Skip to content

featuring historical research, writing, and media at st. mary's university

  • World History

    World History

    Menu
    • World History
    • Pre-Classical History (to 600 BCE)
    • Classical History (600 BCE-600 CE)
    • Post-Classical History (600 CE-1492 CE)
    • Early Modern History (1492-1789)
    • Modern History (1789-1914)
    • Global History (1900-present)

    From the Ancient World

    Prehistoric Life, Medicine, and Its Dangers

    Posted by Ian Mcewen04/16/2021

    From the Modern World

    Rwanda Climbs One Hill After Another, But Can It Politically Transition Without Falling?

    Posted by Raul Colunga04/18/2021

    Regional Histories

    Menu
    • African and African American Studies
    • Latin American Studies
  • US History

    Early America

    Menu
    • US-Three Worlds Meet (to 1620)
    • US-Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763)
    • US-Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
    • US-Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
    • US-Civil War & Reconstruction (1850-1877)

    Tesla and the War of the Currents

    Posted by S. Michael Sleeter04/13/2019

    Jonas Salk: Discovering The Shot that Saved the World - 20th century Polio Virus Epidemic

    Posted by Jeremiah Durand11/13/2019

    Can We All Get Along?: The Fight Against Police Brutality

    Posted by Lindsey Ogle11/23/2020

    In the Shadows: Undocumented Life and Human Rights Abuses in the U.S.

    Posted by Manuel Rodriguez11/30/2020

    Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor

    Posted by Shriji Lalji12/02/2020

    El Español y las Oportunidades Comerciales en EE. UU.

    Posted by Danielle Costly11/12/2020

    Soñar Como Sonia

    Posted by Kayla Sultemeier12/02/2020

    World's Best Boss: Steve Carell and His Journey to Becoming Michael Scott

    Posted by Cristianna Tovar12/10/2019

    Bullying gone Technological: The Tragic Death of Megan Meier

    Posted by Arsema Abera03/29/2020

    CARELESS: Excluding DACA Recipients from the Covid-19 CARES Act

    Posted by Genesis Vera11/30/2020

    Impaled: The Impossible Story of Phineas Gage

    Posted by Isabella Torres10/01/2019

    From Child to Commodore: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Became The Commodore

    Posted by Aaron Sandoval05/04/2020

    The Impossible Record: The Legend Behind Babe Ruth's 1927 Season

    Posted by Jake Mares10/31/2019

    Outlaw Road Racing: Taking the Legendary Cannonball Run at Breakneck Speed

    Posted by Stephen Talik05/01/2020

    Lydia Mendoza, a Pioneer in Mexican Popular Culture

    Posted by Victoria Villaseñor03/25/2021

    Clarence Norris: The Last Voice of the Scottsboro Boys

    Posted by Kathryn Martinez11/01/2019

    Nobody wins: Child’s brutal death ended with more questions than justice

    Posted by Kimberly Rubio04/13/2021

    Show Me Money: How Gold Altered a Landscape in the Distant West and Thrived during the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Posted by Emily Bartlett11/13/2020

    Fuel for His Pen: The Two Consecutive Plane Accidents of Ernest Hemingway

    Posted by Felipe Macias10/08/2019

    A Charlie Brown Debut: Introduction to the First 'Peanuts' Member of Color

    Posted by Rebeca Escobar04/02/2019

    A Forgotten Finals: Bill Russell, and the 1966 NBA Finals

    Posted by Kaleb Werku11/12/2019

    West Side Illumination: The Teatro Alameda and the Exhibition of Mexican Cinema in San Antonio

    Posted by Edgar Velazquez Reynald08/22/2019

    The Waco Tragedy: David Koresh and The Branch Davidians

    Posted by Victoria Davis12/14/2019

    The One Device: Story of the First iPhone

    Posted by Bruno Lezama12/08/2019

    The Green River Killer: Gary Ridgway

    Posted by Priscilla Poorbaugh10/31/2019

    Stitches of Healing: The AIDS Memorial Quilt

    Posted by Michaela Jeanis11/05/2020

    Bryan Stevenson: Justice in the Deep South

    Posted by Bailey Godwin11/05/2020

    Deco Districts and Community Identity: Historic Designation and Preservation of Art Deco Architecture

