In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the story of Utanapishtim is similar to Noah from the Holy Bible’s first book, Genesis, in a few ways. Both Noah and Utanapishtim face the same problem, the flood that wipes out humanity. Utanapishtim is given a blueprint from the gods of an arc he must build. God also tells Noah how he must build his arc, even though his is much bigger than Utanapishtim’s.
Noah is also instructed by God to bring “… his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives…” and every animal, each with a mate. (pg. 35) Utanapishtim brings similar people and animals, but with a twist. The Epic states,
“I had all my kith and kin go up into the boat,
All the beasts and animals of the field and the craftsmen I had go up.” (pg. 92, lines 80-81)
Utanapishtim brings along the craftsmen so, when the flood is over, they can rebuild cities. Noah is not interested in bringing craftsmen. He only wants to follow what God orders.
God believes humankind is evil and regrets creating them, so he must cleanse the Earth with a flood. Genesis states, “And the LORD saw that the evil of the human creature was great on the earth… And the LORD said, ‘I will wipe out the human race I created from the face of the earth… for I regret that I have made them.’” (pg. 34) This was not the case with the gods from the Epic of Gilgamesh. Utanapishtim says, “
“The hearts of the Great Gods moved them to inflict the Flood.”
The gods did not create the flood because humans were evil. They did it because they wanted to and they thought it was the right thing to do.
Even though the gods and God created the flood for different reasons, Utanapishtim and Noah went about saving themselves in similar ways.
