Genesis And Gilgamesh Similarities

Comparison of Flood Stories
Is anything in life a coincidence? In the flood stories of Gilgamesh and Genesis, they have extraordinary similarities, but still have the occasional difference between them. However, the fact that the similarities occur frequently and very alike, that these two flood stories cannot be a coincidence. The significance between both stories is that one flood story was adapted to fit other cultures and therefore, the Gilgamesh and Genesis flood stories will have remarkable similarities between them.
In the beginning, the flood stories gave a very clear reason for why this flood was supposed to occur- the humans. In the flood story of Gilgamesh, it is stated by the God, Enlil,”’The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer

possible by reason of the babel’”(Sanders 25). Genesis states for a slightly different reason why God was displeased with the humans, saying: “The Lord saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how every plan devised by his mind was nothing but evil all the time”(Genesis 6-9 44). In Gilgamesh, the humans had become too noisy for the Gods to stand, while in Genesis, the humans had just become too evil and God regretted making them. While the reasons slightly differ from each other, it appears that the Gods in both stories were unsatisfied with the humans.
The events in both of these flood stories were very similar, and although some details were different in each story, it surely shows that these stories were once one.

Genesis states that Noah was spoken to by God, telling him of the flood and the gather two of each animal, then build an ark made of wood and covered in pitch. The Gilgamesh flood story states that in a dream, one of the Gods speaks to Utnapishtim, telling him of an impending flood; Utnapishtim is also told to build a boat. Utnapishtim and Noah both had seven days before the flood to build the boats that would protect them and their families from the flood. The flood in Gilgamesh lasted seven days unlike the flood in Genesis, with lasted 150 days- the rain in Genesis fell for forty days and forty nights. Both of these stories sent out bird to see if the flood waters had gone down and that there was land to be found, however in Genesis, there were only two different birds, while in Gilgamesh there three different types of birds. After the flood had dispersed and the humans were all gone, Utnapishtim and Noah both made sacrifices to the Gods and God; the end of the stories involves Utnapishtim becoming immortal and Noah lives to be 950 years

old.
The significance between both stories is that one flood story was adapted to fit other cultures and therefore, the Gilgamesh and Genesis flood stories will have remarkable similarities between them. There were minor differences contrasting to the amount of similarities in the two stories. Both stories in the beginning had similar reasons why the flood was supposed to happen, which was the humans. In addition, they had a God tell only one person - Utnapishtim and Noah- to build a boat within seven days and save their families as well. These flood stories appear in many different cultures because they all could’ve rooted from one single flood story, changing details to fit how their religion or culture perceives other humans. Future generations might interpret our culture as one trying to fix our ways, no matter the consequences.