days of Gilgamesh has brought culture that has greatly influenced today’s society. Because Gilgamesh was set around the time of late Babylonian or early Sumerian society, the Babylonian and Sumerian cultures also play a role in shaping the world into what is is today (Mark).

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The main differences between the two are the length of the flood and what birds were released after the rain

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