In both cases, the story is specific about the number of days the storm lasted. PhDessay is an educational resource where over 1,000,000 free essays are collected. Another minor difference between the stories is the idea of immortality. In Gilgamesh the flood is a mistake and the slaughter of … In the end the God in Genesis and the gods in Gilgamesh both promise not to destroy humankind again. The difference in sexual attitudes in the stories exemplifies how sex is viewed differently in different cultures. This is essentially equivalent to the story that Utnapishtim, the Sumerian Noah, tells to Gilgamesh on Tablet XI. God loved them, as they were made in his image, and wanted them to procreate and enjoy the beautiful, sinless world he had just created, full of light, plants, and animals (cite). A lot of the old testament seems to focus the on good and evil in the world and how God responded to it. Original Question: What are some of the main differences between the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet XI and the Genesis flood? Specifically, the flood stories of these two pieces show the most clear resemblance to one another. In Gilgamesh, a dove is sent out first, whereas in Genesis, it is a raven. Two Different Books with Similar Stories The Book of Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh have many clear similarities. But you can one from professional essay writers. Parallels Between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible The most well-known parallel between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible is the story of the Flood, in Genesis 6-7. 2020 © StudyDriver.com - Big database of free essay examples for students at all levels. Answer: The Enuma Elish, or the “Seven Tablets of Creation,” is a Babylonian creation myth that has a number of literary and cultural connections to the creation account in Genesis 1. The gods in Gilgamesh make an error sending the flood to exterminate mankind and try to atone for it by making Utnapishtim and his wife immortal so that humanity is never in danger of extinction again. The stories of these floods also show flaws in the high powers. Personal Transformation from Gilgamesh to Chihiro Regardless of the setting and the time, maturity and development are key processes that reshape individual’s character. When comparing the details within the stories, they are very different. There is the legend of Noah and the Ark in The Book of Genesis and the story of Utnapishtim in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Maybe she was right. Question: "What similarities are there between the Enuma Elish and the Genesis creation account?" The first half of the story focuses on the friendship between Gilgamesh-king of Uruk and Enkidu. number: 206095338. As we saw with Genesis 1 and Enuma Elish, Genesis 2-9 and Atrahasis breathe the same air. This surge or flood was meant to get rid of all humans because God or gods were displeased with them. In Gilgamesh the flood hero receives immortality. This puts far less emphasis on the division between humans and gods than The Book of Genesis. The reason for sending the flood is not explained in Gilgamesh (excessive violence in Genesis) The flood is ultimately condemned as a murderous mistake in Gilgamesh. This explains why people eat meat, have pets, farm, or anything else humans do to control animals and establish a higher power over them. This is proven in one of the oldest stories ever. Gilgamesh is the king [...], When the clay tablets of the epic of Gilgamesh were first discovered and translated in 1872, scholars quickly noticed striking similarities between its narratives and those of the bible (Coogan 68). They most likely intended the original story with their own mythology. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh sleeps with all of the women in the town that he rules. Whereas in Gilgamesh the journey away from the wild to the city is viewed as a great step forward, in Genesis when the couple leave their “garden” home it is … The building of the boats were different the boat from genesis was a rectangle and three stories tall. In the end the God in Genesis and the gods in Gilgamesh both promise not to destroy humankind again. One that I find interesting is that a serpent is the reason immortality is lost in both stories. There are also many specifics about this flood that the two stories have in common, not just the basis of the tale. There are numerous similarities between the two stories. Didn't find the paper that you were looking for? 16 students ordered this very topic and got original papers. In the two [...], Men always are symbol of power and change but women have played a crucial role through the history. Unlike The Gilgamesha where the reason was never said however the sender of the flood was a secret council of gods the idea was brought up by Enlil , the god of earth wind and air. The gods in the stories want the best for all of their creation, but when disobeyed, can be harsh. A. MacDonald. In both stories the gods are pleased by sacrifices and they reward good behavior and hard work, again, as a parent would. Like the flood story, it seems that Genesis is in dialogue with an older Mesopotamian tradition. Haven’t found the relevant content? Answer: There are many similarities between the Gilgamesh flood account and the biblical flood account (Genesis 6—8), beginning most importantly with God choosing a righteous man to build an ark because of an impending great flood. For example, Ishtar seems to act totally out of selfishness when Gilgamesh rejects her. One of the main differences is the attitudes about sex. Both stories reveal that gods will not hesitate to implement strict punishments if they feel that their subjects are out of line. The final difference between the flood in Gilgamesh and the flood in Genesis is the ending scene of the story, the last interaction between the survivor and his God(s). The relationship of the Flood stories to the surrounding narrative is different in both texts, and this is of key importance to the differences between them. Compare and Contrast Between the Flood in Gilgamesh and the Old Testament. We will send an essay sample to you in 2 Hours. The True Value of Life Sometimes, in order for you to change, it takes losing something so dear to you. The decision to destroy mankind happens in both stories and is significant. Tabl. The second bird sent is a swallow in Gilgamesh and a dove in Genesis. In Gilgamesh the gods saw the uproar of mankind and decided to exterminate them. In both stories, all humans are born mortal. Usually the gods or God are considered to be perfect, but in this story we see that the higher powers do indeed make mistakes. Question: "What similarities are there between the Gilgamesh flood account and the biblical flood account?" In the Gilgamesh Epic, it is obvious that Enlil, who mainly decreed the flood, is not omnipotent or omniscient because a fellow god Ea thwarted him. One of the main differences is the attitudes