Gilgamesh Vs Genesis Essay Research Paper GILGAMESH

GILGAMESH Vs GENESIS: Essay, Research Paper

GILGAMESH Vs GENESIS:

In our society, which is overwhelmingly Judeo-Christian, students often

find it difficult to compare Bible stories with tales from other cultures,

because our own belief system is wrapped up in the prior, and it is hard for many

of us to go against our traditional faith to evaluate them objectively. But in a

comparison of the Biblical book of Genesis with the ancient Sumerian text, Epic

of Gilgamesh, many parallels suggest that the same type of spiritual searching

inspired the composition of both works. It would seem that both cultures shared

a concern for the nature of human life, and how its shortness affects the way life

should be lived. However, the conclusions each culture derived from their

observations are very different, and this led them to develop very different

philosophies of life.

Gilgamesh is an interesting story because it contains several

episodes in common with the Judeo-Christian Bible. For example, John Noss

notes that

.The original flood story was Sumerian and came out of grim

experiences of the overflowing of the two rivers [the Tigris and the

Euphrates]. Several of the later versions of the tale, mostly fragmentary,

have come down to us. The finest of these forms part of the Gilgamesh

epic, into which it was inserted as an interesting interpolation. According

to this narrative, the gods decided in anger to punish man.s sins by a

flood. Their secret decision was revealed to one man. The good god Ea

felt kindly toward Utnapishtim [Gilgamesh.s ancestor] and told him about

it. The man proceeded immediately to build an ark. (Noss 38).

Marietta Moskin agrees that many of the earliest Hebrew stories derived

from the Sumerian text. She writes that, .The authors of Genesis surely must

have looked around to see what other people thought about creation. And there

was quite a lot. There were the Sumerian Seven Tablets of Creation; there was

the Babylonian Gilgamesh epic. . . .. (Moskin 30).

The similarities should not surprise us, right down to the reason God was

supposed to have decided to destroy the earth by water. In the Biblical book of

Genesis, the author tells us that: .The earth was corrupt in God.s sight, and the

earth was filled with violence. (Genesis 6:11). Part of this, the Genesis author

comments, was largely due to the fact that human beings on the earth had

become extremely sinful. .The Lord saw that the wickedness of men was great in

the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. (Genesis 6:5). So He determined to kill

all the people of the earth, saving only one family which had steadfastly

maintained their righteousness. This, of course, was the family of Noah.

The parallels between this story and that of Gilgamesh are too obvious to

criticize. .Of course the Hebrew iteration of the flood story is not coincidence.

For a time, the Hebrews lived in Sumer, home of Abraham.s people…, taking

with them ancient accounts of flood and righteous people whose obedience and

wisdom helped them to survive the consuming waters. (Near East 2).

However, several interesting points can be made here about the

characteristics of Sumerian religion. For one, it is clear that, like most primitive

peoples, the Sumerians took everyday happenings they observed occurring

around them, and elevated them into myth. The Hebrews did, too. Secondly,

the Sumerians believed that their behavior as a society directly impacted their

fate — in other words, if they behaved badly the gods would punish them.

Maureen Raymo, a marine geologist .finds it very easy to believe this flood is the

origin of these myths…. You would invoke your god being angry if you didn.t

have the scientific basis to understand it . (McInnis 3). Again, this belief

underlies Hebrew law as well. And finally, like the Hebrews, Sumerians believed

their gods had direct contact with man, in a manner specific enough to be able to

impart instructions for building an ark. Ea tells Utnapishtim, .Tear down the

house. Build an ark. (Gardner 226).

This type of contact is made explicit in the passage where Gilgamesh

encounters the goddess .Siduri the barmaid, who dwells at the lip of the sea.

(Gardner 209). Gilgamesh seeks entrance and is refused, but when he

explains the nature of his quest she lets him in, only to explain why he was being

foolish. In this passage she tells him to stop concentrating on death and to go

home and live. .Thou, o Gilgamesh, let thy belly be filled! / Day and night be

merry, / Daily celebrate a feast, / Day and night dance and make merry! / Clean

be thy clothes, / Thy head be washed, bathe in water! / Look joyfully on the child

that grasps thy hand, / Be happy with the wife in thine arms!. (Gilgamesh,

quoted in Noss, 72). John Noss observes that .Here breathes the spirit of the

people of Babylonia.

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