There are several stories regarding floods known from prehistoric sources that are spread across the world. These stories have some significant similarities with the events that took place in the Bible. For example, the flood account are contained in the Assyrian and Babylonian, which are two dialects of the Akkadian. Christians have had a significant interest in the story of the Epic of Gilgamesh since its finding in the mid-nineteenth century. The story was presented in the poem form, and Gilgamesh is the key character, who is described as a hero. Gilgamesh had great wisdom and knowledge. He preserved the message of the days prior to the occurrence of floods. He was oppressive to his servants that caused them to cry to the gods for help. In his journey to search of immortality after his friend is killed during one of their many dangerous adventures, he meets Utnapishtim, who has similar character like that of the Biblical Noah. Utnapishtim was immortal, which he acquired after building the boat to cover the Great Deluge that shattered the human race. He had brought all species of animals and relatives into the vessel. After the flood, Utnapishtim released the birds and animals to the land (Lorey, 1997).
The story of Gilgamesh, which has become a myth, is a universal flood account that has important parallels to the bible’s Flood account that occurred during the time of Noah. The Epic of Gilgamesh story have several similarities that are extremely close to the Genesis flood account. For instance, just like in the story of Noah, who brought his family and all species types into the boat so does Utnapishtim. Other similarities include the level of the flood in both accounts was universal, the flood was caused due to man’s wickedness and sins, the floods in Noah’s day was sent by God and in the epic story was the assembly of gods (Lorey, 1997).
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Additionally, the character of the hero in both accounts were righteous. The heroes were ordered to build a boat and in both cases, they complained. The boat had similar design whereby there was only one door and at least one window. In both cases, after the flood subsided, the heroes in both accounts released birds to test to find land. The boat landing spot in Gilgamesh was mountain Nisir and in Genesis was on mountain Ararat. Both Noah and Utnapishtim offered a sacrifice after the floods and both were blessed too by God (Lorey, 1997).
Although most of the comparisons were general, some of the similarities are very striking such as the command to build the boat, save their life, abandon wealth, scorn possessions, and seek after life. In addition, sending the flood as a punishment to man’s sins and wickedness is also remarkable. Various studies of these comparisons have shown the non-coincidental nature of these similarities (Lorey, 1997).
In addition, some significant differences that are apparent in the two flood accounts. The differences include the form of pronouncing judgment in Genesis was direct from God, while in Gilgamesh was through a dream. In genesis, the shape of the boat in was rectangular while in Gilgamesh it was designed in square form. The flood in Genesis was caused by heavy rain and ground water, while in Gilgamesh was heavy rain only. The duration of the flood was short in the Gilgamesh story, which took 6 days and nights while in Genesis, the duration was longer, which took 40 days and nights. The birds released in Gilgamesh story were raven, swallow, and dove, while those released in Genesis include three doves and a raven (Lorey, 1997).
The Epic of Gilgamesh is perceived as mythological while the book of Genesis is viewed as a historical work. It is evident that the story of Gilgamesh comprise of the tainted account because it was conserved and overstated by individuals who did not obey the God of Hebrews. Gilgamesh was oppressive and treated his servants badly and he did not follow the rules of the God of Hebrews thus his written information is believed to be inaccurate. On the other hand, the Genesis flood account was preserved accurately and pure across the subsequent centuries by the wisdom of God until the time when eventually was collected, edited, and written by Moses (Lorey, 1997).
Conclusions
The comparative study about the two accounts of flood have been found to have a significant relationship. The review has offered an exceptional evidence regarding the presence of a great flood from a historical perspective. The biblical flood account and that of the Epic of Gilgamesh have significant parallels in their occurrence as well as the people involved. The differences too are evident for instance in terms of the means of announcement of the flood, the shape of the boat, the belief of one being a historical view while another being mythological. Therefore, there is significant similarities and differences in the flood account in the book of Genesis in Noah’s days and in the story of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Reference
Lorey, F. (1997). The Flood of Noah and the flood of Gilgamesh . Institute for Creation Research.
