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Religion

In reply to the discussion: God breaks his promise [View all]

VMA131Marine

(4,810 posts)
30. The Bible flood story has amazing similarity to the flood story in the Epic Of Gilgamesh,
Fri Nov 30, 2018, 01:39 PM
Nov 2018

which substantially predates it. It's a derivative work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgamesh_flood_myth

Ea leaks the secret plan
Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh a secret story that begins in the old city of Shuruppak on the banks of the Euphrates River.
The "great gods" Anu, Enlil, Ninurta, Ennugi, and Ea were sworn to secrecy about their plan to cause the flood.
But the god Ea (Sumerian god Enki) repeated the plan to Utnapishtim through a reed wall in a reed house.
Ea commanded Utnapishtim to demolish his house and build a boat, regardless of the cost, to keep living beings alive.
The boat must have equal dimensions with corresponding width and length and be covered over like Apsu boats.
Utnapishtim promised to do what Ea commanded.
He asked Ea what he should say to the city elders and the population.
Ea tells him to say that Enlil has rejected him and he can no longer reside in the city or set foot in Enlil's territory.
He should also say that he will go down to the Apsu "to live with my lord Ea".
Note: 'Apsu' can refer to a fresh water marsh near the temple of Ea/Enki at the city of Eridu.[9]
Ea will provide abundant rain, a profusion of fowl and fish, and a wealthy harvest of wheat and bread.


Building and launching the boat
Carpenters, reed workers, and other people assembled one morning.
[missing lines]
Five days later, Utnapishtim laid out the exterior walls of the boat of 120 cubits.
The sides of the superstructure had equal lengths of 120 cubits. He also made a drawing of the interior structure.
The boat had six decks [?] divided into seven and nine compartments.
Water plugs were driven into the middle part.
Punting poles and other necessary things were laid in.
Three times 3,600 units of raw bitumen were melted in a kiln and three times 3,600 units of oil were used in addition to two times 3,600 units of oil that were stored in the boat.
Oxen and sheep were slaughtered and ale, beer, oil, and wine were distributed to the workmen, like at a new year's festival.
When the boat was finished, the launching was very difficult. A runway of poles was used to slide the boat into the water.
Two-thirds of the boat was in the water.
Utnapishtim loaded his silver and gold into the boat.
He loaded "all the living beings that I had."
His relatives and craftsmen, and "all the beasts and animals of the field" boarded the boat.
The time arrived, as stated by the god Shamash, to seal the entry door.


The storm
Early in the morning at dawn a black cloud arose from the horizon.
The weather was frightful.
Utnapishtim boarded the boat and entrusted the boat and its contents to his boatmaster Puzurammurri who sealed the entry.
The thunder god Adad rumbled in the cloud and storm gods Shullar and Hanish went over mountains and land.
Erragal pulled out the mooring poles and the dikes overflowed.
The Annunnaki gods lit up the land with their lightning.
There was stunned shock at Adad's deeds which turned everything to blackness. The land was shattered like a pot.
All day long the south wind blew rapidly and the water overwhelmed the people like an attack.
No one could see his fellows. They could not recognize each other in the torrent.
The gods were frightened by the flood, and retreated up to the Anu heaven. They cowered like dogs lying by the outer wall.
Ishtar shrieked like a woman in childbirth.
The Mistress of the gods wailed that the old days had turned to clay because "I said evil things in the Assembly of the Gods, ordering a catastrophe to destroy my people who fill the sea like fish."
The other gods were weeping with her and sat sobbing with grief, their lips burning, parched with thirst.
The flood and wind lasted six days and six nights, flattening the land.
On the seventh day, the storm was pounding [intermittently?] like a woman in labor.


Calm after the storm
The sea calmed and the whirlwind and flood stopped. All day long there was quiet. All humans had turned to clay.
The terrain was as flat as a roof top. Utnapishtim opened a window and felt fresh air on his face.
He fell to his knees and sat weeping, tears streaming down his face. He looked for coastlines at the horizon and saw a region of land.
The boat lodged firmly on mount Nimush which held the boat for several days, allowing no swaying.
On the seventh day he released a dove which flew away, but came back to him. He released a swallow, but it also came back to him.
He released a raven which was able to eat and scratch, and did not circle back to the boat.
He then sent his livestock out in various directions.


The sacrifice
He sacrificed a sheep and offered incense at a mountainous ziggurat where he placed 14 sacrificial vessels and poured reeds, cedar, and myrtle into the fire.
The gods smelled the sweet odor of the sacrificial animal and gathered like flies over the sacrifice.
Then the great goddess arrived, lifted up her flies (beads), and said
"Ye gods, as surely as I shall not forget this lapis lazuli [amulet] around my neck, I shall be mindful of these days and never forget them! The gods may come to the sacrificial offering. But Enlil may not come, because he brought about the flood and annihilated my people without considering [the consequences]."
When Enlil arrived, he saw the boat and became furious at the Igigi gods. He said "Where did a living being escape? No man was to survive the annihilation!"
Ninurta spoke to Enlil saying "Who else but Ea could do such a thing? It is Ea who knew all of our plans."
Ea spoke to Enlil saying "It was you, the Sage of the Gods. How could you bring about a flood without consideration?"
Ea then accuses Enlil of sending a disproportionate punishment, and reminds him of the need for compassion.
Ea denies leaking the god's secret plan to Atrahasis (= Utnapishtim), admitting only sending him a dream and deflecting Enlil's attention to the flood hero.

