The story of the flood in Genesis 6-9 in the Old Testament is familiar to readers of the Bible, but the record of such a flood first appears much earlier in ca. 2,500 BC on the eleventh tablet of the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. Although there are thousands of years between the Bible and Gilgamesh, the flood story prevails; the Bible authors mirror Gilgamesh's flood in Genesis. The flood is significant for the Bible and appears in Genesis because it brings with it values ​​of human life and piety, and messages about the relationship between God and humanity. The biblical flood closely follows the flood of Gilgamesh, but the two are not identical. By comparing and contrasting the two flood stories, the Bible's authors imitate much of the mythical flood, but they also change and innovate some pieces of the plot. Both the similarities and differences between the flood of Gilgamesh and the flood of Genesis are important because they tell us what values ​​and messages of the flood the authors of the Bible wanted to preserve from the Mesopotamian epic and communicate to readers of the Bible, and what values ​​and messages they the authors of the Bible wanted to change about the Mesopotamian epic, why and what these changes mean. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The story of the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh and Noah's flood in Genesis share a number of similarities. First, the flood is the result of divine anger and/or disappointment with humanity. In Gilgamesh, Enlil is troubled by the clamor and tumult of man. In Genesis, God regrets his creation because it has become evil and evil. Second, two men, Utnapishtim of the Gilgamesh epic and Noah of Genesis, are chosen to be saved from the flood and given instructions on how to survive. In Gilgamesh, Ea tells Utnapishtim to “tear down his house and build a boat, and abandon his possessions and seek life.” In Genesis, God finds grace in Noah and tells him to “make you an ark.” Third, Utnapishtim and Noah save their relatives and specimens of land animal species. In both stories the instruction is to bring “two of every kind [of living beings of flesh] into the ark.” And finally, after the flood subsides, there is a sacrifice where the Babylonian gods and the Biblical God feel sorry for and/or regret the flood. In Gilgamesh, Ishtar cries, “I have commanded wars to destroy the people, but are they not my people, for I have brought them forward? Now, like the offspring of fishes, they float in the ocean,” and later with Ea he rebukes Enlil for “senselessly bringing the deluge without thinking…and consigning [the people of Ishtar] to destruction. In Genesis, God promises "never to curse the earth for man's sake, and never again to smite every living thing...day and night shall not cease." The Bible preserves from the Mesopotamian era and is passed on to Bible readers. First, much like the mythical Mesopotamian flood, the biblical flood presents a world where humanity angers the gods who created it and where disobedience meets disastrous results. Humanity is corrupt and intolerable, evil and blameless, and divinity is destined to exterminate it. This demonstrates not only the fact that men are capable of sin and that they should remain godly, that is, they should never abuse their God and push Him to the limit, but also that God ultimately holds power over men and can do this with men. which is suitable or even what he likes. This reveals that the authors of the Bible wanted to preserve the image of a strong and powerful God, who can manifest his power and punish his people when the situation requires it. Secondly, inin both flood stories the deity chooses a man to save himself, his family, and a number of land animals. Although both the Gilgamesh and Biblical gods God sends the flood to wipe out all life, the message is clear; men must die, but humanity is destined to survive and continue, animals must multiply and the earth must be fertile again. This part of the flood story communicates a very important value, that there are second chances, because no matter how much humanity has angered its gods, the gods still find within themselves the possibility to give humanity another possibility. This second possibility shows that, even if men will do evil and be punished for it, God is not entirely vengeful, he is loving enough to forgive and start over. Finally, as in the flood of Gilgamesh, in the biblical flood God regrets sending the flood and regrets it. This puts the divinity in a better light among men; after all, God(s) is thoughtful and compassionate and above all, he admits his own wrongdoings. The gods of Gilgamesh regret the flood almost immediately, and “when Utnapishtim prepares a sacrifice the [gods] gather like flies” because they depend on humans for food. The God in the Bible in particular is depicted as lamenting his actions because, although he exterminated evildoers, these evildoers were still his people. The authors of the Bible wanted to show that God, just like men, is responsible for his actions, and must also think about the consequences of his actions. When the gods ultimately feel sorry for the flood, the conclusions are intended to teach a lesson not only to humanity, but also to God, and the message is to foster a new and better relationship between men and their gods. ), one in which both parties respect each other. The similarities that the flood of