What is the Gilgamesh Epic and How Does It Compare with the Biblical Account of the Flood - Essay Example

17 March Comparison of the Gilgamesh Epic and Noah’s Flood Introduction The Gilgamesh Epic is a Sumerian traditional account of a global flood that almost destroyed the earth. Several liberals have used it to attack the foundations of the Christian faith. Some say that parallels between the Gilgamesh version and Noah’s flood are proof that the bible borrowed elements of ancient mythology to recreate its accounts. However, scholars have also defended the biblical version through mathematical, historical and archaeological analyses of the two. An examination of both stories is important in making conclusions about the authority of either text. Gilgamesh Epic versus Noah’s flood The Gilgamesh Epic is nothing new in the world of history. Several other communities have flood stories that almost resemble the biblical one. However, this Babylonian one has attracted a lot of attention because it one of the oldest and most well-preserved ones. It was initially found on two tablets in 650 BC. Other historians later found even older versions of the story on stone tablets. Some of them were written 2000 years before Christ’s Birth (O’Brien, 61). The Epic was written as a poem and started with Gilgamesh. Books of history show that he was a Sumerian King. Gilgamesh ruled his subjects for a long time. He seemed to be wise and full of knowledge. At some point, he became oppressive to his people and made them unhappy. They asked their gods to create an enemy that would destroy Gilgamesh. A rival by the name of Enkidu enters the kingdom but becomes Gilgamesh’s friend. Later they fight together and win many battles. On one occasion, Enkidu is killed, and this troubles Gilgamesh who starts fearing death. He decides to go on a journey to learn how to prevent death (O’Brien, 61). It is on this journey that he meets Utnapishtim who never dies because he overcame a worldwide flood. Utnapishtim tell Gilgamesh everything that happened in the flood, and many features look like Noah’s flood. The gods were unhappy about man’s sins so they decided to send a flood to destroy all humans. They asked Utnapishtim to create a ship in the form of a cube to hide them. The hero took a number of strangers, his family and friends, as well as all animal species into the ship. The flood went on for 6 days and at the end, Utnapishtim sent three types of birds: a dove, swallow and raven to find out if it really ended (Sanders, 55). A comparison of the above story with the biblical one shows a number of similarities. First, the places affected by the flood were almost the same. A divine being(s) had sent it to the whole earth. Both stories had a hero; the Bible had Noah whole the Gilgamesh Epic has Utnapishtim. These were both good and moral people (Genesis 6:9). The information about the flood came from a group of deities that the people worshiped. Also, both heroes were told to build a boat. These boats were quite large and had windows and doors. The two stories also say that the heroes hid their family members in the boat (Sanders, 55). They also carried food and different species of animals. Heavy rain caused the flood in both accounts and the ark landed somewhere near a mountain. Noah and Utnapishtim made sacrifices at the end of the flood, and they all released birds to find out whether it was over. It is also clear that these heroes benefited from the flood because one gained immortality while another became a leader of God’s people (Genesis 9:1). The above similarities are only on a surface level. Some distinct differences exist between the two accounts thus making one of them seem more logical and possible than the other. The order of sending the birds makes more sense in the biblical account than the Gilgamesh one. Noah sent out a raven then three doves while Utnapishtim sent out a dove, swallow and raven in that order. It made sense to start with a meat-eater because there probably would be no meat to eat after the flood. Sending three doves was more rational because a person could look at their behavior (Lorrey, 285). When the dove came back the first time with an olive branch, it showed that there was no good place to settle (Genesis 8:7-12). On the other hand, when the dove did not return after week, Noah knew that the dove had found a place to stay. Perhaps the greatest sign that the biblical account seems to be the more reliable of the two is the description of the ship used to shelter people. In the bible, Noah was told by God to build an ark that would be 300 by 50 by 30 cubits (Genesis 6:15). These dimensions are quite helpful in the world of engineering because they make it stable. A vessel that has a