Recorded in the Old Testament, the Tower of Babel explains how mankind began to speak the various languages that exist today. Following the Great Flood all of Noah's descendants spoke just one language and decided to build in their city a tower that would reach the heavens. God becomes aware of their tower and as a result changes their languages so that they could no longer speak to each other, which stops the building of the tower. Consequently, without being able to understand each other, all of the workers leave to for the far places of the world to create their own communities. Explained in Genesis 10:8-10 after the great flood Noah's great-grandson, Nimrod travels to the east establishing the cities Babel, Erek, Akkad and Kaineh becoming their ruler. Later on the cities Babel and Erek become Babylon and Erech and located in the ancient nation of Sumer. Biblical historians have determined that construction of the Tower of Babel began, around 2100BC. Written in Genesis 11:1-9, is the explanation of the building of the tower and how God changed everyone's language. The Tower of Babel legend in the Old Testament describes the building of a temple designed to reach the heavens. Likewise, a Sumerian myth named Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta also describes a similar theme. …show more content…
In Genesis 10 there are up to 70 different clans, nations and languages spread out over the majority of the ancient Near East before the Tower of Babel was constructed. In Genesis 11 mankind lives only in the Mesopotamian Valley and speaks just one language. Previously mentioned in the verses from Genesis 10, which confirms the descendants of Noah along with the names of their clans and their individual nations. According to these verses there is a total of 70 names of clans, lands and nations that each have their own language. To the right is a map that shows the location of several of the these clans or nations that were descendants of
The Babylonian Enuma Elish and the Hattian Kumarbi Cycle are both succession myths that, although written by two different cultures, have certain characters in common, such as the Babylonian god Ea. There are many similarities in the portrayal of Ea in both works. For one, in both works Ea is depicted as a trickster god, deceiving Kumarbi into biting a rock and Apsu into falling asleep in order for him to kill him. However, Ea is also shown to be wise, acting as adviser of the gods in both myths. Moreover, like all trickster gods, Ea shapes the world around him in many ways. One way that he does so in the Enuma Elish is by transforming Anu into his palace, while in the Kumarbi Cycle he allows for Tessub’s birth.
"Sumerian/Babylonian When on HIgh (Enuma Elish) "Creation and Marduk." [Dennis Bratcher, Tr. Http://www.cresourcei.org/enumaelish.html]." Ancient Mythology East and West. Comp. David Branscome. Print.
The Epic of Gilgamesh by George Andrew is based on Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk. Gilgamesh is one-third a man and two-thirds a god. He built beautiful temple towers and surrounded his city with a wall. King Gilgamesh was strong, wise and beautiful. Though he has all the beauty, he was a cruel man. He raped the women that he liked even though the women had husbands or were daughters of noblemen. He also loathed over his servants. He relied on forced labor to build his projects, and the people complained of the endless oppression. The gods heard the pleas of the people and created a wild man by the name Enkidu, who was meant to keep Gilgamesh in check. Enkidu and Gilgamesh became great friends. The gods inflicted Enkidu with a strange illness
Enuma Elish, the Babylonian epic, was inscribed on seven clay tablets. The story begins with the god of freshwater, Apsû, and the god of saltwater, Tiamat. Together, they birthed the god Ea and his godly brothers who lived in Tiamat's body. The brothers made so much noise that Apsû and Tiamat became annoyed with them. Apsû decided he would kill Ea and his brothers so they could sleep without interruption. Tiamat disagreed with Apsû’s decision to kill Ea, so she warned Ea and his brothers about Apsû’s plans. Ea, the most powerful god, used his magic to put Apsû into a coma and then killed him. Ea and Dam...
"Sumerian/Babylonian When on HIgh (Enuma Elish) "Creation and Marduk." [Dennis Bratcher, Tr. Http://www.cresourcei.org/enumaelish.html]." Ancient Mythology East and West. Comp. David Branscome. Print.
