Parallels between Noah's Ark, the Epic of Gilgamesh, etc.

[kenan]

I wanted to ask a question about the parallels between the stories of Noah's Ark, the Epic of Gilgamesh and a number of other ancient deluge stories. My question is basically that, since Gilgamesh was written so long before Genesis was, could there have been plagiarism issues a foot? And wouldn't that tarnish the book of Genesis as not being divinely inspired but simply copied.

Examples:
"I opened the window" Gilgamesh XI,135
"Noah opened the window of the ark" Genesis 8:6

"The dove went out and returned" Gilgamesh XI,147
"sent forth the dove and the dove came back to him" Genesis 8:10b-11

"I sent forth a raven" Gilgamesh XI,152
"Noah... sent forth a raven" Genesis 8:7

"The gods smelled the sweet savor" Gilgamesh XI,160
"And the Lord smelled the sweet savor..." Genesis 8:21

"On Mount Nisir the boat grounded" Gilgamesh XI,140
"the ark came to rest upon the mountains" Genesis 8:4

"The cattle of the field, the beast of the plain" Gilgamesh XI,85
"clean animals and of animals that are not clean" Genesis 7:8

"into the ship all my family and relatives" Gilgamesh XI,84
"Go into the ark, you and all your household" Genesis 7:1

"pitch I poured into the inside" Gilgamesh XI,66
"cover it inside and out with pitch" Genesis 6:14

"And offered a sacrifice" Gilgamesh XI,155
"offered burnt offerings on the altar" Genesis 8:20

"I shall remember these days and never forget" Gilgamesh XI,165
"I shall remember my covenant...I may remember" Genesis 9:15-16

"he touched our foreheads to bless us" Gilgamesh XI,192
"And God blessed Noah" Genesis 9:1

I copied and pasted them from a religious debate which is going on on another forum, over whether God exists or not. I briefly joined and left quickly because no one seemed interested to hear what I said and used the "illogical" argument against me.

Anyway, can someone shed some light on this for me?

 

[GojuBrian]

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/ar ... uction.asp

http://www.religioustolerance.org/noah_com.htm

The Babylonian tablets which contain the full story of the flood have been dated circa 650 BCE. However, portions of the story have been found on tablets from about 2000 BCE. A study of the language used in the tablets indicates that the story originated much earlier than 2000 BCE. 3 Variations of the original story have been found translated into other ancient languages. 4

Many conservative Christians believe that the flood occurred circa 2349 BCE, and that the account in Genesis was written by Moses in the 1450's BCE, shortly before his death. 5,8 Thus, the Babylonian text must be a corrupted version based on a Paganized adaptation of the true story in Genesis. Alternatively, it might be an independent attempt at describing the world-wide flood.

 

[inhopeofglory]

A quick note which ought to make it obvious which came first...

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the "ark" is a cube. In Genesis, the Ark has the perfect dimensions (the ratio of length-to-width) for a large sea-going barge-like ship.

Now, how well does a cube sit in the water? That should give you your answer...

 

[Sinthesis]

Similarities don't bother me; differences might.

 

[kenan]

Thus, the Babylonian text must be a corrupted version based on a Paganized adaptation of the true story in Genesis. Alternatively, it might be an independent attempt at describing the world-wide flood.

I think the second option is the more feasible given that one can't create a corrupted version of a document that hasn't yet been written.

It only occurred to me today as I was thinking about this that the same event would've affected people beyond the near east.