Comparing and contrasting the Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis 1-11 (Religious Studies) - Essay Example

Many people are telling that the flood in Gilgamesh is the same with the flood in Genesis. Definitely, it is not. The God in Genesis is not the same as the Mesopotamian deities. Understanding this fact give us a clear view point of a concrete difference between both accounts. Considering that there might be some similarities in the flow of the story however, the mere authority whom both accounts recognize builds a definite margin line that establishes their differences. Many people most especially those who devote themselves in religious and historical literature know the famous story about the great flood that can be found both in the Book of Genesis and of the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh.

The stories are very much the same, however making a close comparison about details showed that they are very different. The God in Genesis is also more reasonable than that of the Mesopotamian gods. Understanding what has been the reason for flood will give us the clear idea of the differences of the character of the God in Genesis and of the Mesopotamian gods. The biblical account showed that God has seen how people have turned wicked. It has never been the will of the God of the Bible that man will stay wicked and will be unpunished.

Because of that he decided to save Noah and his family from those evil people and the way by which it could be done is through the flood. The mere reason for that flood is to end the wicked generation that God of the Bible has seen existing during the time of Noah. On the contrary, the main reason why the gods in Gilgamesh caused the flood is because of the noise that the people create. The gods decided for a flood simply because they can not sleep (Gilgamesh 12). The unanimous decision of gods is to cause a flood and to make no any man survived.

Ea who created man does not want it to happen. Meaning, we could even see misunderstanding in their mythical gods that mostly resembles human character. But through a dream, the