The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew Bible Essay

Introduction

The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew Bible illustrate the origin of the world and the coexistence between mortals and gods. However, while both pieces seem to be primary sources and share many similarities, there are many differences. Gods in the Epic strive to dominate humans and the Hebrew Bible illustrates God as a powerful force that respects mankind and desires to teach it and administer justice.

Discussion

First, the Sumerian hero Gilgamesh encounters Utnapishtim who speaks of a flood, and in the Book of Genesis, there is an account of the flood as well. However, there are differences between the two creations. The first dissimilarity is the relationship between the gods and people. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, deities and humans share an improbable bond (Kozlova, 2021). One of the “great gods,” Ea, shared the plan to flood in order to save Utnapishtim (The Epic of Gilgamesh, 1989, p. 97). The Epic shows the self-interest of the god since she wants to protect only this man and asks him to tell everyone that he will “live with my lord Ea” (The Epic of Gilgamesh, 1989, p. 98). Yet, in the Hebrew Bible, one God refers to humans as “sons”, and his interaction with them is based on administering justice (Holy Bible, 2013, p. 10). When God saw the sins people committed, he decided to restore righteousness through the flood and punish the children.

The second difference is the purpose of Gods in the Epic and Bible. In the Epic, god’s purpose is to flood the earth so that they can rest since the noise of humans “prickled their ears” (The Epic of Gilgamesh, 1989, p.23). On the other hand, the Hebrew Bible indicates that God strives to help humans via flood and as the Lord put it: “I will strengthen you and help you” (Holy Bible, 2013, p.507). The Hebrew Bible says that the purpose of the Lord is to create new pure mankind and never afflict pain upon anyone.

Conclusion

Hence, in the Epic, gods influence people, in contrast to the Hebrew Bible, where there is only one God who helps humanity while being omnipotent. The Hebrew Bible describes a single God who acts as a guardian and judge. Meanwhile, The Epic of Gilgamesh talks about the inequality between gods and mankind. This indicates the supremacy of Gods in the Epic and just force as a God in the Hebrew Bible.

References

Holy Bible. (2013). Zondervan.

Kozlova, E. E. (2021). Acedia, ‘Bourgeois Ennui’, and kingship in the Hebrew Bible and The Epic of Gilgamesh. The Journal of Theological Studies, 72(2), 539-579.

The Epic of Gilgamesh. (1989). Stanford University Press.