Epic of Gilgamesh

Located on your left, halfway down the hall.

 

Gilgamesh was King of Uruk, and the earliest account of his tale is dated around 1800 BC. Some argue the Epic was source material for Moses.

In the Epic, Gilgamesh finds Utnapishtim, who was told by a god to build a boat to survive a global flood that killed all of mankind. The flood was caused by mans’ sins, there was only one door in the boat, and the boat was covered in pitch. At the end of the flood, they released birds to find land, landed on a mountain, and sacrificed animals. It is possible that this was written by someone who could have met Noah – Noah did live for 350 years after the flood. (Genesis 9:28), even during the time of Tower of Babel and Nimrod (founder of Uruk).

It is interesting the similarities between Genesis and the Epic. But given problems with the boat dimensions (as shown at Ark Encounter), it appears the Epic borrowed from Genesis.

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