Sceptics claim that the flood story in Genesis was sourced from the Babylonian story, ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ (The Epic). Yes, there are similarities, but there are also many differences. The Epic is an evolved text that has changed over the centuries to suit the culture of the day. Further, both Genesis and The Epic appear to have completely different aims.
When looking at both texts to see if they are directly related, it seems the answer is no. So how do both accounts have a similar story about a flood, a boat, and a dove? The answer can be explained if The Epic is based on a memory of the great flood which was passed down orally in tradition.
In history, Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk and Abraham lived in the neighbouring town of Ur. Thus both would have been familiar with the story of the flood. Perhaps the flood account found in The Epic was written not too long after the flood? And because it is an evolved text that has changed over the centuries and millennia, it differs from the biblical account of the flood. It also looks like The Epic is a fluid story that has changed many times in history whereas Genesis is written in the style of a historical document.
The Epic was written in Sumerian cuneiform writing with some estimates placing it as early as 3,300 B.C. It must be noted however that the flood account itself was added in much later. While Genesis was supposedly written by Moses around 1450 – 1410 B.C. Many believe Genesis to be inspired by God, thus it would be closer to the truth depending on faithful translations of the text. Regardless, there are many cultures around the world that talk of a great flood. So The Epic would be no different to those accounts, except that it happens to be the oldest recorded version of the flood story. A story that likely lived large in the memory of people for a time after the cataclysm and spawned a host of what we call flood myths found all over the world.
