R&I – FS
Of course there were floods in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago. Some of them may well have inundated the land in that region.
To those living there, it may have seemed as if the water covered their whole world.
Utnapishtim’s Flood In Gilgamesh
“This chapter consists of the story that Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh. It begins in Shurrupak, a city built along the Euphrates river. The city was growing quickly. The god Enlil hears the sounds of the city and complains that it’s impossible to sleep because of all the noise. The gods agree to wipe out all the mortals. Enlil attempts to do so, but the god Ea appears in Utnapishtim’s dream and warns him to take apart his house and build a boat of specific dimensions.
“With his children and hired men, Utnapishtim builds the enormous boat with seven decks, packing it with supplies.
“For six days and nights, the storm rages on. At dawn of the seventh day, the storm ends and the sea becomes calm. Utnapishtim opens the hatch of his boat and sees an endless sea around him. But he also sees a mountain rising out of the water fourteen leagues away. For six days and six nights the boat sails toward the mountain, and on the seventh dawn Utnapishtim releases a dove into the air. The dove returns, having not found a place to land. Then Utnapishtim releases a swallow, and it too returns. But then Utnapishtim releases a raven that eats and keeps flying, and does not come back”
Questions
- Is Utnapishtim the same person as Noah?
- Did the Bible use the Gilgamesh narrative to seed its own story?
- Do you think there really was a flood of the nature indicated in ancient myth?
Verisimilitude
Article URL : https://ncse.ngo/yes-noahs-flood-may-have-happened-not-over-whole-earth