“The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the lord said, ‘I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created-people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.”(Genesis 6:5-8)
There are many ancient Mesopotamian texts that follow a similar story and end in similar ways. ”The Descent of Inanna” and “The Epic of Gilgamesh” are both manuscripts that are similar in key details but at the same time contrast numerous times through out their adventures. Both texts take place around the same time and region of the world. The myth in modern times is known as “The Epic of Gilgamesh” was thought to be in early Mesopotamian times to be one of the great masterpieces of cuneiform literature. The clay tablet tells the tale of a powerful demi-god that tries to achieve immortality, embarks on ventures so people would remember his great feats. “The Descent of Inanna” narrates the story of an immortal queen who is well liked and travels
Enuma Elish: The Epic of Creation, LW King Translator from The Seven Tablets of Creation, London 1902. Downloaded from sacred-texts.com/ane/enuma.htm February 7,2014
“And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy the earth. Make yourself an ark…” (Genesis 6:13-14, English Standard Version) “For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.” (Genesis 6:17, ESV) “And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.” (Genesis 6:19, ESV) “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” (Genesis 6:22, ESV) “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the second month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis 7:11-12, ESV) Everyone has heard the story of Noah’s ark and the great Flood. But is that all it is? Just a story? If a catastrophe of this scale really happened, it would have left plenty of evidence behind. And it did. The fossil record shows evidence of a small period of time in which all the major groups of life (phyla) appear without ancestors. (Wieland, n.d.) This alleged explosion of evolution is called the Cambrian explosion. However, Christians believe the Cambrian explosion is actually the Flood, in which all life on earth is rapidly buried by sediments picked up from the flood waters. Another piece of evidence for the Flood is the perfectly preserved mammoths. The mammoths show signs of being instantly buried and frozen, many while standing up. (Brown, 1995-2013) Evidence for this is fou...
Language is universal, but there are different meanings and sounds, which vary from one culture to another. In China citizens speak many languages, but about 94% speak the Chinese language. The difference in dialects was overcome by the written word and eventually a version of Mandrin became the “official speech” (The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 1996,p.304). In America there are many ethnic groups with many varieties of language. The U.S. was created through many people from different countries migrating to the new states. In the U.S. there is an “official speech” which is the English language. The language of both these countries are not only different in meaning and sound, but also reflect the way in which the people in these societies live, believe, and function.
Upon discovering humanities attempt to build a tower to the Heavens, God didn’t like that so he said, “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth (Gen 11: 7-8). We can thank the Lord for all the various languages, cultures, and peoples spread across the globe today.
"Noah Movie Review 2014." Kansas City Examiner (MO) 28 Mar. 2014: NewsBank. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem of a hero named Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is seventy- five percent god and twenty- five percent human. Gilgamesh is a fierce warrior and is used to getting what he pleases whenever he wants, but he is not satisfied with all the things he has. Gilgamesh is lonely and wishes for a companion of some sort. The gods notice that Gilgamesh is starting to become too powerful for his own good and decide to create another being somewhat similar to Gilgamesh, but more powerful so that he is able to defeat Gilgamesh and bring him to his knees. They create a similar being named Enkidu. Enkidu starts off as just a very powerful being wondering the wilderness by himself. He, like Gilgamesh is lonely and wishes to find someone
When they got scattered all over the Earth they all got new languages and their original language became lost. God blessed Noah and his family and the reasoning behind the different territories, families, and languages shows how God had always intended for there to be a diversity of people and increase in numbers. The Tower of Babel will always be a symbol of the peoples’ defiance that interfered with their
Did the Great flood really happen? Was it all just a big made up story? Or did the Bible speak the truth. Evidence from all around the world has pointed to the fact that the flood happened. The city of Ur was destroyed by a flood. All the different stories in the world of the flood save one family. Abraham could have carried the story of the flood of Ur. The theories of the flood do not contradict the Bible. Also the Black Sea wasn’t always a body of water. Although the Great Flood was thought to be a myth, scientists may have found evidence the flood existed because scientists may have found the boat, they have found houses underneath the Black Sea, and many cultures have variations of the flood.