about sex. Noah and Utnapishtim make sacrifices to their respective higher power-- Noah to God and Utnapishtim to Enlil. The god-human interaction mimics a parent-child dynamic. In Hebrew culture, rewards of food and blessings is what Noah wanted. In Babylon culture, immortality is considered a gift. Furthermore, as noted above, Enlil is blamed because of his lack of reflectiveness in the Epic (XI 168, 179).15 The other gods in the assembly, Anu,16 Ninurta, Ennugi, and Ea, i.e., Niššīku agree … In the story of Noah and the Ark, it says that he “"offered burnt offerings on the altar" (Gen. :20) which is a sacrifice to God. The flood in both stories destroys most of creation. There were a number of differences between the two stories. Download file to see previous pages The King lived approximately between 2750 and 2500 BCE. This notion of “obliterating boundaries” comes up in the biblical flood story but with important differences, which we will get to next week. Between The Epic of Gilgamesh and the creation, destruction, and renewal of the world in the bible in Genesis chapters 1-8, which similarities do the stories have?. They share ancient Mesopotamian ways of talking about origins. XI, 127). This shows his authority over the animals. A similarity is the amount of people God or the gods chose to save. The purpose of Gilgamesh is to show people how making selfish, rash decisions never work out the way you intend them to. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, it says: "Six days and seven nights the wind and storm" (Gilg. These flood legends tell us about a couple of different religious beliefs of the ancient people, one being that people are instinctually bad. Also, because it is provided to the warriors as a reward for a successful journey, it makes sex almost a trophy. In Genesis there is one main God who was worshiped and listened to when given instructions. The Epic of Gilgamesh, a literary product of Mesopotamia, contains many of the same themes and motifs as the Hebrew Bible. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. The human-god interactions convey how the people at the time understood god(s) or an all-knowing all-powerful ruler of their world. This example has been uploaded by a student. By continuing we’ll assume you’re on board with our cookie policy. Another difference that I found compelling is that unlike God in Genesis who punishes Adam and Eve for disobeying him, the gods and goddesses in Gilgamesh act more human-like. This writer’s research question is this: what is the relationship between the flood accounts of the Gilgamesh Epic and Genesis? From the Epic, Enkidu is a wild man created by the gods as Gilgamesh’s peer to relieve him from oppression caused by the people of Uruk. Since he and his family are intended to be the only humans after the flood kills everyone else, this makes the humans the leaders of the living beings. The main difference between Enuma Elish and the other two is that here there are a number of Gods and the chaos is due to infighting between the Gods and Marduk ended this chaos by creating humans. As Beyonce said: Who run the world? It is clear that the people of the ancient world believed that the world was created by a higher power in a number of days, that a higher power created the human race, humans are very flawed, and many other mutual beliefs that can be found in The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Book of Genesis. XI, 155) by pouring a libation to Ea, which is a form of spiritual sacrifice. A difference between the two stories is that in Genesis there is only one God, he created earth and is the most powerful. English 3, 4 7 October 2012 The Quest for Immortality In the “Epic of Gilgamesh” translated by N. K. Sanders, Gilgamesh completes a series of many challenges and obstacles, fulfilling. An essential difference between the Gilgamesh Epic and Genesis is that the former is a polytheistic mythology, whereas the latter is based on a monotheistic theology. The main differences are not the minor ones of detail, but the thematic and theological ones. The Book of Genesis vs. the Epic of Gilgamesh. In The Book of Genesis, it says: “rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights" (Gen. 7:12). She sends a bull to kill him, and, when Enkidu kills the bull, she kills him. In both stories, a higher power wants to wipe out the human race and decides to save one person who is then assigned to build an ark to hold himself, his family, and one of each animal. Prostitutes are also seen as mystical and powerful. In both stories, it is the one good man which is Noah from Genesis and Utnapishtism from The Epic of Gilgamesh. God saw wickedness and evil in mankind and decided to destroy them. The stories send a clear message that humans are above animals and humans have power over all animals. Also, after a successful journey with Enkidu, they reward themselves by having sex with prostitutes. These two stories are also very similar in their views of humans versus animals. One major, noticeable similarity is that in both stories, there are flood legends. The key differences are: Genesis is monotheistic. In Gilgamesh, the divine assembly find … It is interesting to read something that [...], Among the numerous struggles humans undergo within a lifetime, the ultimate struggle of the human experience is to eventually contend with mortality. can use them for free to gain inspiration and new creative ideas for their writing assignments. We see this when Noah gets dominion over the animals and told to populate the each, and in Gilgamesh through eternal life for Utnapishtim. In Gilgamesh the gods saw the uproar of mankind and decided to exterminate them. Implications of flooding in … Of these, the best-known is probably the Epics flood story, which reads a lot like the biblical tale of Noahs ark (Gen 6-9). These stories do not exist for entertainment, they serve the purpose of teaching people lessons about humankind and God or the gods. While reading Gilgamesh, I was struck by the similarities between the story being told and that of the stories compiled within the Bible. For example, both stories tell of a long storm. A major difference among the stories was, in the book of Genesis there is only one God, and God is the creators of all things; (Genesis chpt 1&2). Get your own essay from professional writers. Even more different from the other story is that the gods in The Epic of Gilgamesh sleep with human beings. In Gilgamesh, the emphasis is on the secret wisdom of the Flood survivor, an emphasis reflected in the clever behavior of Ea and Utanapishtim. How I interpreted this is that the gods want the world to stay how they created and intended it and will exterminate humans if they threaten the earth they created. This is very different from The Epic of Gilgamesh in which Gilgamesh sleeps with many women while unwed. There are many similarities between the Noah flood story and the Gilgamesh flood story. 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