much wider width than height protects it from getting tilted in the water by rolling. Even a hurricane with three times as much force as a typical one would only bend such an ark by approximately 60o. The ark was designed to protect the people in it through rules of science. The Gilgamesh version had equal measurements for length, width and height. It had a slate roof which made its top heavier and more unstable than the bottom. In case even a mild wind blew, the ark would capsize almost immediately. Scholars have said that it would be impossible for such a ship to survive in the rough waters of the flood (O’Brien, 61). The Jews and pagans had no nautical engineering knowledge, so it is unlikely that they guessed the right dimensions for the boat. In contrast, the Sumerians may have selected a cube as the shape of the boat because it is easy to remember and seems nice to look at. Even the duration of the flood in both stories makes one of them seem superior to the other. The Gilgamesh version lasted for only 7 days and it took 3 weeks for the earth to dry. Conversely, the Biblical version lasted for 40 days and 150 days for the earth to dry (Genesis 7:17). It seems unrealistic for the whole earth to flood in such a short time. Also, if the Jews had copied the Babylonian story, then they would have picked such a perfect number like 7. Creation had lasted for seven days and so had others events in the bible. However, they had a different, longer and more realistic number. The character of God in the bible is very different from the character of gods in the Gilgamesh account. In the non Christian one, a number of gods were involved in the decision to flood the whole earth. They include Erragal, Ninurta, Shullat, Shamash, and Hanish. In the Bible, only Yahweh was responsible for the decision. He was deeply disturbed by man’s sinfulness and chose to destroy him (Genesis 6:6). The characteristics of the divine beings also differed greatly. The many gods ran off from the water in a cowardly manner, yet Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, was firmly in control. The flood seems to be well-planned in the book of Genesis since God showed no regret after (Lorrey, 285). However, in the Gilgamesh Epic, the gods regretted that so many humans had died. This act of doubt is uncharacteristic of divinities. Additionally, the many gods quarreled with each other. One of them – Ea- even lies to Enlil; it is almost as if they lack the decisiveness needed to make them gods (Lorrey, 285). The fact that Utnapishtim eventually becomes immortal like the gods shows that being divine is nothing special in the Babylonian culture. Giving human qualities to divine beings makes them seem weak and trivial (Lorrey, 285). The fighting and scheming between the different members shows that they lack the leadership needed to make them divine. One would use the similarities between the two events to make others doubt the biblical versions. These similarities are quite rational if a person thinks about the subject matter. All accounts talk about a boat, but this makes sense because boats were the only technology at that time; there were no aero planes or other machines (Barnett, 44). Even the way livestock were put into the boats should be expected from such stories. However, in order to fill the earth again, it is necessary to have the right species to achieve that. The stories mentioned the use of pitch to seal the boats because that was the only natural sealant at the time (Barnett, 47). Furthermore, they claimed that the boat settled near mountains because it makes sense for a Mountain to block the vessel from moving further when the water recedes (Barnett, 46). All similarities are not unique because they can be found in any flood story. Conclusion The biblical version appears to be the most believable one because of small details that separate these two accounts. If the bible had copied the Gilgamesh story, then data should have supported it. The number 7 was not used even if it was favored by God. Mathematics also supports the bible story because the dimensions of the ark were quite stable, the length of the flood and the order of the birds also makes logical sense. Because of this, one would say that the Bible is more historical than the Sumerian one. Works Cited Barnett, Ariel. “For want of a word.” New Scientist 181(2004): 44-47. Print. The Holy Bible (new revised standard version). New York: Nelson and Sons, 1985. Lorrey, Francis. “The flood of Noah and the flood of Gilgamesh.” ICR Impact 2(1997): 285. Print. O’Brien, Randall. “Flood stories of the ancient near East.” Biblical illustrator 13.1(1986): 61. Print. Sanders, Nelson. The Epic of Gilgamesh. London: Penguion Books, 1964. Print. Read More