Gilgamesh Flood Story Vs. Genesis Flood Story.

Essay by CryoKillSwitchCollege, Undergraduate September 2003

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The amazing stories of the great flood that are described in, The Epic of Gilgamesh which is translated by N.K. Sandars and ""The Story of the Flood"" which is the King James version, both stories similarly. Many of the events of each story are very similar in ways and very different in some of them. From reading both stories I concluded that there was a huge flood that took place in that area of the world. Even though the way both stories describe the flood; The Epic of Gilgamesh is more imaginable. I say that because it is more realistic to have rain for six days, six nights than for forty days, forty nights. Both flood stories have a major similarity and difference though. Both stories described the same flood but they did it in different ways. One difference that backs it up is in The Epic of Gilgamesh the rains that cause the floods only last six days, six nights and in ""The Flood Story in Genesis"" the rains last forty days, forty nights.

A quote that tells about the flood is when Utnapishtim said, ""For six days and six nights the wind blew, torrent and tempest and flood overwhelmed the world, tempest and flood raged together like warring hosts (pg. 25)."" This quote by Utnapishtim describes how bad the weather, rains, and wind were during the six days and six nights of the storm. On the other hand in ""The Story of the Flood"" it rained for forty days, forty nights. While God was talking to Noah he said, ""For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth (pg. 48...