Flood in The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Flood in Genesis
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The flood story in the epic of Gilgamesh holds many similarities to that found in Genesis. Both include human beings being wiped out by a massive flood. Both have a higher being or beings as the architect of the world-wide genocide. There also exist differences between the two accounts. This essay will outline the extent to which the two stories 'agree' and 'disagree.'
The first point of importance is the method of the execution. Both involve a deluge of colossal proportions; enough that it should drown and kill the entire earth. However, the rain in Genesis lasted for 40 days and 40 nights, the actual waters not receding till months later, while the flood of Gilgamesh lasted only 6 days. One could consider this to be a very large difference between the stories, but when looking at the big picture, one realizes that the number is not important. Rather, the fact that a flood of that magnitude had never occurred before and will never occur again is what one should examine...