Running head: THE TWO FLOODS 1

Noah and Gilgamesh the Two Great Floods Jonathan Bailey
Oakland City University
English 201 World Lit.

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The History The epic story of Gilgamesh has been an interest of religious patrons since it was found in the ruins of the great library of Nineveh in the mid-nineteenth century, along with its substantial similarities to the great flood in Noah’s day. The remaining portion of this epic story, which very possibly dates back to the third millennium B.C., and holds little if almost no Christian values, as it distresses the typical beliefs in the myths related with the pagan societies of the period in time. Nevertheless, a number of religious patrons have deliberated on the notion of creation and the hereafter introduced in the epic story. There are even select researchers that have accepted the similarities in the Babylonian and Hebrew findings, while all are not ready to make the connection in the two floods. (Keller, 1956) (anonymous, 2013) There are countless stories telling of floods that have come from ancient sources strewn around the globe. The accounts that were translated from the cuneiform tablets were comprised of some of the most primitive remaining text, having recognizable associations. Cuneiform script was created by the Sumerians and passed on by the Akkadians. Babylonian as well as Assyrian are dialects of Akkadian, and both have instances of floods in them. Despite the fact that there are some small differences in the Sumerian, and the younger Babylonian, Assyrian accounts, there are a lot of similarities that are very close to the story of Moses in the book of Genesis. Since the first discovery of the cuneiform tablets in the mid-nineteenth century there have been countless other tablets found. Some of the actual tablets date back as early as 3’300 B.C which would put the first known script in the era of the Sumerians. All the tablets that have been uncovered thus far have been translated from multiple ancient lost languages in to what we have in current times. The epic that is Gilgamesh was unearth in 1843 and translated in 1857 from the twelve tablets that date back to six hundred and fifty B.C. (Strother, 1971) The Two Floods 3 The Two Accounts The story was written in the form of a sonnet. The leading character of this poem is Gilgamesh, which may have actually been a person in history. Gilgamesh is listed on the list of Sumerian kings as the first king of Uruk and had reigned for 126 years. The length of his reign is not that farfetched if you relate it to the leaders of the pre-flood age in the Bible. However, Gilgamesh is the last king to have a lifespan of the magnitude any and all patriarchs after him had lived normal lengths of time. The list of kings is interesting as well in the fact that it also mentions the great flood “The Deluge Overthrew the Land” (Vos, 1963). The Epic begins by way of presenting the great feats accomplishments of the heroic Gilgamesh. The king of Uruk had been blessed by the gods with great knowledge and the wisdom of an elder, which enabled him to record any facts of the era before the great flood. Gilgamesh carved on rock slabs everything he had accomplished. Gilgamesh’s deeds were included but were not to the building of the Uruk City walls. King Gilgamesh was a cruel and unjust sovereign, which caused his citizens to call out to their deities to make a rival so that Gilgamesh would be made to strive for completion in all his accomplishments. It only took one battle for Enkidu and Gilgamesh to become allies. Once allies they set out on adventure to claim fame by completing many treacherous quests in which Gilgamesh’s friend gives his greatest sacrifice death. At this time Gilgamesh decides to search out immortality now that he understands no one can escape the taker of souls. As Gilgamesh ventures on alone he comes upon Utnapishtim, the individual most like the person the bible speaks of Noah. (Heidel, 1949)

The Two Floods 4 Utnapishtim has been made immortal by the gods for doing as they told him to by building a great vessel so as to house his family as well as one male and one female of each species on the land. He freed three birds, a dove, a swallow and a raven each at different times trying to locate land. When the third bird the raven did not return Utnapishtim knew the water had started to recede and soon after the ship landed on a mount. The epic concludes with stories of Enkidu visiting the nether world a number of times. Although there are several connections between the two pieces of literary art, there are also many severe discrepancies. (anonymous, 2013) (moses, 1973)
Several of the comparisons are extremely noticeable, whereas others are more vague. The Utnapishtim being ordered by the god Ea to take down his house and to construct a boat using the materials from his dwelling is significant. He was told to not be worried about wealth, save thy soul, look for life, and to leave any and all possessions. Utnapishtim was told to bring his family along with skilled tradesmen and the seed of all kinds in to the ship as to start anew. The reason for the flood in both stories is the same only to be stated differently, in Gilgamesh it says it is for judgment of man’s sins, whereas in Noah and the ark it states the flood is for man’s wickedness. The length of the flood however is different in the number of days and night, in Noah and the ark it is said forty days and nights and in Gilgamesh it says six days and nights (Heidel, 1949) (anonymous, 2013).
In continuing to compare and contrast the two stories the author finds that the extent of the two floods is the same (global). The character of the hero as they are both considered to be righteous not to say they are without sin but chosen by their own deity. If the reader looks at
The Two Floods 5 differences close enough they will find that the divinities are almost the same. Genesis chapters six through nine speaks of one God and the epic of Gilgamesh talks about multiple deities. (Strother, 1971)
Conclusion
So in conclusion if you read both stories closely enough you will find numerous differences as well as similarities some greater than others. Both Noah and the Ark and the Epic of Gilgamesh are excellent stories. Compare and contrasting the two has made it more interesting in that I now know that they might even have actually been happening at the same time. The author found that there are some societies that do recognize that the stories are extremely close in the fact that they are both dated around the same era along with the fact that are both about a flood. The author found that there are too many similarities to ignore.

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References

anonymous. (2013). Gilgamesh. In M. Puncher, The Norton Anthology World Literature 1650 to present (Vol. 1, pp. 33-38). New York / Lodon: W.W. Norton & Company.
Heidel, A. (1949). The Gilgamesh Epic and the Old Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Keller, W. (1956). The Bible as History. New York: William Morrow and Company. moses. (1973). The Holy Bible King James Version. In unknown, Genesis (pp. 8-12). westport: ottenheimer.
Strother, R. S. (1971, January-February 30). The Great Luck of Mister Smith. Saudi Aramco World Magazine, pp. 6-11.
Vos, H. F. (1963). Genesis and Archaeology. Chicago: Moody Press.