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Noah and the Ark Research
Cultural identity of religion
Noahs ark bible story essay
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It is interesting that despite cultural differences, many cultures have similar stories relating to a great flood. These stories have been passed down through the generations. Both Aboriginal mythology and the Bible on which Christianity is based, use stories to teach lessons to their people. To demonstrate this, one only has to compare the story of Noah's Ark (Genesis 6-9) with the Bundaba Flood Story told by the Bundaba people from Western Australia, to understand that the story of a great flood appears to be similar in many very cultures. In the story of Noah's Ark (Genesis 6-9), Noah was the only one who had pleased God. So, God Instructed Noah to build a huge Ark in which he, his family, and two of every kind of animal would be safe from the flood that He would send to rid the world of the wicked and sinful people. Once the Ark was finished, God sent the rain. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights and a great flood completely covered the Earth and destroyed all God's creation except for those Noah had saved. After 40 days and nights, God told Noah to sent …show more content…
In both story's, a flood was sent by a God-like figure. In the Biblical story, Yahway and Ngowungu the Great father, from the Aboriginal Dream time punish the people who have done the wrong thing or sinned. This angered God/creator wanted to rid the land of all that displeased them. In the Aboriginal story, The Great Father sent the flood because the children harmed the owl. In the Biblical story, Yahway sent the flood to destroy the evil and wicked people. In both stories, the creator's motives in sending a flood were very similar. Water and rain are seen in most cultures as being cleansing. In both stories rain caused all the land to be covered in water and removing those who are
Most of us have probably heard the famous bible story about Noah’s Ark and The Flood. What most may not know, is that this story is just one of a great many. A variety of ancient cultures, from the Greeks and the Middle East, to Asia and the Americas, have in their mythologies a story of a Great Flood that drowns the earth. These stories mostly contain the same themes: a god or group of gods becomes angry; they flood the earth but save a small group of people. These people build a boat to survive. After the flood they repopulate the earth.
The story of the great flood is probably the most popular story that has survived for thousands of years and is still being retold today. It is most commonly related within the context of Judeo-Christian tradition. In the Holy Bible, the book of Genesis uses the flood as a symbol of God's wrath as well as His hope that the human race can maintain peace and achieve everlasting salvation. The tale of Noah's Ark begins with God's expression of dismay as to the degenerate state of the human race at the time. People were behaving wickedly and sinfully and God decided that a genetic cleansing was necessary. He spared only Noah and his family, along with two of every type of animal; one male and one female. The other most popular flood story is found in the Epic of Gilgamish. In this text, the gods have decided to destroy everything on earth by creating a great flood. The only survivor is a man named Utnapishtim, spared because he is the god Ea's favorite human.
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.
One difference that backs it up is in The Epic of Gilgamesh the rains that cause the floods only last six days, six nights and in “The Flood Story in Genesis” the rains last forty days, forty nights. A quote that tells about the flood is when Utnapishtim said, “For six days and six nights the wind blew, torrent and tempest and flood overwhelmed the world, tempest and flood raged together like warring hosts (pg. 25).” This quote by Utnapishtim describes how bad the weather, rains, and wind were during the six days and six nights of the storm. On the other hand in “The Story of the Flood” it rained for forty days, forty nights. While God was talking to Noah he said, “For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth (pg. 48 line 4).” This quote describes how long God will have the rain go for. It also says that he is doing it to destroy all of mankind.
Though scientists cannot agree on whether or not a global flood occurred, the effect of these stories on science has been monumental, as well as the effect of the stories on cultures and religions throughout the world. If this great flood did , in fact, occur, it’s effect on history would have been great because of the huge numbers of people lost to it. Though they may be fables, one must keep asking themselves if they may have been based on fact.
