The Epic of Gilgamesh is a literary work in the form of a poem traced to ancient Mesopotamia. It is believed to be one of the earliest literary pieces in the history of the world. It was authored originally in the Sumerian Cuneiform language dated between 2700BCE to 2500 BCE. The protagonist of the myth is one Gilgamesh, an ancient ruler, and warrior who ruled the city-state of Uruk. He is revered for having built the magnificent temples and massive walls of Uruk (Gardner & Maier 1984). The Old Testament, on the other hand, is widely borrowed from Torah which was the Jewish religious beliefs perpetuated by oral tradition.
The epic of Gilgamesh is dated 3700 years old though the oral version is believed to have emerged into the literary scenes in 2100 BCE. The biblical story of Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt into Canaan is supposed to have transpired between 1300-1200 BCE. Going by the presumption that the dates provided are accurate, the Epic of Gilgamesh seems to have predated the Bible by approximately 800 to 900 years. Though it is highly disputed, some liberal religious scholars have alluded to the fact that the Biblical narratives and especially those in the Old Testament may have borrowed significantly from the Epic Gilgamesh (Rehwinkel, 1951).
One of the biblical stories believed to have been influenced by the Epic of Gilgamesh is the story of the flood share striking resemblance. In the biblical account of Genesis 6:13, God intended to destroy the earth due to pervasive human wickedness. In Table XI: 9-14, Utnapishtim reveals to Gilgamesh that he had dreamt of the imminent destruction of the city of Shuruppak by the assembly of gods due to the sinful nature of its inhabitants. One of the gods complains that due to the incoherent noises (babel) being made by human beings, he is unable to sleep well.
As the looming destruction unfolds, in Genesis 14-16, Noah is instructed by Yahweh to build an Ark. The ark is to be a haven for Noah and his family. Noah and his family are saved due to his righteousness. Similarly, in the Epic of Gilgamesh under Tablet XI 24 and 28-30, the gods reveal to Utanapishtim, a righteous man of the impending destruction in a dream. He is further instructed to tear down the house at Shuruppak and to consequently build a boat which was to act as a haven.
Still, in the same narrative of the floods, it is observed in the book of Genesis 7: 11 of the Bible and Tablet XI 145-154 of the poem that birds are sent out after the storm to confirm whether the land has dried up so that they would alight from the vessels. There is, however, a slight difference in that the biblical flood took 40 days and nights while the one in the Epic of Gilgamesh took six days and nights.
Besides the story of Noah and the flood, we also come across the story of the magic plant in Tablet XI 285-289 of the Epic and the tree of life in the Genesis 2: 17. In the Epic, the tree had the powers to confer person immortality. Gilgamesh is his quest for Immortality after having seen Enkidu die. Gilgamesh is told that whoever partakes of that tree shall become young again. Though the two stories are not exactly similar, the theme of immortality repeats itself, and the serpent seems to be blameworthy for the misery that befalls man afterward in his quest for immortality as recorded in Genesis 3 1-6.
Over and above the two biblical counts, another fascinating story in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament is the story of the downfall of Samson found in Judges 16 and the story of Enkidu. Enkidu has a lot of powers which he was to use to fight Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh had become an oppressive ruler, and thus, his people cried to the gods that they redeem from the capricious whims and autocratic tendencies of Gilgamesh. Like in the story of Samson where Delilah was used by the Philistines to defeat Samson, in the story of Gilgamesh who was the enemy to be defeated, a harlot known as Shamhat was used to distract him. Gilgamesh used Shamhat who slept with Enkidu for six days. By the time he came to his senses, the wild beasts he had befriended had abandoned him. Gilgamesh thus defeated Enkidu despite his profound strength by using a woman.
Bibliography
Gardner, John & Maier, John.Gilgamesh. New York: Knopf Publishing, 1984.
Rehwinkel, Alfred M., The Flood in the Light of the Bible, Geology, and Archaeology.
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing, 1951.
The Bible: Old Testament. King James Version.
The Epic of Gilgamesh: 2700 BCE – 2500 BCE.
