The story of Noah’s ark and the great flood as we are told in the book of Genesis has many parallels with story of the great flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The similarities are many; just to name a few, there was an order to build a vessel; it was deemed to destroy all mankind, only a few righteous people survived, all kinds of animals are saved, birds are released to search for dry land after the raining stops, and finally, there is blessings and sacrifices in the end. So, is it pure coincidence or do these parallels tells us that there is something else behind these two stories?
In ancient times, many stories and tales were passed on from generation to generation as oral legends, so, from a literary point of view and based on the time of these events, one can argue that one oral tradition throughout the course of time became two different stories. To support this argument there is no much proof to rely on given the fact that there was no writing for instance, even as writing was invented and therefore used to record events, in the beginning it was rudimentary. Imagine how long it would take to make a copy of an entire book, not to mention the omission of entire words, spelling errors etc etc. Because of these facts, I believe that these two stories are the same, that is, one story/tale became two over time. If this is the case then, why is it that one story is not only sacred but also an act of a superior being? God, who created all men (humanity) to populate the earth, but later, destroyed them all (except Noah’s family) according to the Bible because they did not behave as he/she (God) demanded. On the other hand, the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh is just an event/legend that happened thousands of years ago. What is more, the story of Noah’s ark and the flood is part of a very important book-the Bible, which is deemed to be the word inspired by God that cannot be questioned or challenged in its veracity, doubting or questioning the Bible amounts to sacrilege or a direct nonstop ticket to hell, if there one of course, but that is a different story.
Interestingly enough, when the intellectuals of the time were given the task to put together the bible (the bible is a collection of books), they did not include the two stories as part of the bible as they did with the two creations of Genesis (Yes, there are two creations). Some would argue that the reason is because they do not tell the same thing or because one is not a follow up of the other as it is supposed to be with the two creations in Genesis. Even the New Testament has the four Gospels that tell the same story of Jesus with a few additions or deletions according to the writer. However, let’s not forget that there are more gospels that were known at the time or have been discovered in recent times. So the question is; what was the original purpose of putting together a book that claims to have divinity in its contents? I think it was created to deceive or control humanity (Read how Constantine controlled his kingdom with the Bible, read the religious crusades, read the ongoing battle for the Promised Land).
Any good business person ceases any good opportunity, for instance; Bill Gates saw opportunity in computers and software. With fifty dollars (it has been said) he bought a program and later changed it around the way he wanted and bingo! The future empire of Microsoft and its windows operating system was born. Today Bill Gates is the reaches person in the world and windows is the dominant operating system in the planet. So, why not think that something similar happened some time ago with the Bible? Obviously, we cannot say that the two events are related to each other and therefore it is a valid comparison, however the fundamental basic idea is the same. Cease an opportunity, grab it, customize it so it fits your needs and put it out there to be something big. Now, we can come to the conclusion that the Bible did have a purpose when it was created, even if it was not to deceive, there might have been something else, perhaps power to suppress humanity.
Someone said “religion is the greatest invention ever made” and for many reason he/she was right. As it was done by the Scribes and Pharisees in the ancient Israel, today many fundamentalists (from any religion) use the contents of the Bible as tools for their own personal agendas. They know that the Bible taken literally is a powerful tool. If you read the New Testament you will find out that even Jesus refuses to take the Bible literally. In ancient Israel, the Scribes and Pharisees were in charge of interpreting God’s law and commandments, however, Jesus corrected this great misconception telling people that although the Pharisees and the Scribes claimed to be obedient to the law, and even appear so to the people, theirs was a false righteousness that disobeyed and subverted God's commandments.
If the story of the flood in the Book of Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh are not the same, one thing is for sure, it was a historical event. Here is my theory. Most likely there was a great flood, but did it engulf the entire earth or was it just exaggerated over time? In the area of Israel no evidence of a great flood can be found. In fact the exact opposite occurs. Evidence of no great floods is found. The area itself is very dry, dotted with high hills and in the city of Jericho, a settlement that dates back nine thousand years; there are no deposits of clay accumulation that can be found, clay is a characteristic of a great floods. (Flash floods do occur in some deserts). On the other hand we have The Mesopotamia area, which its geography makes it prone to flooding. It is a very flat valley surrounded by two rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris, that when early rains, combined with the early melting of the snow from the Anatolia Mountains, the two rivers have been known to burst their banks and turn the entire area into a giant lake. This area more supports the idea of a great flood.
In sum, the similarities between The Epic of Gilgamesh and Noah's Ark are undeniably similar not only in the belief of a great flood, but also in small details that pull the two stories together. This, as well as the location of both Abraham and Gilgamesh's birth place along the Euphrates River in the Mesopotamia area where floods are not uncommon. From both of these factors we can say with almost certainty that a great flood did occur in the Mesopotamia Valley, rather than the entire earth, and that two different but very similar accounts of the flood were taken down, The Epic of Gilgamesh and Noah's Ark.
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