Gilgamesh and the flood of Genesis share show that the authors of the Bible saw an important lesson that they wanted to preserve and teach to the readers of the Bible; men should respect their God and God will respect them, and men need God as much as God needs men. It predates the Bible and Genesis, but is the foundation of Christian theology to this day. The story of the flood in the Gilgamesh epic and that of Noah's flood in Genesis also differ. These differences show the values ​​and messages that the Bible authors change regarding the Mesopotamian epic. First, the gods of Gilgamesh send the flood for no reasonable reason, while the biblical God sends the flood as punishment. The Babylonian gods, although they make the decision in a council, are never in agreement regarding the flood. Ishtar says that "she will remember these days as she remembers the jewels on her neck, that these last days she will not forget." Ea and all the other gods except Enlil seem never to have accepted the flood as adequate punishment; Ea proclaims, if man has sinned, punish him, but punish him a little otherwise he will perish... a lion, a wolf, famine, pestilence would have devastated humanity rather than the flood", in other words punishment does not fits the crime. Enlil is left alone to blame, and his decision to unleash the flood is ultimately a simple impulse. In Genesis, God brings the flood as a form of punishment, there is a reason for the flood and the The object of punishment is clear. God issues a rational verdict because it is motivated by an ethical reason; he punishes the corrupt, but saves the righteous. The authors of the Bible see in the Mesopotamian epic divinities that are dangerous for mortals, who play by their own rules and they act emotionally and irrationally like children, sending the flood to killall of humanity on a simple whim. Genesis has only one God, he is neither dangerous nor childish. God is a rational, ethical, thinking God, who is not only what is most powerful, but also what is morally best. And, most importantly, God sends the flood not because men are too noisy, but because "he regrets his creation... and it grieves him to his heart." Another difference on the topic of divinity concerns some of the gods' actions in and around the flood. One difference is how the Babylonian gods behaved during the flood; “the gods are terrified by the flood, they flee to the highest heavens, they crouch against the walls and cower like cursed... Ishtar cries like a woman in labor. The Gilgamesh gods are fearful and weak, while God is strong and determined, not made to fear his own flood and appear weak or vulnerable. Another difference or rather omission in this case made by the authors of the Bible is when Utnapishtim asks the god Ea how to respond to the people and the city when he carries out Ea's commands. Ea commands Utnapishtim to tell the city this: "'Enlil is angry with me and I will no longer live in his land, so I will go down to the Gulf of dwelling, my lord Ea... but on you Ea will make it rain abundance of rare fish, wild birds, a rich harvest… and grain.'” This is obviously false, and Ea is the one promoting the lie. What makes this even worse is the irony of the situation, that is, Utnapishtim promises his city ​​abundance of fish and poultry and a rich harvest where in reality all the city will get is the flood Genesis omits this part of the story, God was not created to promote the lie and Noah simply builds the ark and there. comes on board.But there is a better explanation for this, and that is the difference between Utnapishtim and Noah. A third important difference lies between Utnapishtim and Noah. He was not selected to survive the flood based on any virtue, he simply must his survival of Ea's intelligence. The gods do not distinguish men who are worthy of punishment from men who are not, reverence and pity have no effect on who lives and who dies and why Utnapishtim is chosen to survive. Noah, on the other hand, is selected because of his grace, God chooses him because of how good a man Noah is compared to the rest of humanity. His righteousness and mercy matter. Utnapishtim also loads all his gold into his boat. The Bible authors make no reference to gold in Genesis to avoid placing any emphasis on gold, because the focus of the biblical flood is the survival of life, and only life, not wealth. The final difference between the flood of Gilgamesh and that of The Flood in Genesis is the final scene of the story, the last interaction between the survivor and his God(s). The gods of Gilgamesh make a mistake by sending the flood to exterminate humanity and try to atone for this by making Utnapishtim and his wife immortal so that humanity is never in danger of extinction again. The immortality aspect of the story shows not only that the gods fear being harmful to humanity because they cannot control their actions, but also that something like the flood could happen again, so immortality is the safest way with which humanity survives its gods. God in Genesis, on the contrary, makes a pact with his people, they must behave and be good and God in return will be good according to the pact. Therefore, God is a covenant partner and a strict but loving parent. He does not need to make Noah immortal to ensure that humanity survives, but simply creates mutual trust between man and himself, and this is enough for humanity to coexist with God and continue to live. In the>