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Two Ancient Accounts of a Great Flood


The Bible isn’t the only ancient text to contain an account about a Great Flood. The Epic of Gilgamesh also contains a very similar account, but with some important differences. ELOHIYM (Creator in the Bible) informed Noah in advance of the impending disaster and gave him exact instructions for how to build the vessel that would be required for him to survive. The god EA revealed the divine decision of the gods to Utanapishtim (a man) and advised him to “build a boat.” In both accounts the heroes were given exact specifications about how to build their vessels. Both required the use of “pitch” to seal them, and in both accounts, the heroes are told to take animals aboard the vessel.

An important lesson we can learn from this biblical account is that, even though the society is actively engaged in evil, ELOHIYM searched for individual righteousness. The message of the biblical text is that an individual cannot undermine the moral basis of society without endangering the very existence of civilization. The Great Flood, at first appears to be divine retribution against the entire society, but what appears to be collective retribution on the part of ELOHIYM is, in the final analysis, really divine retribution against each guilty individual.

Many gods were involved in causing the Great Flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh, but once the gods set things in motion they became terror-struck at the very forces they themselves unleashed. They were appalled at the consequences of their own actions, over which they no longer had control. The gods, we are told, “were frightened by the deluge,” they “cowered like dogs crouched against the outer wall; Ishtar cried out like a woman in travail.” After the deluge, there were arguments, quarrels and mutual recriminations among the gods.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is completely silent on the matter of why the gods decided to cause the flood. The uncertainty about the moral aspects of the Great Flood in the pagan myths is not accidental. Although the gods often encouraged ethical behavior, it was not their exclusive or even primary interest. Their primary interest was themselves. 

Sources:
A Commentary on the Book of Genesis: Part One
Understanding Genesis: The Heritage of Biblical Israel
Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI

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