There are few myths that are as prevalent in all societies and religions as the myth of a great flood that washes clean the earth and cleanses it of evil and sin. As Frank Lorey (p. 1) explains, ôThere have been numerous flood stories identified from ancient sources scattered around the world. The stories that were discovered on cuneiform tablets, which comprise some of the earliest surviving writing, have obvious similarities.ö Two of the oldest and most identical accounts of flood mythology in the Ancient Near East come from the Hebrew version provided in the Book of Genesis in The Old Testament and the collection of Sumerian poems about a hero-king known as Gilgamesh. In Hebrews 11:7, we are provided a view of Noah as reverent toward God and the heir of all that is righteous, ôBy faith Noah, / Being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear / prepared an ark to the saving of his house: / by the which he condemned the world, / and became heir of the righteousness / which is by faith.ö We are told this before we are provided with an account of the flood that will be provided in the Book of Genesis.
Likewise, we are provided with the knowledge very early on in Gilgamesh that we are going to be hearing the tale of a heroic individual. He has wit and intelligence, saw secret things and obtained knowledge of hidden things, survived a long and tiring journey, and participated in great deeds that only a superhuman might achieve. We are told that Gilgamesh was a ôvaliant godö with a ôperfected form,ö (Sandars, 1960, pp. 30; 34). However, it is not Gilgamesh who will play a Noah-like role in this Babylonian epic. Like Genesis, there will be a great flood described in Gilgamesh. In Genesis, Noah is selected to save lives and animals while in Gilgamesh the God Ea selects Utnapishtim.
Obviously the paganism in Gilgamesh contrasts with the monotheism presented in The Old Testament, for Gilgamesh is a g...