The Genesis Flood Story and Its Potential Influence from the Epic of Gilgamesh

The correlation between the biblical flood story in Genesis and the narrative found in the Epic of Gilgamesh has long been a subject of academic debate. Scholars have proposed that certain elements within the Genesis flood account, particularly the use of birds and post-flood offerings, might have drawn from these earlier Mesopotamian texts.

Definite Parallels but Also Distinctions

It is generally agreed upon by scholars that the incident involving the sending of birds and the post-flood offerings in the Genesis narrative serve as the most compelling evidence for literary borrowing. This borrowing may have developed in the story of the birds, leading to parallels between the two accounts.

While the epic of Gilgamesh was composed approximately a thousand years before the paleo-Hebrew of the Genesis flood story, the influence of Mesopotamian literature on the Hebrew Bible is undeniable. The original flood story is believed to be much older than any specific king in the region, and as the epic of Gilgamesh evolved, it incorporated this story.

Historical Context and Cultural Transmission

The Epic of Gilgamesh was passed down through the cultures of Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria, perpetuating the flood tale as a part of their shared literary tradition. Around 2070 BCE, when Abraham left Ur of the Sumerians, he and his household consequently carried these stories with them. The Israelites retained these tales, and as Moses prepared to write the early chapters of the Hebrew Bible, he integrated elements from these stories into his own accounts.

Moses, it is argued, aimed to replace older stories with a narrative that focused on the concept of a single, all-powerful God who created people in purity and innocence, yet they were corrupted by their own actions. By using familiar imagery from the old stories, Moses made his new accounts more relatable and, in turn, rendered the older stories less relevant.

Emotional Investment and Defense of Narrative Truth

People often find deep emotional investment in the veracity of the Noah story, and this attachment can sometimes lead to a defense of the story that is based more on sentiment than on factual accuracy. Many are reluctant to question narratives that are deeply ingrained in their cultural and religious identities.

If you are interested in further exploring how Moses was influenced by the older Mesopotamian narratives and how he crafted his own accounts, you can read more about Moses's background and purposes and the contents of Genesis chapters 1-11 and 9-11.