Text written as historical 4. Construction of an Ark in both Epics Noah's Ark was built over a long, realistic period of time, Utnapishtim's Ark was built in a matter of days. God causes the flood, people we fearful 8. Because of this, God came to warn him about the flood and told him to build the ark. In the Epic of Noah, the hero, Noah is sent by God to warn the people and build an ark where he will save a small number of righteous people. Before Noah: Myths of the Flood Are Far Older Than the Bible. In the story of Noah and the Ark, God or Yahwist (God of Israel) is saw that evil was everywhere amongst the earth. Utnapishtim or Utanapishtim is a character in ancient Mesopotamia mythology. [7]The raven is thus manifestly “out of place” in the text. Even with these major changes not considered, there are many dissimilarities that would not be expected from a story copied from another story. After the rain stops, both Noah and Utnapishtim arks land on a mountain, Mount Ararat for Noah and Mount Nisir for Utnapishtim; both mountains are located in the Middle East, only a few hundred miles apart (Robinson). How would something like this fare during a catastrophic, worldwide Flood? Noah's Ark was built logically to withstand the pressure and force of viscious waves for a long period of time. In particular, their varying recounts of “the flood” are of great interest to historians, clergy, and scholars. Utnapishtim was chosen out of the cleverness of Ea, the god of wisdom and crafts. A specific chronological timeframe 5. The Chaldean Flood Tablets from the city of Ur in what is now Southern Iraq contain a story thatdescribes how the Bablylonian god Enlil had been bothered by the incessant noise generated by humans. Utnapishtim vs. Noah. [6] Noah’s behavior here is actually strange, since the first bird flies back and forth until it eventually finds dry land, so what did he need the dove for? The story of Utnapishtim is adapted from the story about Atrahasis, which in turn is probably adapted from the earlier Babylonian flood myths.The same goes for the story in the bible. “The dove went off, but came back to me…I sent forth a swallow and released it. The Gilgamesh flood myth is a flood myth in the Epic of Gilgamesh.Many scholars believe that the flood myth was added to Tablet XI in the "standard version" of the Gilgamesh Epic by an editor who used the flood story from the Epic of Atrahasis. Utnapishtim was chosen to survive the great flood because he was a true worshipper of the god Ea, who came to warn Utnapishtim about the flood. Noah sent two and Utnapishtim sent three birds. Cuneiform tablet with the Atra-Hasis epic in the British Museum In both stories the instruction is to bring “two of every sort [of living thing of flesh] into the ark.” And finally, after the flood subsides there is a sacrifice where the Babylonian gods and the Biblical God feel sorry about and/or regret the flood. • A great rain covered the land and mountains with water, although some water emerged from beneath the earth in the biblical account (Genesis 7:11). Both are from different religious points of view (Noah's ark is from the Bible and Utnapishtim from the Epic of Gilgamesh) but share similarities, as well as differences. What do you make of the remarkable similarities in the two accounts?' Here is what the text says, using the New American Standard, 1995, translation: Chapter 6 Yahwish was tired of seeing this evilness all around, and it made his heart sad. Whenbecoming aware of his own mortality and fear of death, Gilgamesh decided toventure out to find the only man that had been granted immortality from theGods for surviving the Great Flood, Utnapishtim. He is tasked by the god Enki to create a giant ship to be called Preserver of Life in preparation of a giant flood that would wipe out all life. When Gilgamesh finally meetswith Utnapishtim and is told the story of the Great Flood. Noah’s was rectangular; Utnapishtim’s was square. In it, there is an account of the great sage Utnapishtim, who is warned of an imminent flood to be unleashed by wrathful gods. Noah’s Ark vs. Gilgamesh Ark. Rabbi Professor David Golinkin, President of The Schechter Institutes, points out that despite the general similarities between the story of Noah and the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh there is a major theological difference between the stories. Compare and Contrast Noah and Utnapishtim The story of Noah's ark and the story of Utnapishtim are two different, yet similar accounts of a flood that exterminated the human race. In the story of Gilgamesh, a man by the name of Utnaptishtim experience the fate Noah had with the flood. Now it is time to consider the ship of Noah, commonly known as Noah’s Ark. God favored Noah because he was a righteous man therefore, he was chosen to build the ark that was three hundred cubits long, fifty cubit wide, and thirty cubits high, about three stories. So to answer your question: Yes, it's "legendary plagiarism". Utnapishtim was chosen to survive the great flood out of pure luck by the god Ea. Utnapishtim tries toconvey to Gilgamesh that these were unusual circumstances that granted he andhis wife immortality and that they could not be repeated. The swallow went off, but came back to me….I sent forth a raven and released it. His story parallels that of the Biblical figure of Noah. 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