The flood hero and his wife are granted immortality and transported far away
He then boards a boat and grasping Utnapishtim's hand, helps him and his wife aboard where they kneel. Standing between Utnapishtim and his wife, he touches their foreheads and blesses them. "Formerly Utnapishtim was a human being, but now he and his wife have become gods like us. Let Utnapishtim reside far away, at the mouth of the rivers."
Utnapishtim and his wife are transported and settled at the "mouth of the rivers".

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0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

God breaks his promise [View all] Cartoonist Nov 2018 OP
You have retold ... TwistOneUp Nov 2018 #1
The flood is a metaphor for cleansing. guillaumeb Nov 2018 #2
Sez who, Guy? MineralMan Nov 2018 #3
I just did. guillaumeb Nov 2018 #4
All that really proves is fundamentalists are more honest Major Nikon Nov 2018 #10
So you claim a special insight into what the writers intended? guillaumeb Nov 2018 #15
Are you trying to be funny, because this is a special kind of funny Major Nikon Nov 2018 #17
So yes, your response confirms it. guillaumeb Nov 2018 #20
Strawman bullshit doesn't do your argument any favors Major Nikon Nov 2018 #25
Your words defeat this response: guillaumeb Nov 2018 #26
So now you're trying to pretend I meant something other than exactly what I said Major Nikon Nov 2018 #29
And now you revert back to your preferred response. guillaumeb Nov 2018 #33
The revision and argument that followed was yours Major Nikon Nov 2018 #37
Stick with the gif(t). guillaumeb Nov 2018 #40
I'd rather you just continue to explain what I meant as that shit is hilarious Major Nikon Nov 2018 #41
Better. guillaumeb Nov 2018 #42
Try to stay focused Major Nikon Nov 2018 #43
We may argue exactly what the intent of certain statements are. marylandblue Nov 2018 #52
And there are arguments as to what that "literal" interpretation is. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #54
Which is not what I said marylandblue Dec 2018 #62
Apologetics don't cut it, Guy. MineralMan Nov 2018 #12
And you are the definer of what the writers intended? guillaumeb Nov 2018 #16
But you already declared yourself the definer. trotsky Nov 2018 #18
Nah, he's claiming "history" defined it as "metaphorical" Major Nikon Nov 2018 #19
The answer is here: guillaumeb Nov 2018 #21
Nope, no answer there. trotsky Nov 2018 #36
Too easy. But thank you anyway. guillaumeb Nov 2018 #38
Yeah, the correct one Major Nikon Nov 2018 #46
I'll agree with you on your last phrase. trotsky Dec 2018 #68
See #46. MN agrees with my view. guillaumeb Nov 2018 #47
I agreed that a reasonable person will arrive at a conclusion Major Nikon Nov 2018 #48
That isn't what this is about. trotsky Dec 2018 #69
No. I'm an analyst of what the writings say. MineralMan Nov 2018 #22
And many analysts support the view that the use of water as a metaphor guillaumeb Nov 2018 #23
Let's see some links, Guy. MineralMan Dec 2018 #55
#4 guillaumeb Dec 2018 #56
No, my dear Guillaume, I saw that one. Random essays from blog sites MineralMan Dec 2018 #57
OK. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #58
I understand your need to deflect from the question. MineralMan Dec 2018 #59
I understand your need to frame and control the dialogue. eom guillaumeb Dec 2018 #60
My screen name appears about 6 times in the list of replies to this thread. MineralMan Dec 2018 #61
Water has more than one meaning in the Bible. marylandblue Dec 2018 #63
The Bible flood story has amazing similarity to the flood story in the Epic Of Gilgamesh, VMA131Marine Nov 2018 #30
Yes, so it does... MineralMan Nov 2018 #32
There's also numerous other flood myths that pre-dated Major Nikon Nov 2018 #44
Correct! VMA131Marine Nov 2018 #45
Find the place in that article where it talks about edhopper Nov 2018 #13
Everything on that link is about washing and drinking water marylandblue Nov 2018 #49
Water cleanses sin. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #53
Well sure. In the specific case of the flood Voltaire2 Dec 2018 #64
A metaphoric slaughter? guillaumeb Dec 2018 #65
Sure, a metaphoric slaughter. Voltaire2 Dec 2018 #66
Nobody is arguing that the flood narrative is literal marylandblue Dec 2018 #67
It can't be, as your allegation is illogical. TwistOneUp Nov 2018 #5
Your framing lacks nuance. guillaumeb Nov 2018 #6
I'm glad someone knows exactly what everything in the Bible means... uriel1972 Nov 2018 #7
He doesn't know any better than anyone else Major Nikon Nov 2018 #9
I identified this as my opinion. guillaumeb Nov 2018 #24
"The flood is a metaphor for cleansing." Major Nikon Nov 2018 #28
Each of my responses is not a separate treatise on my world view. guillaumeb Nov 2018 #31
When someone claims something "is" something, that IS an assertion of fact Major Nikon Nov 2018 #34
As to accuracy, guillaumeb Nov 2018 #35
Keep digging Major Nikon Nov 2018 #39
When has floodwater ever been a metaphor for cleansing? marylandblue Nov 2018 #50
Floods are wet aren't they? Major Nikon Nov 2018 #51
It is because gil decided it is. trotsky Dec 2018 #70
"his opinion is better" He has convinced himself. MineralMan Dec 2018 #71
It's not that his opinion is better than others, marylandblue Dec 2018 #72
You lack honesty Major Nikon Nov 2018 #8
Your argument is false. I call BS. TwistOneUp Nov 2018 #11
Ok. guillaumeb Nov 2018 #14
Technically he is correct? HopeAgain Nov 2018 #27
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