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Genesis

About this book

The Flood

Chapter 7

1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark,⁠ you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation.⁠ 2 You must take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, the male and its mate, two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate,⁠ 3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of the entire earth.⁠ 4 For in seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”⁠ 5 And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. 6 Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed the earth. 7 Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because of the floodwaters. 8 Pairs of clean animals, of unclean animals, of birds, and of everything that creeps along the ground,⁠ 9 male and female, came into the ark to Noah, just as God had commanded him. 10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth.⁠ 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month—on⁠ that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.⁠ 12 And the rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights. 13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives.⁠ 14 They entered, along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 16 Those that entered were male and female, just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.⁠ 17 The flood engulfed the earth for 40 days.⁠ As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 18 The waters completely overwhelmed the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters.⁠ 19 The waters completely inundated the earth so that even all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered.⁠ 20 The waters rose more than 20 feet above the mountains. 21 And all living things that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 So the Lord destroyed every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived.⁠ 24 The waters prevailed over the earth for 150 days.

Texts in conversation

Compare Epic of Gilgamesh XI 92 and Genesis 7:11

Ancient Near East, Babylonian · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh describe a flood with sealed vessels, driving rain, and chaotic waters. The similarities highlight the connection between Mesopotamian and biblical flood stories, each with its own focus.

Passages

Epic of Gilgamesh XI 92

Ancient Near East, Babylonian
87 Šamaš had set me a deadline– 88 “In the morning he will rain down bread-cakes on us, in the evening a torrent of wheat. 89 Go into the boat and seal your hatch!”– 90 “That time had arrived: 91 “In the morning he will rain down bread-cakes, in the evening, a torrent of wheat.” 92 I watched the look of the weather: 93 The weather was frightening to see; 94 I went into the boat and sealed my hatch. 95 To the man who sealed the boat, to the ship-wright Puzur-Enlil, 96 I gave the palace with all its goods. 97 At the very first light of dawn– 98 there came up from the horizon a black cloud, 99 within it did Adad bellow continually. 100 Šullat and Haniš were going at the fore, 101 “throne-bearers” travelling over mountain and land. 102 Errakal was ripping out the mooring poles; 103 Ninurta, as he went, made the weirs overflow. 104 The Anunnaki bore torches aloft, 105 setting the land aglow with their brilliance. 106 The still calm of the storm-god passed against the sky, 107 all that was bright was turned into gloom.
2100 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Epic of Gilgamesh

Genesis 7:11

Hebrew Bible
10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month—on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And the rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights. 13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

References

"... The causes which the Genesis version assigns to the diluvial catastrophe are torrential rains from heaven and the eruption of the subterranean waters (Genesis 7:11–12). The destructive forces listed on the Sumerian tablet are the amaru, meaning “rainstorm,” “rain flood,” or “cloudburst,” and mighty winds. These two elements, accompanied by thunder and lightning, are mentioned again in the Gilgamesh Epic, where they are referred to under the designations shamûtu kibâti, “destructive rain,” shāru, “wind,” meḥû, “tempest,” “southstorm”, rēdu, “downpour,” abûbu, “rainstorm,” or “rain flood,” and imḫullu, “evil wind,” or “storm.” In addition, there is a reference to the breaking of the dikes of the canals and reservoirs, which was caused by the violent rise of the rivers (Epic of Gilgamesh XI:90–131) ..."
Alexander Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1973), 240.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Epic of Gilgamesh XI 92 and Genesis 7:11

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