Contrast the Epic of Gilgamesh With the Book of Genesis From the Hebrew Bible Essay

The Epic of Gilgamesh remains one of the most iconic literary works to come out of the Mesopotamian literature at the height of the civilization that was prevalent in the then Middle East society. The epic remains a unique book of literature due to its numerous similarities and differences to the biblical first book of Genesis. Various stories found throughout the Epic of Gilgamesh are also surprisingly present in the holy book. The distinct themes and motifs that one can find in the text resonate with the themes contained in the Hebrew scriptures written in the book of Genesis. This essay will delve in detail to make a comparison and contrast between the legendary epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament first book of Genesis.

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The leading comparison between the two texts is the flood story that is captured in both the epic and the Bible. The story of flooding in the Epic of Gilgamesh has similar undertones to the biblical tale of Noah and the Ark during the floods as told in chapters 6 to 9 of Genesis (Levine). Differences revolving around the flood include the fact in the case of the Epic of Gilgamesh, there was a pantheon of gods which shows a multiplicity of the deities. These gods do not have a shred of holiness in them. Gilgamesh used a six-decked boat measuring 120 by 120 cubits while it was made of wood with poles for punting. This is unlike in the case of Noah and his ark in the book of Genesis where monotheism is boldly emphasized. The God talked about in Genesis is deemed to be mighty, powerful, and holy. Noah utilized a three-decked boat measuring 350 by 50 cubits and made of cypress wood without punting poles.

Other evident differences between the two books with regard to the flood incident include the fact that the Gilgamesh boats had its cargo as family, workers, relatives, and all the livestock he had; in addition to wine, gold, oil, silver, and beer. Gilgamesh had the flood incident take place either in a big river or i the open seas. When it came to closing the door of the boat, the Epic of Gilgamesh had the boat master close the door from inwards during the floods. Furthermore, the flooding that transpired in the epic happened within a period of six days. At the end of this period, the Gilgamesh boat eventually came to a halt at Mount Nimush. Once the boat was grounded, Gilgamesh set forth a dove, then a swallow, and finally a raven in that exact order to establish whether the flooded waters had receded. All the victims from the floods in the epic were turned into clay and the entire flood incident ends up with the deities arguing with each other in futility.

Noah's ark was loaded with his immediate family members who numbered eight individuals and all the animals created that had a living breath at the time. The flood of Noah took place on the water that had covered all over the world due to the continuous rains that engulfed the universe. Noah did not have the problem of having to lock the boat door or having a boat master do it for him because the door of the ark was tightly shut from the outside by God Himself. God's wrath rained on the people causing havoc and floods all over the globe that lasted for a duration of 150 days. Noah's ark grounded at a different place from the boat of Gilgamesh because it ended up at Mount Ararat. The order of the birds that Noah sent out once the boat came to a halt were three doves in succession. No one apart from the ark's occupants survived the floods as they all drowned from the high water levels. The floods ended up with God establishing a covenant with human beings, his ultimate creation.

Another peculiar similarity between the epic and the Hebrew account captured by the book of Genesis is the presence of similar characters. This is the character of Gilgamesh who possesses a plant of immortality. There is a serpent that is after thwarting the character's possession of the plant. This is similar to the plot depicted in the third chapter of the book of Genesis. He is also attacked by an assailant at night with whom Gilgamesh wrestles until the divine assailant recognizes his identity. The divine assailant then proceeds to proclaim that Gilgamesh will prevail over all the other people in the future. This is strikingly similar to the contents of Genesis where one of the Hebrew characters deals with a special plant and also happens to be attacked by a divine- orchestrated assailant. This is a similar situation to when Abraham in the book of Genesis finds himself when the Lord tells him that he will sire a son and become the father of all nations. There also facets of the two books that are in contrast to each other. For instance, Gilgamesh had it all as a creation of the gods because he behaved and lived like a god. He even got involved with any woman of his liking in the firm belief that he would have a long life here on earth. It is not until the death of his closest friend that he begins to realize that life is fickle and he starts yearning to live forever. This is in contrast to the life of Abraham which was simple and whose legacy was promised through his son Isaac. His humility does not compare to the egoistic character of Gilgamesh in the epic.

Conclusion

The other contrast between the two texts is the Tower of Babel which has been used to bring out the underlying differences in the two texts (Puchner). In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the transition towards a city life from living in the wild is seen as a huge progressive leap in the then society. This was their move to the city of Uruk. Uruk was a mighty fortress that was constructed for protection purposes and prove the strength of Gilgamesh as a symbol of power. The Tower of Babel, on the other hand, was a vertical structure constructed with the aim of climbing it up and appeasing heavenly God. The city that appears in the book of Genesis is manifested through the Tower of Babel which was destroyed by God and was duly flattened. The people who had constructed it started speaking different languages and they could not understand each other. Speaking the different dialects served to scatter the descendants of Abraham into diverse language speakers while Uruk served as a founding city for Gilgamesh family and relatives. The two cities were constructed for obviously totally different purposes.

Works Cited

Levine, R. S. (2017). The Norton anthology of American literature: Volume B. New York: W. W. Norton & Company

Puchner, M. (2012). The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.