There are flood stories from many cultures. The flood stories usually consist of a higher power that floods a civilization due to some act that has made the higher power angry. The stories talk about one specific family and how the flood consumes the entire globe. So many cultures have a story about a great flood that have many similar details that it is hard to not believe that it is not true, but whether the story of a great flood is true or not, it is up to the individual to decide. Judaism is religion that many Hebrews are a part of. Many Christian religions like Catholicism also believe the same story that the Jews do about the great flood. They believe that God had become so upset with mankind’s evil ways, he wanted to destroy it. He did so with a great flood that consumed the earth except for Noah, his family, and the animals that he saved. The story uses many religious pieces, such as the dove, which represents the Holy Spirit. There are many objects and pieces like statues, trinkets, paintings, and things that have symbols or representations of Noah and the ark he built. This flood story is one of the more commonly told versions of the great flood. When God decided to flood the earth he saved one righteous man and his family. The righteous, deserving of life man was Noah. He found that Noah was a good man and believed he should be saved. God commanded Noah to build an ark that was 450 by 75 by 45 feet, with three decks. Noah did as he was told. He and his family boarded the ark. This was eight people. They gathered pairs of many animals, so that they could reproduce after the flood was over with. For forty days and forty nights the flood raged on. The earth was flooded for one hundred and fifty days. God ... ... middle of paper ... ...ks Cited Barrère, Dorothy B. The Kumuhonua Legends: A Study of Late 19th Century Hawaiian Stories of Creation and Origins, Pacific Anthropological Records number 3, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI, 1969. Print "By the Gods" Hindu Flood Myth The Deluge Myth Is a Common Theme... N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2014. The Catholic Youth Bible, Revised. Winona: Christian Brothers Publications, 2005. Print. "Flood Stories from Around the World." Flood Stories from Around the World. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2014. Puchner, Martin, gen. ed. The Epic of Gilgamesh. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 3rd ed. Vol. A. New York: Norton, 2012. Print. Puchner, Martin, gen. ed. Ovid, Metamorphosis. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 3rd ed. Vol. A. New York: Norton, 2012. Print. Walls, Jan & Walls, Yvonne. Classical Chinese Myths, Joint Publishing Co., Hongkong, 1984. Print.
Floods can be a very dangerous natural disaster because a flood has the power to move cars, buildings, and cause massive damage to life and property. Even the small floods that are only 30 centimetres or so can do massive damage to houses and if the
hydrology of a great flood on a great river, you many only be interested in parts of the book, and I would suggest looking elsewhere for more detail.
There is no reason given by Utnapishtim for the deluge. On the contrary, the Judaic version of the Flood in Genesis states in Genesis 6:5-8 a very clear, explicit reason for the Flood:
Nashville, TN: Broadman 1977. Ovid. Metamorphoses. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces.
The Epic of Gilgamesh. Trans. Benjamin R. Foster. Text. Martin Puncher. New York: W.W and Company, 2013.Print.
The Epic of Gilgamesh. Trans. Foster, Benjamin R. New York: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2001. Print.
In both the Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh the God or Gods create a flood to destroy mankind. In Gilgamesh,the Gods decide something needs to be done because the humans are being loud and disturbing the Gods. In the Bible's version of the flood story, God regrets creating mankind because the humans have become evil God chooses Noah and his family to start a new beginning.
Foster, Benjamin R. "The Epic of Gilgamesh." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Gen. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3rd ed. Vol. A. New York: Norton, 2012. 95-151. Print. 13 March 2014.
Except for the creation, the flood of Noah’s day is the most awesome event this world has ever known. The Bible details this event; telling when it began and ended, how long it lasted and why it happened. (Gen. 7:11-24) And, it is mentioned many times in the Bible. The Lord Himself made mention of it. (Matt. 24:38-39)
On our planet, phenomena’s occur occasionally in nature. Tornadoes, earthquakes, and flashfloods are all types of phenomena’s that could occur. Most of these mysterious events are small and go unnoticed; however, on a rare occasion these sorts of event can be horrendous. One such occasion occurred back around 4,000 BC (Werner Keller, 48). As the story goes, God’s population was growing rapidly on earth. At this point, he had been growing bored with the same people on earth so he made sure no man would live past the age of 120. Given this time, the people of earth started to take advantage of the human race; these acts of selfishness disgusted God. He decided to destroy everything on earth. A man by the name of Noah had lived his life by God’s nature, which eventually led to a close relationship between the two. God had told Noah to build a boat with exact measurements. God had instructed Noah to put two of every kind of animal into the boat; one had to be male and the other female. Then God told Noah to get into the boat with his family, their families, and the animals. Then for forty days and forty nights the clouds seemed to have poured endless amounts of water onto the earth (Genesis 6:1-9). Floods rushed through the landscape, destroying everything in its path. The waters were higher than the tallest mountains, standing above the highest peaks. All living things on earth had died. The water covered the earth at this level for five months (Paul S. Taylor, 1). In time the water began to dry up. Eventually Noah was able to leave the ship and release all he had brought with him. From this point, evolution occurs.
“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...
"Epic of Gilgamesh." Academy for Ancient Texts. Ancient Texts Library. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. .
Across mythology, many of the same themes can be seen. Although they are different in narrative, they remain similar in the idea being portrayed. One example of this is the flood, or deluge; most notable in the story of Noah's ark in the bible. In the story of Noah's ark, the flood was brought upon humanity by God because of the “folly and wickedness” of humankind. Essentially, the flood is brought upon by a god and can take different forms, but its purpose is the same: to wipe out or bring death to the world. Throughout many of these myths that follow, the flood comes in the form of a woman. Three different versions of the flood are in the form of Sekhmet in Egyptian mythology, Pandora's box in Greek mythology, and Kali in Hinduism.
Gilgamesh, The Epic of. Vol. A. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Puchner, et al. 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2012. 95-150. Print.
The roles of Noah and Utnapishtim in the Flood Myths are quite similar. There are several differences regarding the two flood myths, but the general idea behind the two remains consistent. In the Mesopotamian Flood Myth, the Gods were overwhelmed by the amount of humans that existed on Earth and were unable to sleep due to the noise of men. So they decided to "exterminate mankind." While in the Hebrew story of Noah and the Flood Myth, God grew tired of the evil that had plagued mankind and engulfed the earth. So God decided to start the world over to undue the mistakes of man. Both of these stories display an attempt by the Gods to start the world over to cleanse the earth. Both Utnapishtim and Noah were spoken to by Gods and asked to build large boats from which all who were to be spared would seek shelter during the storm. Both men were allowed to spare the lives of their family via the safety of the boats. Also, the method used by the Gods in these myths are the same, the skies would rain down upon the earth flooding the land and killing all who were not ordered onto the boats.