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
Maria Callejas
WOW! This is completely new knowledge for me. Growing up Catholic I believed the tale of Noah’s ark was original to the Bible. However, when comparing it to the story found in the Epic of Gilgamesh that “originality” starts to fade. I loved your point by point comparison of the two tales, it makes the reader quickly grasp and understand the similarities between the two. Also, great conclusion, it synthesizes what is to be remembered from your impressive article!
Josemaria Soriano
Since the Second Vatican Council, the free interpretation of the Bible has been a theme that has really affected, in my opinion, the vision of biblical teaching. The vast majority of Catholics read the Bible in a literally way. They have not done any deepening in the historical context that surrounds each chapter of the bible. That is why I celebrate this article, as it allows a more academic and historical view of a story as well known as Noah’s Ark. Evidently, the book of genesis was written during the time of the exile of the Jews in Babylon. The Tower of Babel, for example, is an exemplification of a Babylonian Ziggurat. Many Babylonian traditions were inherited by the Jews. Before the chapters of the Ark of Noah, the genealogy of Adam is narrated to Noah. In total, there are ten descendants of colossal ages. Scholars claim that they represent the ten great kingdoms that preceded the Great Flood. Why is it important to study the historical context of the Bible? Because there are biblical parts that go completely against the vision of Jesus, our pastor. When one reads Noah’s Ark, one is surprised at the cruelty and lack of mercy on God’s part. However, when one learns that it is inspired by The Epic of Gilgamesh, one can conclude that this vision of God is part of the Babylonians, and should not be part of our faith. Again, I congratulate the fact that an article seeks to penetrate the historical context of the bible. I hope I can read more articles of this type, in order to improve my biblical understanding.
Ezequiel De La Fuente
Such an interesting story. I grew up Catholic and went to a catholic school all of elementary so I believed that the story of Noah was one of its own. How surprising to see that there is a story, before the time of the bible, that is so similar. Definitely has me thinking. From the metaphorical and literal text, your article has showed me how these articles are truly parallels.
Alexandria Martinez
This is such a great article, it is very informative and it is clear to me that the story of Noah’s Ark and The Flood are very very similar. It makes one question what we know thus far and whether any of it is actually the original, because what if there is a story discovered even way before the Epic of Gilgamesh? I can see how there would be so much controversy between historians and the religious groups.
Rebekah Esquivel
This article was very interesting! I was engaged in the story throughout the whole article. I know that many people including myself grow up knowing the story of Noah’s Ark but never know the full true story that it tells. I liked how you compared the parallels between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Biblical story of Noah. Comparing the two stories helped me get a better understanding of both of the stories and where they may overlap and also have their differences.
Thomas Fraire
I grew up in the catholic church so I’m very familiar with this tale, but I had no idea that the story paralleled so much with one of Gilgamesh’s adventures. Part of me wonders if the story was written by someone else and the variations of stories were just told by two different people if the same event. But over all I think this article was researched really well, and really well written.
Alexis Renteria
Great article. I grew up as a catholic and religion was very important in my household, I never would have thought that Noah’s Ark was derived from a different tale. However, its interesting learning about Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality and the similarities that there are between Noah’s Ark and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Overall great job comparing the similarities between both writings and informing the reader about the origin of Noah’s Ark.
Sam Vandenbrink
Great article, was nice to be refreshed on the history of noah’s ark, haven’t read about it in a while. Outlined the story of noahs are very well, The article compared the historical representation of Noahs ark and the Religious representation very well, it showed how they are actually very in common and have the same story outline as each other. It shows how the bible is actually a representation of history as well. Great article! very detailed and well written!
Lianna Ybarra
Very interesting article, you kept me wanting to read more! I have grown up as Catholic my whole life and gone to a Catholic school so I only knew the Bible side of Noah’s Ark. I think it’s interesting that the two stories are parallel to each other. I thought there was only one story of Noah’s Ark. The way you displayed and described the two was great and showed how there can be more than one story.
Alyssa Vela
This article was amazing! I had no idea that the story of Noah’s Ark that I grew up knowing was not the correct one! Before reading this, I had no knowledge of the Epic of Gilgamesh, I didn’t even know of the eleventh tablet! I loved that you managed to fit so much information into one article and still you were able to weave everything together perfectly! Thank you, I now have a perfect amount of insight on Noah’s Ark! Great article, great topic!