While reading The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Book of Genesis, readers are introduced to the powers of a deity. Both writings expound on the theme of a “higher” power and their significance to humanity. Both books share the idea that a god created the world, but the Epic, unlike Genesis, introduces readers to the practice of polytheism. The Epic talks of an array of gods, the sky god, Anu, the god of war, Nintura, and the sun god, Shamash. In contrast, the Book of Genesis builds upon the concept of monotheism; the belief in one god . Another similarity of both writings is the illustration of how man was created. On page 61 of the Epic we are told that “Aruru washed her hands, pinched off some clay and threw it into the wilderness. In the wilderness she created valiant Enkidu”. On page 30 of Genesis we learn that God created man from soil.
A second theme we extract from both stories is the idea of punishment. When mankind acts in defiance of the gods they are punished. We see this when Enkidu is sentenced to death for killing the bull of heaven and disrespecting the goddess Ishtar. In Genesis we observe God’s punitive nature as a result of Adam’s and Eve’s tasting of the forbidden fruit. God banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, punishes Eve with harsh labor and delivery during child birth, and imposes a life of manual labor for Adam. Despite the similarities in the two books, readers are entertained by the sheer differences between them.