To start off, the Watchers, Tubal-cain, Ila, and Methuselah are never mentioned in the Bible, so all the negativity in the movie that is associated with them is not in the Bible story. In addition, Noah doesn’t try or fail to find wives for his sons in the biblical account because they are already married, and nobody else but Noah, his wife, his sons, and his sons’ wives make it onto the ark. The Bible also doesn’t say the animals were put to sleep once they got onto the art, nor that Ham abandoned his kin once the art came to rest. Furthermore, the Noah film
There are many strange similarities between ancient texts of different cultures. Within these narratives, there are different trappings, but many of the stories remain eerily similar across cultural boundaries; within The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament of the Bible, for instance, there are a number of different stories that are remarkably similar. The story of Gilgamesh and the plant of eternal life are very similar to the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. However, perhaps the most similar of the stories contained within the Gilgamesh epic and the Old Testament of the Bible is the shared stories of a Flood. Even the Qu’ran, another ancient text from the same region shares a great flood story with Gilgamesh and the Old Testament, however, this discussion will focus on Gilgamesh and the Old Testament, and the various similarities and subtle differences between the texts.
Other similarities closely tie these two Flood Myths almost mirroring the symbolic ideas within both stories. The number seven is very significant in both of these stories. In the story of Utnapishtim, the Boat he built was finished on the seventh day. Also the rain that flooded the earth, stopped on the seventh day. In the Hebrew story of Noah, the waters of the flood were upon the earth seven days after Noah constructed the arc. After the earth was flooded and the rain subsided, during two seven day instances, Noah sent forth a dove to determine if dry land existed nearby. The two stories also showed that the Gods gave specific instructions down to the dimension regarding the construction of the two boats and both men were ordered to keep the blood line of animals alive by sparing the lives of a male a female being of each species.
Noah and Utnapishtim both were told to do something similar by their God or gods. The two differences that I noticed the most between these two texts include; the duration of the flood and the landing spot of the ark. In both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible a person is approached and told to abandon the possessions they have and to build an ark. Noah is approached by God and told to build an ark. Utnapishtim had a different experience. He was told of what to do through a dream that was caused by one of the gods. Another similarity is the way that Noah and Utnapishtim were told about the ark was that they both were given specific measurement of how to build the ark.
Global floods have been a shared part of human culture and religion for thousands of years. There are countless stories of worldwide floods throughout the ages. A majority of the global flood stories share the same basic framework which consists of a hero, a means of salvation, and a blessing. The most popular flood accounts are the Biblical flood of Noah and the Babylonian “Epic of Gilgamesh”. There are many similarities between the Babylonian flood story and the Noachian flood accounts. There are various topics and ideas that are appear to be shared throughout both storylines, such as reason for the flood, a warning that the flood will happen, the use of birds, blessings, and an offering given. However, neither Christian’s scholars nor secular
Over time there have been a number of flood myths identified from ancient sources around the world. Since the nineteenth century, the flood in The Epic of Gilgamesh has been an interest to Christians because of the relations to the flood in Genesis 6-9. Both flood stories, Noah’s Ark and The Epic of Gilgamesh, challenge their main character by a flood that destroys all humankind except those protected on the ark. Although the stories differ in regards to details, the plots are similar between the two flood stories. Because of the similarity between the stories, some believe that either Genesis was copied from an earlier Babylonian story, or the Gilgamesh myth was copied from an earlier Hebrew story, or both were copied from a common source that predates them both. (Robinson)
In the Mesopotamian version: the gods apparently displeased with the evils of mankind decided to destroy it by means of a great flood. Ea, the god of wisdom and subtlety, was privy to their council and warned Utnapishtim, the Babylonian Noah, of the coming disaster. Utnapishtim was told to build a ship thirty cubits long and thirty cubits wide. Provision it and put in it specimens of every living thing. Then to board it with his family and possessions and launch it on the waters.
The Epic of Gilgamesh has many similarities to the Bible, especially in Genesis and it’s not just that the both begin with the letter “g”’! One major similarity being the flood story that is told in both works. The two stories are very similar but also very different. Another being the use of serpents in both works and how they represent the same thing. A third similarity being the power of God or gods and the influence they have on the people of the stories. Within these similarities there are also differences that need to be pointed out as well.
Comparing each record of the flood can reveal how different cultural and religious backgrounds explain events of the world, and despite the stories differences, their similarities prove
This paper is not going to explore the possibilities of building such an ark, or weather it was sufficient enough to hold all the animals Noah was to board. I will not be comparing different stories of the flood, although that would be interesting as well. I am going to look deeper into the story of Noah and the ark. I am looking for reasons for the flood, and reasons Noah was chosen for the task of building the ark.