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The Epic of Gilgamesh is older than the story of Noah. The Epic of Gilgamesh dates back to around 2100 BC, while the story of Noah is believed to have originated in the Hebrew Bible around the 5th century BC.
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∙ 13y agoThe Sumerian and Babylonian versions were written down before the Biblical version of the flood but they may have the same cultural memory to thank as a point of origin. The stories were passed down for hundreds of years as oral retelling so there's no positive way to say which one edged out the others. Through literary analysis it is assumed in Middle Eastern scholarship that Gilgamesh's Utnapishtim preceded The Bible's Noah.
See the Related Links for "Noah's Flood and the Gilgamesh Epic"
The origin of the idea that the Gilgamesh epic came first was through the promoters of the now discredited Documentary Hypothesis which contained anti-biblical evolutionary presuppositions. As the above link details it is more likely that Gilgamesh was a corrupted version of the Biblical account rather than the other way around.
The other possibility (which can be also simultaneously correct) is of course that Gilgamesh is a corrupted version of the true event. Every culture has their own ancient flood legends, many with uncanny similarities to the Biblical account. These cannot all have copied , as Gilgamesh may have, from the Biblical record, but certainly they reflect 'cultural memory' of a true event in the distant past.
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Actually, I have to disagree with the answer provided above. The Gilgamesh flood story is clearly dependent upon the Atrahasis epic, or a common precursor or variant of this tale (See The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic by Tigay). Although we cannot be certain, the flood story was probably added to the Gilgamesh epic when it was standardised in the early 2nd millennium BCE. The oldest extant copu of Atrahasis is dated to the old Babylonian period - around 1700 BCE. Consequently, it is ludicrous to argue that there is any literary dependence by either Atrahasis or Gilgamesh on Genesis. Genesis is closer in content to Atrahasis than Gilgamesh, so even if Mosaic authorship of Genesis was granted (nearly all scholars, however, date Genesis to the 5th or 6th centuries BCE) it would still be at least two hundred years too late.
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∙ 14y agoThere is no conclusive proof that one came before the other, however both physical and literary evidence evidence suggests that the Epic of Gilgamesh predates the Biblical account of Noah and the flood by hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.
The earliest physical account of the Epic of Gilgamesh was found written on a series of Akkadian tablets that are dated earlier than 2000BCE. Conversely the earliest physical account of Genesis (the Dead Sea Scolls) has been dated as between 150BCE and 70ACE
Additionally certain features of the two myths suggest that the Biblical account borrowed from the Mesopotamian flood story. For example, the concept of a single omnipotent god is a relatively recent one. It was commonplace in ancient culture to believe in multiple deitys that have relatively human-like qualities. Indeed the Epic of Gilgamesh discusses many gods that bicker with and deceive one another.
The most common means of learning about mythology in ancient times is through aural tradition. It is likely that the passing on of the flood myth from generation to generation lead to various changes (e.g. changing the name of the hero from Utnapishti to the more culturally appropriate Noah). When the author of the Biblical flood account wrote the story of Noah, they were simply writing the most culturally salient and up-to-date version of the story.
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∙ 12y agoWiki User
∙ 8y ago.Do you have a question about the epic of Gilgamesh?
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Did the story of Noah's flood come from the Epic of Gilgamesh?
Certainly the story of Noah's Flood is remarkably similar to the Flood story of Umapishtim in the much older Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. On that evidence, the Epic of Gilgamesh is the most likely source for the story of Noah's Flood.
Was Gilgamesh the precursor to Noah?
The story of the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh is both older than and remarkably similar to the story of Noah's Ark. It is very possible that the story of Noah's Ark came out of Gilgameshand many scholars believe that to be the case. Others believe that Gilgamesh is not actually the predecessor to the story of Noah's Ark, but that they both evolved from a common, even earlier legend.
Which story has a parallel version in the Old Testament?
The story of Noah in the oldtestament and the story of the flood in the epic of gilgamesh.
Is Gilgamesh the precursor to Noah?
While there are similarities between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the story of Noah's Ark in the Bible, they are considered separate stories from different cultural traditions. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamian myth from around 2100 BCE, while the story of Noah's Ark is part of the Hebrew Bible and dates back to around 500 BCE. Both stories involve a great flood, but they are not direct precursors to each other.
Is Gilgamesh referenced in the Bible?
Only indirectly. The story of Noah's Flood is considered to have been derived from the much earlier Epic of Gilgamesh.
Is the story of Noah and the Flood a legend?
A:Yes. The biblical story of Noah's Flood is commonly believed to have been developed from the much older Epic of Gilgamesh, but Ian Wilson (Before the Flood) believe they are both based on an even older legend that began after the inundation of the Black Sea around 5600 BCE.
What famous story in Genesis was close to the story of Gilgamesh?
The Genesis story of Noah's Flood contains some remarkable similarities to the flood story in the much earlier Epic of Gilgamesh.
Is the epic of Gilgamesh older than genesis?
Yes, the "Epic of Gilgamesh" is older than the book of Genesis in the Bible. The "Epic of Gilgamesh" dates back to the 18th century BCE while Genesis is believed to have been composed around the 5th century BCE.
What are the Compare and contrast the floods in both the epic of Gilgamesh and noah and the flood?
Both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the story of Noah's flood feature a catastrophic flood sent by divinity as punishment, a chosen hero who builds an ark to save humanity and animals, and a dove sent to search for land. However, the Epic of Gilgamesh is polytheistic, with multiple gods involved in the flood, whereas Noah's flood is a monotheistic event orchestrated by a single God. Additionally, the motivations and aftermath of the floods differ: in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the flood is caused by the gods' annoyance with human noise, while in Noah's flood, God is motivated by punishing human sinfulness.
What is the name of the earliest story ever written in sumerians?
The Epic of Gilgamesh. This is a large poem written about an ancient hero named Gilgamesh. Ironically, or perhaps not, many of the events in that poem are also in the Bible, such as Noah's Arc (only Noah has a different name in the epic). This poem was written in Cuneiform, the writing format of the Sumerians.
How the epic of Gilgamesh is similar to the story of noah from the cristan and Jewish holy books?
The account of Noah's Flood has some similarities to the Gilgamesh story. This is thought to be due to the oral transmission of the account which became distorted over time while Noah's Flood account in the Old Testament was recorded earlier in writing and so is better preserved.
Where was the story of Noah found?
The Bible is silent on where Noah might have been born. Also, I am not aware of any midrash (non-binding Jewish tradition) that seeks to answer this question. If we look back to the very early pagan traditions on which the story of Noah is sometimes considered to have been based, then those traditions usually place his counterpart somewhere in Mesopotamia.
