ipl-logo

What Are The Similarities Between Gilgamesh The Hero And Genesis 6-22

1045 Words5 Pages

If you have read Gilgamesh the Hero and Genesis 6-9:19, you would think the two passages are pretty similar to each other, maybe even almost the same exact thing. But when we dive deeper into each passage of writing, you start to see that Gilgamesh the Hero to Genesis 6-9:17 are very different from each other. Even though their similarities will also be expressed in this essay, these stories are not as similar as you may think because of the Gods’ motivation for sending a flood, and how Noah and Utnapistim were warned about the incoming flood. The Gods’ in both stories were upset with the way their creation, which was humanity, turned out to be. In their eyes, the only way to solve the issues that they had with humanity was to kill off …show more content…

You see, in Gilgamesh the Hero, a god by the name of Enlil was already on edge because of humans. Enlil grew annoyed by humans because they made too much noise for his liking. To get rid of the noise, Enlil ordered another god by the name of Ea to “send plague to prune the noisiest.” The plague worked for a little while but as time went on humans got louder and louder and Enlil only grew more annoyed which eventually drove him to wanting every single human dead. After he slammed the windows of Heaven shut he stated, “I will not have this din! Drown the whole pack of them!” The rest of the gods agreed, and humankind was over with. In Genesis 6-9:17 however, the Lord was upset with “how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth.” The Lord also thought that “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” The Lord was unhappy with the way his creation turned out and …show more content…

In Gilgamesh the Hero, Ea wanted to help a man by the name of Utnapishtim and in Genesis 6-9:17, The Lord wanted to help a man by the name of Noah. Both of the Gods from each story decided to give the person they wanted to help a warning, but they both communicated with them in different ways. In Genesis 6-9:17 Noah caught the eye of The Lord and he decided to spare him. According to the account of Genesis 6-9:17, Noah was described as a “righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” The Lord decided to protect and guide Noah who also had a wife and three sons who also had wives. In the story, The Lord talked to Noah directly and did not sugarcoat his words while speaking to him. He also gave Noah very specific directions that he had to execute to a tee. While talking to him, The Lord tells Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” The Lord also tells Noah to make an ark with cypress wood. The ark had to have rooms and he was to coat it with pitch inside and out. The Lord then tells him how big to make the ship, decks he had to have on it, and to bring his wife, his three sons, and their wives. The ark also was to have a wide array of animals on it. In Gilgamesh the Hero, the god Ea wanted to help Utnapishtim because

Show More
Related
398 Words | 2 Pages

The numerous parallels and contrasts of the two flooding stories makes the similarities and differences of the Mesopotamian and Hebrew cultural, religious, and moral beliefs evident. The dilemma in both stories was that the higher beings wanted to exterminate mankind, yet due to different reasons. The gods in the Mesopotamian culture were upset that the population was too high, thus causing clamor among the individuals. While in the Hebrew culture, God was angered by the sinful nature and inherent evil prevalent in mankind and felt that the only solution was to exterminate them. The Hebrew culture revolves around the belief in the avoidance of sin, yet the Mesopotamian culture does not depict this characteristic.

Read More
2192 Words | 9 Pages

Oh, Mr. Noah, your work seemed only to increase. Three hundred seventy days or so, the waters seemed to swell, then go. So God spoke to Noah, it's time to leave at last!

Read More
1360 Words | 6 Pages

The Boats: The boat itself also serves as major point of comparison between the two accounts. Established historians recognize that the Ark’s dimensions, “assure optimum stability in riding out the coming flood waters” (Morris 34). They further conclude, “that the ark can easily carry two of each kind of land animal in less than half its capacity” (Morris 34). It is also important to note that while the ark is built of extreme proportions it also is able to withstand the severe weather conditions. On the contrary, Utnapishtim’s boat varies in design, taking the form of a colossal cube.

Read More
428 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

Along with Noah, the story Gilgamesh also had a well rounded, worshipping person to help the Gods with their tasks. This man went by the name of Utnapishtim. He must help the good human race to survive. Utnapishtim is just like Noah because they both the good in the world to survive and are willing to try and make that happen for the sake of

Read More
663 Words | 3 Pages

Tablet eleven of the Epic of Gilgamesh shows the desperate attempts made by Gilgamesh to obtain immortality after the death of his friend Enkidu. While The Book of Genesis accounts for how God brought the universe into existence, both narratives share similarities through their roles as cosmogonies and the use of serpents and godly wrath. Cosmogonies seek to explain the origins of the world, humanity, and traditions. The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis can be considered a cosmogony due to the actions of a deity. When recounting how he gained immortality, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that Ea warned him of Enlil’s intention of wiping out humanity with a flood and that he and his wife should build a boat to escape certain death.

