Perhaps the most popular comparison with Noah's Flood is that of an ancient
Babylonian story of a similar flood. A quick look at the text does show
some key similarities between them however there are also some pointed
differences. I will show you both and let you decide whether there is or
is not a connection.
Even though there is commonly a connection made between Flood accounts of the Bible and Bablyon due to similar stories. It is also widely assumed that the Babylonian account is older since the Babylonian civilization is traditionally considered older and the story of the Epic of Gilgamesh is one of if not the oldest surviving stories around. Therefore, people equate which one came first to mean that it must be the originator of the younger story. However, what is not realized is that particular part of the Gilgamesh Epic dealing with the Flood (or Deluge) was added at a much later date into the Epic, and was not originally part of it. According to a pamplet written by Sir Earnest Wallis Budge, Keeper of the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquites at the Brish Musuem in 1929 The Babylonian Story of the Deluge and the Epic of Gilgamish, it could have been added as late as 669-662 B.C. during the reign of Ashur-bani-pal. A copy of this pamplet can be found here, on sacred-texts.org. In it, it also references the flood story of Berosus, who was also mention by Flavius Josephus - elsewhere mentioned in this section on my site. If then, the story was added possibly as late ast 669-662 B.C., then it could not have possibly been an elder document to the Biblical Flood, since even conservatives date Moses to 1200 B.C. or older. If anything, the evidence supports just the opposite of common thought, that the Gilgamesh story could originate from the Biblical story rather than the other way around. Consider the following...
First let us look at the similarities:
*It is set in the Iraqi/Turkey area.....similar to the Biblical Flood.
*A man is warned by a god to build a ship so he could survive a coming flood, sent by the divine powers.
*The man is told to save himself, his family, and a sampling of all living things.
*The boat was to be sealed with resin inside and out.
*A set time is made by the divinity for the flood to begin.
*The flood includes both rain and water from the surface.
*The flood covered the mountains.
*The boat came to rest on a mountain first.
*Birds were released to test for whether or not the waters had receeded. In the Biblical account, a raven and a dove were released. In the Gilgamesh account, a dove, swallow, and raven were released.
*Once out of the boat, the man offers a sacrifice to the divinity which
brings comfort to the divinity at the sweet scent of the sacrifice.
Now for the differences:
*The boat dimensions are quite different. The boat in the story of the
Babylonian flood is a cube, equal on all sides. While in the Bible, Noah
is told to build his Ark in a 450x75x45 ratio. This ratio is what is known
to ship builders as the perfect ratio for stabilty for a boat but it was
not known until the 15th century AD. The Gilgamesh boat, being equal
on all sides, would have been wildly unstable and unseaworthy.
*The Babylonian man took seven days to build his boat while Noah
took 120 years. Why would such a numerology rich people use such a non-numerology
number as 120 when seven was already in the story? Seven being what they
considered as "perfect" and is often used in the Bible stories.
*The Gilgamesh boat was divided into seven decks, while the Noah Ark was
only three decks. Three is a "Biblical number" yet here again we already
have seven in the story. Why change it?
*The man in the Babylonian story loads his boat first off with "all
things silver.....(and)....all things gold", indicating that his mind was
still on Earthly possessions and desires. Even though all Mankind was going
to be killed, he still loaded up on money and material possessions. Noah
is not mentioned as loading anything which he did not need to survive the
trip and feed the animals.
*The man in the Babylonian story loads all the craftsmen who built the
ship as well as his family and all living things. Noah loads only his family
and a sampling of all living things.
*When people ask the man in the Gilgamesh story what he is doing building
a boat, he is told to trick the people and tell them that he is going away.
While he is gone, the people will be showered with abundance. In effect
lying to them and told by the god to do so. In the Biblical account,
Noah tells the people the truth and says that a flood is coming
but they do not believe him.
*A Babylonian god sets the land ablaze in the Gilgamesh story, while with
Noah, there is no mention of the land being covered with fire.
*The Babylonian gods are afraid of the flood and run in terror from the
waters. They are described as crying like women and having their lips drawn
back in fear. In Noah's flood, God is in full control and shows no fear
or terror at all.
*The Gilgamesh flood lasted only seven days. The Biblical flood lasted
for over a year and a half....260 days. Again...here we have a perfectly
"Biblical number", seven, yet the teller of the Noah flood would have changed
it to 260 days. (150+40+7+7+56) Even broken down into the time incriments
used in the Bible, the numbers are not the ones traditionally used in Bible
stories....only the 7's and 40. Why change it?
*The birds used did different things. In the Gilgamesh story, the dove
was the first released but returned. Then the swallow which also returned.
Finally, the raven stayed out, signalling the appearance of land and the
time to leave the boat. In the Bible, the raven was sent out first but
did not return, presumably landing and feeding off the dead animal carcasses
floating on the surface. Noah noticed this so he released a non-carrion
eating bird, a dove, but it came back. The second time the dove came back
with a twig of new growth in its mouth. Finally, on the third time, it
stayed out. Once again we have to ask.....why change the birds from three
to two? And the two birds that do carry over (the dove and raven), act
different in the two stories and in different order. Why?
*The Babylonian gods are described as "crowding like flies" around the
sacrifice offered by the man. They then are seen wimpering and fighting
amongst themselves, blaming each other for the flood. One of the gods is
seen to get angry that a human was saved from the flood and that not ALL
of mankind was killed. In the Bible, God is repentant but more of a sorrow
that his anger got the best of him once he looked over all the destruction.
He is in full control of his senses and is not wimpering and acting half
out of his wits with what to do....unlike the Babylonian story. God then
makes a vow with Noah and all Mankind that he never will destroy the Earth,
no matter how bad we humans mess up and He blesses Noah and his family.
Noah then goes out with his family and the animals and repopulates the
Earth.
*The man in the Gilgamesh story is then taken aside and made into an immortal
while in the Biblical story, Noah and his family simply repopulates the
Earth.
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