    Posted by Edgar Velazquez Reynald05/31/2019

    The Genesis Block of Bitcoin

    Posted by Pablo Ruiz12/08/2019

    Racism is a Public Health Emergency

    Posted by Hailey Lechuga04/18/2021

    Contemporary America

    Menu
    • US-Industrial United States (1870-1900)
    • US-Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
    • US-Great Depression & WWII (1929-1945)
    • US-Postwar United States (1945-early 1970s)
    • US-Contemporary United States (1968-present)
  • Themes

    SPICE Categories

    Specialty Categories

    Special Themes

    Menu
    • Social History
    • Political History
    • Environmental History
    • Cultural History
    • Economic History
    Menu
    • Art History
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Gender Studies
    • Human Rights
    • Public Health and Medicine
    • International Relations
    • Linguistics
    Menu
    • Military History
    • Music
    • People
    • Psychology
    • Religion
    • Science & Technology
    • Sports
    Menu
    • Catholic Heritage
    • The Year 1968
    • COVID-19
    • Social Justice
    • Spanish Language
  • Showcase

    Showcase Editions

    • Vol 1 – 2016
      • Vol 1 No 1 Aug-Sep 2016
      • Vol 1 No 2 Oct-Nov 2016
    • Vol 2 – 2017
      • Vol 2 No 1 Jan-Feb 2017
      • Vol 2 No 2 Mar-Apr 2017
      • Vol 2 No 3 Aug-Sep 2017
      • Vol 2 No 4 Oct-Nov 2017
    • Vol 3 – 2018
      • Vol 3 No 1 Jan-Feb 2018
      • Vol 3 No 2 Mar-Apr 2018
      • Vol 3 No 3 Aug-Sep 2018
      • Vol 3 No 4 Oct-Nov 2018
    • Vol 4 – 2019
      • Vol 4 No 1 Jan-Feb 2019
      • Vol 4 No 2 Mar-Apr 2019
      • Vol 4 No 3 Aug-Sep 2019
      • Vol 4 No 4 Oct-Nov 2019
    • Vol 5 – 2020
      • Vol 5 No 1 Jan-Feb 2020
      • Vol 5 No 2 Mar-Apr 2020
      • Vol 5 No 3 Aug-Sep 2020
    Menu
    • Vol 1 – 2016
      • Vol 1 No 1 Aug-Sep 2016
      • Vol 1 No 2 Oct-Nov 2016
    • Vol 2 – 2017
      • Vol 2 No 1 Jan-Feb 2017
      • Vol 2 No 2 Mar-Apr 2017
      • Vol 2 No 3 Aug-Sep 2017
      • Vol 2 No 4 Oct-Nov 2017
    • Vol 3 – 2018
      • Vol 3 No 1 Jan-Feb 2018
      • Vol 3 No 2 Mar-Apr 2018
      • Vol 3 No 3 Aug-Sep 2018
      • Vol 3 No 4 Oct-Nov 2018
    • Vol 4 – 2019
      • Vol 4 No 1 Jan-Feb 2019
      • Vol 4 No 2 Mar-Apr 2019
      • Vol 4 No 3 Aug-Sep 2019
      • Vol 4 No 4 Oct-Nov 2019
    • Vol 5 – 2020
      • Vol 5 No 1 Jan-Feb 2020
      • Vol 5 No 2 Mar-Apr 2020
      • Vol 5 No 3 Aug-Sep 2020
  • About

    Course Readings

    Article Indexes

    About Us

    Menu
    • Course Readings – SC 3300 – Nash
    • Course Readings – SMC 1301 – Wieck
    • Course Readings – PO 4334 – Dr Celine
    • Course Readings _ PO 3365 – Dr Celine
    Menu
    • Course Readings – HS 2321 – Whitener
    • Course Readings – HS 2322 – Whitener
    • Course Readings – SMC 1301 – Whitener
    Menu
    • Our Article/Author Index
    • Award Winning Articles
    Menu
    • Our StMU History Media Project
    • Our Faculty Consultants
    • Our Writers
    • Contact Us
  • Cultural History, Descriptive Article, Pre-Classical History (to 600 BCE), Religion, World History
  • October 21, 2016