Read More
424 Words | 2 Pages

The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Bible A riveting poem from ancient Mesopotamia is believed to have influenced some stories found in the beginning of the Bible. The Epic of Gilgamesh dating back to 2,000 BC is about Gilgamesh, a demigod who searches for everlasting life and his trusted companion Enkidu, who was sent down from the gods. Stories told in the poem can be compared to Genesis, the first book of the Bible. The epic illustrates a flood which can be related to the flood found in the book of Genesis.

Read More
546 Words | 3 Pages

In “The Story of the Flood” a god named Ea told Utnapishtim secretly through a dream to build a boat. “So the gods agreed to exterminate mankind. Enlil did this, but Ea because of his oath warned me in a dream.” (Story of the Flood

Read More
701 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the Book of Genesis, God makes several connections between his creations, such as with Noah. As mentioned before, the Lord spoke to Noah in a vision, and said to Noah, “... The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth... (Gen. 6.13).” In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the main character, Gilgamesh prays for the protection by the Sun God, Shamash, to kill Humbaba, which states “Here I present myself, Shamash, to lift up my hands in entreaty That my life may be spared; bring me again to the ramparts of Uruk: Give me your protection. I will give you homage.”

Read More
993 Words | 4 Pages

Determination is meant to show how much a person wants to achieve something. It shows what people are willing to endure in order to achieve what they desperately need to fulfill. The difference between Sam, Arwen, and Boromir's determination is how significant the situation is to each individual. In the movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring directed by Peter Jackson in the year 2001, Sam nearly drowning in order to keep one of his most important promises, Arwen doing everything in her willpower to keep Frodo alive and Boromir having his life taken just to keep Frodo alive are all examples of determination within the characters and their roles.

Read More
961 Words | 4 Pages

In comparison, it’s always observed on how different scholars find the similarity of especially marital settings, characters, and as well as the wanderings of the mythological world. Different events within the life of these characters cover broadly a huge range of epic encounters that are heroic. The character, emotional and psychological development of Gilgamesh can be borrowed especially from the ancient heroic perspectives of mortality and death while comparing with Achilles. Mesopotamian civilization has had several phases in which hero Gilgamesh has been in existence, however having similar attributes. One of the earliest stories of Gilgamesh is developed from Sumerian texts, one of the most influential and well-known poems (Michelakis & Pantelis 2007).

Read More
992 Words | 4 Pages

Some claim that the vessel had very limited carrying capacity given that it is made of wood. Contrary to this belief, the time period of the flood came before species started to break off and expand, so the Ark would only need to hold 16,000 land-dwelling creatures at the maximum (Was There Really a Noah’s Ark & Flood?). Disbelievers claim that the Ark never could have existed due to the fact that no boat of this size could have been built that long ago. However, regardless of the size of the boat, the wood used to build this vessel dates back to the exact time period the Bible stated that the flood occurred (Noah’s Ark Found in Turkey?). Another claim against the belief that the Ark once sailed the Earth is that there is simply not enough water.

Read More
768 Words | 4 Pages

“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception (Carl Sargon)”. According to The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis, unprecedented floods occurred in both stories. The exception fell on the kind men, Utnapishtim and Noah: they survived the powerful event of destruction. However, in the same theme of the stories, there are sources of similarity and differences.

Read More
921 Words | 4 Pages

God told one man, Noah, to build an ark and to take two of every creature onto his ark. God allowed Noah to bring his wife, his sons and his sons wives with him on the boat. The flood lasted for forty days and forty nights. When it stopped raining, Noah and his family released a raven and three doves to see if there was any dry land to live on. As a reward for surviving the flood, Noah was granted an extended life. In the Epic of Gilgamesh there was a man who gained immortality because he survived the flood that the gods sent.

Read More
667 Words | 3 Pages

The narratives Genesis, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and Enuma Elish show similarities to one another. The different cultures include those of the Babylonians, Sumerians, and Hebrew. It portrays an abundant portion of differences including divine beings, human relationships, order, peace, violence, love, trust, and faith. The story seems to have been revised and augmented from time to time until it probably received it’s final form toward the end of the second millennium. The epic thus appears to have been a Babylonian creation inspired by the search for an answer to a question about the goal of human existence.

Read More

More about What Are The Similarities Between Gilgamesh The Hero And Genesis 6-22

Related Topics

Open Document