3 differences of the flood stories

There are many differences in the Genesis flood story, and the Epic of Gilgamesh flood story, but there were three that really stood out.

1.  Reason for the flood

The reasons for the flood in the two different flood stories are different.  In the Genesis flood story, the wickedness of the earth had become so grotesque that God had to destroy the earth.  It says, “And God saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth...And the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth: both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air: for it repenteth me that I have made them.”  But in the Epic of Gilgamesh flood story, the gods simply are annoyed by the “clamour” of the people, and they cannot sleep.  The narrative says, “‘The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of the bable.’  So the gods agreed to exterminate mankind.”

2.  Length of the flood

Another difference is the length of the floods in the two stories.  In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the flood is six days and six nights long.  “For six days and six nights the winds blew, torrent and flood raged together like warring hosts.”  In the Genesis flood story, the flood is forty days long.  “And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased, and bare up the ark…”

3.  How animal life was preserved

In the Genesis story,  Noah took two of each animal...male and female.  “And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee: they shall be male and female.”  The Epic of Gilgamesh however is different.  It says, “...then take up into the boat the seed of all living creatures.”

These three differences are the most important, because they are the most important parts of the stories.  The reason for the flood tells us the purpose behinds why God (or the gods) destroyed man from the earth and started over.  Without this the stories would have completely different meanings; man would have been destroyed without a purpose.  The number of days that the floods were upon the earth is important because they are so much different.  The flood in Genesis was almost a month longer than that in the Epic of Gilgamesh.  Lastly, how life was preserved is important, because that explains how the world is today. Without this information, we would be left to wonder how the animals survived the flood.