The History behind Noah’s Ark

The building of Noah's Ark | Courtesy of the film
The building of Noah's Ark | Courtesy of the film "The Bible"
Ivanna Rodriguez

Ivanna Rodriguez

Over the years there have been several adaptations regarding the biblical story of Noah’s Ark, whether the comedy film starring Steve Carell, or a film narrating the Bible story. However, the adaptation that the majority of people do not recognize is the Bible story itself. The story of Noah and his ark was actually adapted from the eleventh and twelfth tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem that narrates the adventures of a fictional hero named Gilgamesh.1 The reason that Noah’s Ark is an adaptation is due to the many parallels between the two stories. Some similarities include the wrath of a deity upon humankind, as well as the creation of a type of vessel in order to survive the flood.

Before the 19th century, the Bible was believed to be the most credible source of historical information about the Ancient Near East. However,“The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest surviving epic poem in history, dating from about 2500 B.C.E.”2 The discovery of the Epic of Gilgamesh, specifically the tablets containing the excerpts detailing the Great Flood myth, caused turmoil among the ancient historical community, due to the fact that the Great Flood myth was written about a thousand years before the Bible story of Noah.3

The Flood Tablet. This is perhaps the most famous of all cuneiform tablets. It is the eleventh tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic, and describes how the gods sent a flood to destroy the world. Like Noah, Utnapishtim was forewarned and built an ark to house and preserve living things. After the flood he sent out birds to look for dry land. ME K 3375.
The Flood Tablet. The eleventh tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh, describing how the gods sent a flood to destroy the world | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The eleventh tablet narrates one of Gilgamesh’s adventures in search for immortality.4 Yet his search leads him to a wise man named Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim then reveals to Gilgamesh how he achieved immortality. He begins to explain how the god Ea informed him of the devastating flood created by the gods in order to extinguish humanity. He was instructed to construct a boat of immense size and to tell the people of Shuruppak to assist him in the building of the boat. Once the boat was complete, he was to load it with every living thing and his family in order to survive. Seven days later the great flood began its reign of destruction upon humankind. During this time, Utnapishtim and his ark ran aground on a mountain peak. He then released a dove in order to find land but the dove returned, not having found land. The same thing happened when he sends a swallow. However, the third time he releases a raven that never returned. Upon reaching land, the gods in heaven realized the great service Utnapishtim had done by saving humankind; thus, they granted him and his wife eternal life.

Much like the Epic of Gilgamesh, the story of Noah’s Ark conveys a similar destruction tale.5 The book of Genesis narrates how God began to despair over the creation of humankind due to humanity becoming sinful and evil. Therefore, God decided to create an immense flood in order to destroy and cleanse the world. However, God chose a man named Noah due to his immaculate behavior, and He instructed him to build a boat or an ark. Once he completed the ark, he was to load it with a pair of every animal on earth along with his family. For the next forty days, God plunged the earth with devastating rains, causing the earth to be flooded for a whole year. Noah then released a dove and it never returned, meaning that it had found dry land. Once the water receded, the earth was restored and became once again fertile. God made a covenant with Noah promising that his lineage will be fertile and that he will never destroy humanity again by flood.

The parallels between both stories are clear to see, due to the similarity in content and story structure. For example, both narratives include an extremely powerful deity or deities, that form a plan to wipe out humankind by creating a great flood in order to restore the earth, as well as how a single man was chosen by a higher power to save humanity.6  Another parallel is how both individuals were instructed to construct a boat in order to survive the coming flood. The content of both vessels is also similar due to them being loaded with all the living things on earth, even though in the Epic of Gilgamesh it was all living things while in Noah it was the pair of every animal on earth, along with their families. Once the earth was flooded, both Utnapishtim and Noah release birds in order to find out if the land was yet dry. Finally, both men upon reaching land are rewarded by higher powers, due to their involvement in saving humanity, and the creation of a new world.

