Yahweh vs. Shurrupak gods

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In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh of how he attained immortality. Interestingly, the story Utnapishtim relays to Gilgamesh is eerily similar to the story of Noah and the great flood found in Genesis. The city of Shurrupak was mature and flourishing with people, causing great uproar from the busy city. The gods that were worshipped in this city grew wearisome of the clamor the people there made. Their slumber was disturbed daily which lead Enlil, their counsellor, to petition the extermination of mankind. One of the gods, however, Ea had different plans. He approached a human by the name of Utnapishtim in a dream warning him of the eminent disaster. Ea kept the real reason for the calamity from Utnapishtim and falsely told him that Enlil was wrathful against only him and not the rest of the city. Therefore, Utnapistim must leave but Enlil will send great blessings to the people of Shurrupak. In the story of the flood in Genesis, God decides to exterminate mankind not because of the noise but rather their sinfulness which grieved God. He, however, saved one man and his family—Noah. God allowed Noah to warn the people of the calamity but no one heeded Noah’s words. The nuances that rose when contrasting these two very profound stories not only entail crucial information about the gods in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the God of the Bible but it gave deep insight into the character of the gods themselves. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest Sumerian text that narrates a flood. The story of Noah and the flood in Genesis is the second oldest known flood story which its details being very similar to that of The Epic of Gilgamesh. One of the questions that arise when contrasting these narratives is:... ... middle of paper ... ... conclusion, we see that the gods in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Anu, lord of the firmament; warrior Enlil, their counsellor; Ninurta, the helper; Ennugi, watcher over canals; and Ea, have an immature and limited-knowledge personality. Whereas the God of Genesis, Yahweh, only demonstrably regretted once, however, it could be argued that he only did this to teach an obscure lesson. Therefore, this could be taken as a sign of his omniscience. That may be just conjecture however. Ultimately, when contrasting the pantheon of the Epic of Gilgamesh and the single God of Genesis we notice a much evolved persona in Him. Nevertheless, both stories tells us of gods and a God who deem it fit to destroy all of humanity for their own purposes and judgment, we can only ponder now; were they right? Was it necessary for all of humanity to be destroyed because of what they thought of us?

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