Monthly Archives: September 2010

Gilgamesh and Genesis

Though created approximately 650 years apart, The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis actually have some similarities and differences. The Old Babylon Epic of Gilgamesh was written around 1200 B.C.E where Genesis was written in 950 B.C.E. These two particular stories are vital to literature and I am glad we compared them.

The first difference between the two stories is that Gilgamesh builds the country of Uruk himself, where in Genesis Adam and Eve’s surroundings in the very beginning are already provided. Gilgamesh’s gods granted him the knowledge to do this. “He carved on a stone stela all of his toils, and built the wall of Uruk-Haven, the wall of the sacred Eanna Temple, the holy sanctuary.” (A91)  In Genesis, God creates life for Adam and Eve. This difference also leads to the amount of knowledge the deities in each story allow. In Genesis, God puts a limit on how much knowledge the people can have. God tells Noah he can only bring his family to join the Ark so that God can provide. In Gilgamesh, Utanapishtim brings his family, but also the craftsmen to create a new foundation. Also, Genesis says, “And the Lord said, As one people with one language for all, if this is what they have begun to do, nothing they plot will elude them.” (A60) This shows that God wanted to remind the people that He is Creator and He has the power.  

Although having different meanings, in each flood story a plant portrays a small, but important part. “Urshanabi, this plant is a plant against decay by which a man can attain his survival.” (A129) In Genesis, “And the dove came back to him at eventide and, look, a plucked olive leaf was in his bill, and Noah knew that the waters had abated from the earth.” (A58)

 Another similarity is that both gods’ were angry with their people and created floods that wiped out the world besides the particular people chosen to survive. Genesis says, “And God saw the earth, and look, it was corrupt, for all flesh has corrupted its ways on the earth. And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with outrage by them, and I am now about to destroy them, with the earth.” (A56) Both Noah and his family and Utanapishtim and his family, were left with a new world to create and start all over.

The story of the Flood is one of the most intense scenes in both “Genesis” and the “Epic of Gilgamesh”, which proves an obvious connection between the two works.

In Genesis, the monotheistic God decides to destroy humankind due to the people’s wickedness: “every scheme of his heart’s devising [is] only perpetually evil” (p.34). On the other hand, the polytheistic Gods of the Shuruppak, without any particular reason other than the excessive human noisiness, have their hearts “moved … to inflict the flood” (p. 91), so there will be “no man … to survive the annihilation” (p. 94). By pure luck, Utanapishtim is chosen by the God Ea to survive the flood. However, the God in Genesis purposely cautions Noah as he is the only righteous and blameless man on the Earth. The two survivors are given directions and measurements on how to built the ark, they are also advised what kind of species to bring with them. Both Noah and Utanapishtim take on the boat their wives and children, as well as two of each animal. Unlike Noah, Utanapishtim also takes with him the craftsmen that will preserve the knowledge of the human civilization and will help to rebuild it. After “six days and seven nights” (p. 93) in the Epic and “hundred and fifty days” (p.35) in Genesis all human beings are “wiped out from the earth” (Damrosch, p. 35) and “turned to clay” (Damrosch, p. 93) (the material that both Enkidu and Adam are made of).

However, feeling guilty for diminishing the people, the Gods of Shuruppak reward Utanapishtim and his wife with immortality and make them like Gods. Similarly, as the Lord in Genesis smells the odor of the sacrifices, He also thinks that He “will not again strike down all livings”. The Lord blesses Noah and his family and tells them to be fruitful and multiply. So, it is obvious that the story of the Flood in both works represents a symbol of the endless powers of Gods and the weakness of humankind.

The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis hold many parallels. The premise of these stories are the God’s punishments when humans need to be disciplined. The epic featured Gilgamesh, who oppressed his people. The Gods sent Enkidu as their way to straighten out Gilgamesh. In Genesis, the book illustrates the Gods punishments for humans inappropriate actions.

In both stories, the people share the same consequence, a flood. In Gilgamesh, Utanapishtim is ordered by the Gods to save himself and other living beings. “Make all living being go up into the boat.” (A, 91)” The same order was given to Noah in Genesis. Noah brought his family, and two of each animal, so the animals would be able to recreate. Once significant difference between the extra travlers on the ship was that Utanapishtim also brought a craftsmen. The craftsmen is a symbol of knowledge. Noah neglected to bring a craftsmen. Therefore, Noah was unable to preserve knowledge. Also, the flood in Genesis was far more severe. “For in seven days’ time I will make it rain on the earth forty days and forty nights and I will wipe out from the face of the earth all existing things that I have made.” (A, 35). 

