Epic of Gilgamesh Vs. Noah and the Ark

The astounding similarities between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible caused excitement throughout the world. To some, it proved the Bible’s story of Noah and the Ark to be true, while to others, it proved Noah’s tale to be a mythical legend. While in the Bible, the main character is Noah, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the flood story’s protagonist is named Utnapishtim. Both stories describe “people multiplying” verbatim, and in both worlds the gods decide to eliminate mankind because of their evil and wickedness. In both of the stories, the gods speak directly to the protagonists to explain their plans to eliminate humankind and command their man to construct an ark in detail. In both stories, the men had families that were allowed to join them on the journey along with all animals.

However, upon competition of these journeys, their outcomes were slightly different. One of the most notable differences is the Epic describes their world as controlled by multiple deities, while the Bible is monotheistic. In fact, the deities in the Epic debate with each other over how they handled their problem with mankind. Shockingly in the Bible, God blesses Noah’s family and establishes a covenant with all future descendants as well. He was expected to multiply and dominate over the animals. In the Epic, Utnapishtim and his wife are granted immortality and commanded to live at the mouth of the rivers. For this reason, the stories give different themes. The Bible’s god appears to be more family-oriented, hoping that Noah’s family will grow and oversee the other animals of the world. Utnapishtim is given more of tangible reward, immortality, for his accomplishment.