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Natural disasters over the years have taken millions of lives as well as caused billions of dollars in damage. Globally, floods are the most frequent type of calamity since it can strike anytime anywhere. From a global point of view, flooding is part of the hydrologic cycle in which water is recycled between the ground and the hydrosphere. The stories about flood are explored in the Gilgamesh Epic which is the most famous literary relic of ancient Mesopotamia. From the biblical context, the story about floods is covered in the book of Genesis 6-9 and much is learned about the nature of God. Thus, there are significant similarities and differences between the stories about the flood in the Bible and the Gilgamesh Epic.
Similarities
In both stories the flood was universal, and it caused massive destruction. The reason for the surge in both instances resulted from the level of sin and the wickedness among the human population. The evil of the human race had become wide spread on the earth and that every inclination of the views of the human heart was only wicked all the time. Thus, the floods came and destroyed the land and the birds of the sky. The humankind of Noah’s time was incredibly corrupt as well as perverted (Gen 6:6). The depraved actions of humankind grieved God in His most holy heart. [“Write my essay for me?” Get help here.]
In both the Gilgamesh Epic and the biblical context the flood caused rapid shifting of the poles, volcanism, and earthquakes, the shifting of the earth’s crust, the collapse of the vapor canopy surrounding the earth as well as an extraterrestrial body passing close by the Earth. All the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered (Gen 7: 19). In both stories, the dove was sent to determine whether the water had receded from the surface of the ground. It is evident that the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth (Foster 4). [Need an essay writing service? Find help here.]
Differences
The ark took over hundred years to construct. It had a covering on top, three decks and rooms inside the decks. Noah’s ark was a huge boat: 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. The ark was not intended to be steered but only to float (Gen. 6: 8). From the Gilgamesh Epic, the ark took seven days and the measures of the ark were thrice 3600 measures of the pitch, thrice 3600 measures of tar, ten dozens cubits were the edges, ten dozen cubit were the height and 300 measures of oil(Foster 5).
From the Biblical story, the floods lasted for forty days during which time the waters rose and increased greatly on the earth. The ark floated on the surface of the water and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits. The waters according to (Gen. 7:24) flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days, but God remembered Noah and his family members as well as all the wild animals along with domestic animals that were with him in the ark. On the other hand, the Gilgamesh Epic story the flood lasted for seven days, and all the humankind had turned into clay (Foster 4). [Click Essay Writer to order your essay]
In conclusion, the stories gave the same account of the state of humanity before the universal floods during those days (Gen 6:5). Both stories are similar in that they explain the same historical phenomenon at almost the same time in history. Both stories attribute the wickedness of humanity as the possible cause for the floods. They also mention the dove in similar ways. Conversely, the two stories have striking differences. There is a difference on the actual measurement of the boat as instructed by God; as each story mentions varying measurements. Also the days the floods took to cede varies significantly between the two stories.
Works Cited
The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.
Foster, Benjamin R. Gilgamesh (1.132)