The main similarity in themes is the Gods superioriority over humanity. However, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, there were many Gods who were all powerful. In Genesis, it was monotheistic book, meaning only one God is all powerful.

                    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.

There exist many similarities between “Genesis” and “The Epic of Gilgamesh”. One of those similarities is the use of a female figure as the cause of enlightenment between good and evil. This similarity is shown by the lines “The women, whom you gave by me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (A, 23) from “Genesis” and “Eat the food … as is the custom of the land” (A, 65) from “The Epic of Gilgamesh.”  In “Genesis”, Eve offered Adam the apple from the forbidden tree and Adam ate it. Eating the apple expose Adam and Eve to the good and evil that exists in the world. Similarly, the Harlot’s offering of the bread and wine eventually lead to Enkidu being “enlightened” of the good and evil that exists in the world, when previously, he had only the instinct to survive.

There is also a difference between the losses of paradise cause by a female figure. Eve was tricked into taking the apple from the forbidden tree by a snake. Her driving force in taking the apple and eating it was due to her curiosity to know whether God or the snake was right. The Harlot was sent by Gilgamesh for the purpose of “civilizing” Enkidu. The major factor in the Harlot’s success was her capability to take advantage of Enkidu’s sexual urges and using it to gain his trust.

The Epic of Gilgamesh discusses the story of how Gilgamesh and Enkidu became friends, going against what the Gods wanted, and then how Gilgamesh dealt with the death of his new friend.  Genesis is the story of how one God created mankind, along with everything else on Earth, and what punishments He put upon them when they acted wrongly. Although these stories seem very different they have many similarities within them. The most obvious comparison would be that in both stories there was a vast flood. In Gilgamesh this flood was created by the Gods because they were angry with the people. Only Utanapishtim was told to build a boat so he could save himself, other living beings, and the animals. The Epic states, “Tear down the house and build a boat! Abandon wealth and seek living beings! Spurn possessions and keep alive living beings! Make all living being go up into the boat.” (Gilgamesh, 91)
Likewise in Genesis a flood was created by the Lord because he felt “the evil of the human creature was great on earth.” The Lord advised Noah, whom he favored, to build an ark that would protect himself, his family, and the animals. In both cases the floods seem very alike, however they do differ in ways. When Utanapishtim loaded his boat for the flood he not only brought his family and the animals with him, he also brought the craftsmen that built the boat. This shows he wanted to preserve the knowledge and skills of mankind. In contrast, Noah did not bring his craftsmen. He brought only what the Lord told him to save, which was himself, his wife, his sons, their wives, and two of each animal. Another difference was the way the flood was brought to the land. The gods in Gilgamesh created a storm that made the river overflow and flood the land. This storm lasted for six days and seven nights. Where in Genesis it was a long period of rain that flooded the land. Genesis says, “’For in seven days’ time I will make it rain on the earth forty days and forty nights and I will wipe out from the face of the earth all existing things that I have made.” (Genesis, 35) There are other differences in these texts aside from the flood as well. In the Epic knowledge of the people is encouraged and appreciated. They have acquired the skills to build and grow food. “Go up the wall of Uruk and walk around, examine its foundation, inspect its brickwork thoroughly. Is not even the core of the brick structure made of kiln-fired brick, and did not the Seven Sages themselves lay out its plans?” (Gilgamesh, 59) This extract from the Epic shows how vast their knowledge is to build such a wall and how much it is appreciated. On the other hand, when the people in Genesis start to obtain the knowledge of crafting this angers the Lord. When He sees what they are doing he creates multiple languages so that they do not understand each other and scatters them over the land. The Lord does not see these skills as an advantage and He does not want them to have any knowledge. Another main difference in these tales is that they both have supernatural characters in them. The difference is that in the Epic of Gilgamesh there are multiple Gods being described, showing polytheism. In Genesis there is just one single God, the Lord, which resembles monotheism. This just shows some of the similarities and differences these stories share.