Noah's Ark was built logically to withstand the pressure and force of viscious waves for a long period of time. In particular, their varying recounts of “the flood” are of great interest to historians, clergy, and scholars. We learn this story from the Old Testament, the book of Genesis, chapters 6 and 7. Noah is preserved because he is the most morally clean and obedient. Both are from different religious points of view (Noah's ark is from the Bible and Utnapishtim from the Epic of Gilgamesh) but share similarities, as well as differences. What do you make of the remarkable similarities in the two accounts?' • A great rain covered the land and mountains with water, although some water emerged from beneath the earth in the biblical account (Genesis 7:11). It would, therefore, make sense that Noah would be chosen for his righteousness although Utnapishtim was chosen for no apparent reason. Author – Moses 3. Noah sent two and Utnapishtim sent three birds. The story of Utnapishtim is adapted from the story about Atrahasis, which in turn is probably adapted from the earlier Babylonian flood myths.The same goes for the story in the bible. In both stories the instruction is to bring “two of every sort [of living thing of flesh] into the ark.” And finally, after the flood subsides there is a sacrifice where the Babylonian gods and the Biblical God feel sorry about and/or regret the flood. Noah's Ark was built over a long, realistic period of time, Utnapishtim's Ark was built in a matter of days. Pryke says that while the Hebrew version of the flood story hinges on morality — the destruction of the wicked and the saving of the righteous — the authors of Genesis display a "wary engagement with wisdom" elsewhere. In Tablet XI of the epic poem, Utnapishtim, the Gilgamesh Noah, explains that because of some unexplained sin of man, the pantheon of gods decide to send a Deluge to kill all of mankind. In the story of Noah and the Ark, God or Yahwist (God of Israel) is saw that evil was everywhere amongst the earth. Noah’s Ark vs. Gilgamesh Ark. After the rain stops, both Noah and Utnapishtim arks land on a mountain, Mount Ararat for Noah and Mount Nisir for Utnapishtim; both mountains are located in the Middle East, only a few hundred miles apart (Robinson). Utanapishtim, on the other hand, is saved quite literally by wisdom, by obtaining divine knowledge. Utnapishtim sends out three different birds (dove, swallow, raven), whereas Noah sends out two different birds (raven, dove). Just like Noah, Utnapishtim is the survivor of the Deluge. He is tasked by the god Enki to create a giant ship to be called Preserver of Life in preparation of a giant flood that would wipe out all life. The swallow went off, but came back to me….I sent forth a raven and released it. In it, there is an account of the great sage Utnapishtim, who is warned of an imminent flood to be unleashed by wrathful gods. Even with these major changes not considered, there are many dissimilarities that would not be expected from a story copied from another story. In this week’s Parasha, Noah is chosen by God to perpetuate the human race after his wicked contemporaries perish in the flood. Utnapishtim was chosen to survive the great flood out of pure luck by the god Ea. Utnapishtim was chosen to survive the great flood because he was a true worshipper of the god Ea, who came to warn Utnapishtim about the flood. Noah and family were human 7. In the story of Gilgamesh, a man by the name of Utnaptishtim experience the fate Noah had with the flood. Utnapishtim was chosen out of the cleverness of Ea, the god of wisdom and crafts. Now it is time to consider the ship of Noah, commonly known as Noah’s Ark. Utnapishtim vs. Noah. Yahwish was tired of seeing this evilness all around, and it made his heart sad. God favored Noah because he was a righteous man therefore, he was chosen to build the ark that was three hundred cubits long, fifty cubit wide, and thirty cubits high, about three stories. Rabbi Professor David Golinkin, President of The Schechter Institutes, points out that despite the general similarities between the story of Noah and the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh there is a major theological difference between the stories. Even though these stories are very similar, there are differences that are present. In the Epic of Noah, the hero, Noah is sent by God to warn the people and build an ark where he will save a small number of righteous people. “The dove went off, but came back to me…I sent forth a swallow and released it. Because of this, God came to warn him about the flood and told him to build the ark. Utnapishtim tries toconvey to Gilgamesh that these were unusual circumstances that granted he andhis wife immortality and that they could not be repeated. Theism – one God 2. Before Noah: Myths of the Flood Are Far Older Than the Bible. Get an answer for 'Compare and contrast Utnapishtim's description of the great flood with Noah's account. Construction of an Ark in both Epics Text written as historical 4. When Gilgamesh finally meetswith Utnapishtim and is told the story of the Great Flood. Then, Noah and Utnapishtim each send out birds at regular intervals to see if there was any dry land. Begins with an historical timeline of generations leading up to Noah 6. Third, Utnapishtim and Noah save their relatives and samples of species of land animals. Utnapishtim vs. Noah: War of the Ships (Part 2) By Stephen Mitchell . God causes the flood, people we fearful 8. The Differences The Flood of Noah and The Flood of Utnapishtim By Daniel Steele Genesis 1. One of the gods, Ea, went against the decision of the rest of the gods, and told a human, Ut-Napishtim, to build an ark to save a few humans, and some animals. The character appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Noah was the only man on earth who found grace in the eyes of God, and was really good. Because of this, God … Noah was the only man on earth who found grace in the eyes of God, and was really good. He convinced the other gods to completely exterminate every person on Earth as well as land animals and birds with a great flood. Whenbecoming aware of his own mortality and fear of death, Gilgamesh decided toventure out to find the only man that had been granted immortality from theGods for surviving the Great Flood, Utnapishtim. Noah was known under a different name in India, among ancient Egyptians and Native Americans, just to mention a few cultures. 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