While there are of course differences in Noah’s story, the similarities are too crucial to deny. (Overview of Epic of Gilgamesh flood story ) Then he sent the livestock in different directions to replenish the earth and offered animals in sacrifice to the gods. The boat then landed at “mount Nimush,” and Utnapishtim first releases a dove and then a raven to see if the waters had dried upon the earth. The boat then is then launched and the storm lasts six days and six nights, with the storm pounding intermittently on the seventh day. The boat is then constructed with six decks divided into seven and nine compartments, and the boat was loaded with all of the relatives and craftsmen of the boat along with "all the beasts and animals of the field.” In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the “great gods” create a secret plan to flood the world, but one of the gods named Ea (Sumarian god Enki) tells Utnapishtim to demolish his house and build a boat to keep both people and animals alive. The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts, p 70) According to Babylonian Professor Andrew George, who wrote a book translating the Epic of Gilgamesh, noted that the flood story in Genesis mirrors Gilgamesh so closely that “few doubt” that the account in Genesis is derived from Gilgamesh. Regarding the global flood myth, the parallels are just as striking. The presence of a snake that steals a plant of immortality from the hero later in the epic is another point of similarity.” ( Epic of Gilgamesh Similarities to the Bible) In both stories the man accepts food from the woman, covers his nakedness, and must leave his former realm, unable to return. He is introduced to a woman who tempts him. “In both, a man is created from the soil by a god, and lives in a natural setting amongst the animals. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, there is the story of Enkidu and Shamhat. But it should be noted that there are also parallels to the Adam and Eve story. The Epic of Gilgamesh has many parallels to the Bible, most notably the global flood myth. As we discussed in our Adam and Eve section, most scholars believe that Genesis was compiled in the 6th or 5th century BCE – and the earliest it would have been written would’ve been 1,000 BCE. The Epic of Gilgamesh is perhaps the most famous flood myth that Noah’s story was inspired from, and the “Old Babylonian” version was written about 1800 BCE. A quick look at Wikipedia gives a rundown of many of the more famous flood myths across the world. There are hundreds of flood myths from around the world, which is a good indication that these kinds of myths were created by people in ancient civilization to make sense of devastating local floods that we still experience in modern times. Furthermore, advances in science, archaeology, and history provide a wealth of evidence that there was not a global flood that wiped out all living humans and animals or disrupted existing civilizations. However, the idea of a global flood is a mythical story that was told in ancient times throughout the world, and Noah’s story in Genesis reflects the Babylonian myth The Epic of Gilgamesh in many important areas. Noah’s story is even more important for the scriptures of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as its historicity is necessary for the premise of the Book of Mormon and Book of Abraham, and is confirmed and expanded upon in the Book of Moses. O Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them are, and who controllest and subjectest the devil, and the dark and benighted dominion of Sheol-stretch forth thy hand let thine eye pierce let thy pavilion be taken up let thy hiding place no longer be covered let thine ear be inclined let thine heart be softened, and thy bowels moved with compassion toward us.The global flood is the famous story in Genesis where Noah builds an ark to be saved from the catastrophic global flood where “all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man.” (Genesis 7:21) Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them? O God, awhere art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place? How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries? I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me-he was murdered in cold blood. I am going like a lamb to the slaughter but I am calm as a summer’s morning I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men.
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