The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible
The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible In comparing the Epic of Gilgamesh to the Bible, it is best toanalyze The Book of Genesis. These two works have many similarities, andtheir basic ideas are very similar. Some of the smaller details in theworks are also remarkably similar to one another. However, when they areanalyzed closely, readers who pay strict attention to the differences inthe two works, instead of just the similarities can easily tell that theyare really not about the same event after all. The snake is one of the representations that appear in both of thestories. In Gilgamesh, the snake confronts him while he is looking foreverlasting life, which is contained within a flower. Even though he findsthe flower, he drops it when the snake appears. The snake also confrontsAdam and Eve in The Bible, and Eve is tempted by the snake to eat the fruitthat makes her aware of sin. Adam also eats the fruit, and because ofthem, sin has continued through all generations, even to this day. Thissin and wickedness is what eventually causes God to flood the earth with Gilgamesh talks of being instructed by the gods, whereas Gene
He is believed to be the only God that exists, andhe talks to Noah and requests that Noah build a ship of exactspecifications so that he and his family can avoid drowning in the greatflood that God is sending over the whole earth. A dove and a swallow areboth sent forward first, before the raven is sent out and finds dry land. It is the second dove that does notreturn, and so indicates to Noah that the waters have receded. He is certainly not going to change that during the buildingand loading of the Ark. When the raven failed to return,he opened the door and let everything on the ship loose back into theworld. Noah, on the other hand, ends up on Mount Ararat, and it takes manymonths for the water to recede enough for the bird he sends out not toreturn to him. Just because Christianity is very populardoes not mean that it is the only significant religion available in theworld today. While both stories use birds,they do not always use the same birds. Christians obviously discount the story of Gilgamesh, because histale does not appear in The Bible, and most Christians believe that TheBible is the true and unerring word of God. Hedoes this because it is what God has instructed him to do, and the reasonthat he is able to escape the flood and live is because he has alwaysobeyed God. Anyone familiar with The Bible will know that Noah and his Ark wererained on for 40 days and 40 nights. Many other religions believe in various deities for differentthings, and none of these religions can be proven to be 'right' or 'wrong. They could have easily turned aside from such a task, and theywould have likely perished in the ensuing flood. Noah makes a sacrifice as well, just like Gilgamesh, butunlike Gilgamesh, Noah receives something in return. On the seventh day, he sent out the aforementioneddove, then the swallow, then the raven.
Common topics in this essay:
Bible Eve,
Gilgamesh Noah,
Epic Gilgamesh,
Book Genesis,
Ark God,
Apparently Gilgamesh,
Mount Nisir,
Ark Gilgamesh,
Noah Ark,
Mount Ararat,
gilgamesh bible,
dry land,
epic gilgamesh,
epic gilgamesh bible,
seventh day,
snake confronts,
seven days,
religions believe,
various gods,
flood earth water,
family animals,
everlasting life,
|
Acceptance Essays
