Over the years there have been several adaptations regarding the biblical story of Noah’s Ark, whether the comedy film starring Steve Carell, or a film narrating the Bible story. However, the adaptation that the majority of people do not recognize is the Bible story itself. The story of Noah and his ark was actually adapted from the eleventh and twelfth tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem that narrates the adventures of a fictional hero named Gilgamesh.1 The reason that Noah’s Ark is an adaptation is due to the many parallels between the two stories. Some similarities include the wrath of a deity upon humankind, as well as the creation of a type of vessel in order to survive the flood.
Before the 19th century, the Bible was believed to be the most credible source of historical information about the Ancient Near East. However,“The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest surviving epic poem in history, dating from about 2500 B.C.E.”2 The discovery of the Epic of Gilgamesh, specifically the tablets containing the excerpts detailing the Great Flood myth, caused turmoil among the ancient historical community, due to the fact that the Great Flood myth was written about a thousand years before the Bible story of Noah.3
The eleventh tablet narrates one of Gilgamesh’s adventures in search for immortality.4 Yet his search leads him to a wise man named Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim then reveals to Gilgamesh how he achieved immortality. He begins to explain how the god Ea informed him of the devastating flood created by the gods in order to extinguish humanity. He was instructed to construct a boat of immense size and to tell the people of Shuruppak to assist him in the building of the boat. Once the boat was complete, he was to load it with every living thing and his family in order to survive. Seven days later the great flood began its reign of destruction upon humankind. During this time, Utnapishtim and his ark ran aground on a mountain peak. He then released a dove in order to find land but the dove returned, not having found land. The same thing happened when he sends a swallow. However, the third time he releases a raven that never returned. Upon reaching land, the gods in heaven realized the great service Utnapishtim had done by saving humankind; thus, they granted him and his wife eternal life.
Much like the Epic of Gilgamesh, the story of Noah’s Ark conveys a similar destruction tale.5 The book of Genesis narrates how God began to despair over the creation of humankind due to humanity becoming sinful and evil. Therefore, God decided to create an immense flood in order to destroy and cleanse the world. However, God chose a man named Noah due to his immaculate behavior, and He instructed him to build a boat or an ark. Once he completed the ark, he was to load it with a pair of every animal on earth along with his family. For the next forty days, God plunged the earth with devastating rains, causing the earth to be flooded for a whole year. Noah then released a dove and it never returned, meaning that it had found dry land. Once the water receded, the earth was restored and became once again fertile. God made a covenant with Noah promising that his lineage will be fertile and that he will never destroy humanity again by flood.
The parallels between both stories are clear to see, due to the similarity in content and story structure. For example, both narratives include an extremely powerful deity or deities, that form a plan to wipe out humankind by creating a great flood in order to restore the earth, as well as how a single man was chosen by a higher power to save humanity.6 Another parallel is how both individuals were instructed to construct a boat in order to survive the coming flood. The content of both vessels is also similar due to them being loaded with all the living things on earth, even though in the Epic of Gilgamesh it was all living things while in Noah it was the pair of every animal on earth, along with their families. Once the earth was flooded, both Utnapishtim and Noah release birds in order to find out if the land was yet dry. Finally, both men upon reaching land are rewarded by higher powers, due to their involvement in saving humanity, and the creation of a new world.
- Benjamin R. Foster, Douglas Frayne, and Gary M. Beckman, The epic of Gilgamesh: a new translation, analogues, criticism (New York: Norton, 2001), 60-65. ↵
- Jerry Bentley, Herbert Ziegler, Heather Streets Salter, Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History Volume 1 (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishers, 2016), 17. ↵
- James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern texts relating to the Old Testament (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1969), 3. ↵
- Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern texts, 273. ↵
- Jerry Pinkney, Noah’s ark (New York : SeaStar Books, 2002), 20-30. ↵
- Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern texts, 10. ↵
110 comments
Austin Pena
Great article on Noah’s Ark. I am glad to read about the similarities between the two stories, but it makes you think what else might have been borrowed or adapted from other religions. While I am a catholic I do enjoy reading articles and learning new information on how one religion might be connect to another. For example there is a rumor about Jesus’ childhood stating that he traveled east and learned from teachers over there before coming back and beginning his ministry. It does make one think on how Christianity truly came to be and where it might be today without these other influences during the authors’ time.
Samuel Ruiz
Being raised a Catholic and choosing to maintain my faith, I had always understood Noah’s Ark from the biblical perspective. I find it very interesting to know that there is another story that parallels with details of Noah’s Ark, such as the necessity of the ark, the great flood, the chosen man to continue life, and the sending of the bird to find land. Since I am a committed and fully devout Catholic, I will always hold true to Noah’s Ark, but I will also always be open to the possibility that some biblical narratives were written in a different way before the Bible was complete and translated.
Kimberly Simmons
In all honesty, anything I ever knew about Noah’s Ark was adapted from children’s books or movies! It’s refreshing to learn the origin of the story. As you mentioned, I most definitely do see the parallels between the story of Noah’s Ark and the Epic of Gilgamesh – both reflecting the ideas of saving life, the flood, destruction, restoration, etc. I absolutely loved reading this article; it eloquently compared the two stories – very informative!
Luke Willis
This is an awesome article. I have of course read the story of Noah and the ark several times and i have read the Epic of Gilgamesh as well. I can see how it would cause turmoil to all those scholars and how it might upset many Catholics as well for people to say that one of their most famous stories was copied from somewhere else. As a catholic i feel the need to defend the bible but i also find it interesting how one culture can influence another even 1000 years later. Great article!
Veronica Spryszynski
It’s fascinating that the epic of Gilgamesh has the stories told before the Bible. It kind of contradicts some peoples saying that the Bible is the only book with the earliest stories. I believe the flood started in the Gilgamesh and it has to be accurate since its the first story of the flood and the flood actually happened after it said it was.
Crystalrose Quintero
I thought it was interesting to read that there was a correlation between the epic of Gilgamesh and Noah’s ark. The picture of the eleventh tablet detailing the story of the flood was an eye grabber. I love that the article devoted one paragraph to the story from Gilgamesh and another paragraph for the story of Noah’s ark. It then presented contrasts and similarities between the two, smoothly written.
Grace Bell
This is a great article on Noah’s Ark, I feel as though I have a deeper understanding of the background of the story now and what led to the story of the ark. This article makes me want to go and read the story all over again and really be able to grasp the concept behind it. You did a great job on the description and on the article as a whole, well done.
Oceane Roux
Thank you for this article! It is really interesting to see that these texts and religions have so many similitudes. Also, I’m amazed that such old documents have been conserved and that we are still able to learn about them today. I’m wondering what texts influenced the other. They have so many points in common that I don’t think that it would be a coincidence.
Sebastian Castro Ramos
On my English Literature class on high school I learned about this similarities between the two stories. It is interesting how cultures influence each other through time, and more when some elements are kept through long periods of time just as the story of the flood of the Epic of Gilgamesh made it all the way through until Christian and Hebrew culture. Excellent article, very well made and interesting topic.
Valeria Hernandez
Ivanna Rodriguez juxtaposes the parallels between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the great biblical story of Noah’s arcs. Rodriguez does a fantastic at providing the readers with the similarities and the differences of the two. However, she should have focused on one specific portion rather than the holistic dissection, therefore, her article could have been more specific. Rodriguez provides readers with an interesting reading.