  1. Benjamin R. Foster, Douglas Frayne, and Gary M. Beckman, The epic of Gilgamesh: a new translation, analogues, criticism (New York: Norton, 2001), 60-65. ↵
  2. Jerry Bentley, Herbert Ziegler, Heather Streets Salter, Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History Volume 1 (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishers, 2016), 17. ↵
  3. James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern texts relating to the Old Testament (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1969), 3. ↵
  4. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern texts, 273. ↵
  5. Jerry Pinkney, Noah’s ark (New York : SeaStar Books, 2002), 20-30. ↵
  6.  Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern texts, 10. ↵

Tags from the story

  • Epic of Gilgamesh, Noah's Ark, Utnapishtim

Share this post

Share on facebook
Share on google
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on pinterest
Share on print
Share on email
Ivanna Rodriguez

Ivanna Rodriguez

Author Portfolio Page

This Post Has 108 Comments

  1. Avatar
    Trenton Boudreaux 12 Apr 2021 Reply

    In my theology class, we discussed how the Bible doesn’t serve as a history textbook, but rather a spiritual guide, hence the two creation myths, but what I find interesting here is that a biblical story could have been inspired by an even older myth. A very well written article that brought to life new elements to a classical bible story.

  2. Avatar
    Elliot Avigael 21 Feb 2021 Reply

    The parallels have between Noah’s Ark and the story of Utnapishtim has always puzzled me. Besides the Ark Of The Covenant, I think Noah’s Ark is probably the second most significant mystery of the Bible. People have claimed to have found the Ark, (somewhere in Iran I believe? I’ve heard claims that it’s in Turkey), but we can never be sure.

    I think historical dates are never exactly definitive, but I think the fact that the accepted narrative is that the Epic of Gilgamesh occurred prior to the Biblical story is a huge test of faith for those that practice. As someone who is religious, studying history and the Bible has always been something I believed can healthily coexist together while also helping us stand the test of faith.

    Really nice article. A simple story yet one that has such a deep meaning; well done.

  3. Janaya Felder
    Janaya Felder 26 Oct 2020 Reply

    It’s so interesting that there is another story identical to Noah’s Ark. Growing up, I knew the story of Noah’s Ark very well but I’m surprised that no one brought up The Epic of Gilgamesh. Obviously it seems like The Epic of Gilgamesh inspired the story of Noah’s Ark and I suppose maybe the layout of Noah’s Ark decided to follow an already popular story when it was being written.

  4. Avatar
    Eric Hernandez 13 Sep 2020 Reply

    This article hit close to home being that I grew up in the catholic faith. As I read through the article I was amazed by reading the story of Gilgamesh and how similar it was the Noah’s ark story I had heard so many times as a child. Reading the two stories, is really cool just thinking how drastic the event is but it also leaves me wondering if something like that actually has happened on Earth.

  5. Avatar
    Manuel Rodriguez 7 Sep 2020 Reply

    This is a really great article regarding an amazing story that many of us might have not heard it accurately. I appreciate our author’s reminder to not only remember the true story of Noah’s Ark, but to get closer to our faith. Growing up as a catholic and a attending a Marianist university, I’ll be the first one to admit that I am invested in my faith as much as I should be and this article is a great reminder of how I can do better.

  6. Avatar
    Diego Oviedo 7 Sep 2020 Reply

    It’s fascinating how these two are very similar. I have heard about Noah’s ark but I was never told the story of Gilgamesh. It would be right to assume that The Epic of Gilgamesh had an influence on Noah’s Ark. With all the similarities that they both have, it can be seen that they’re identical up to a point with certain things being different for both stories. It’s interesting how both The Epic of Gilgamesh and Noah’s Ark are written by different people from different times.

  7. Avatar
    Alyssa Vasquez 7 Sep 2020 Reply

    I attended catholic school for 9 years. I am very familiar with the story of Noah’s Ark. I’ve always loved hearing the story, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard The Epic of Gilgamesh. I never new the was a story s similar and had such a heavy influence on Noah’s Ark. I lived reading this article and seeing the similarities presented in bot stories.

Comments navigation

Previous commentPrevious

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

StMU History Media

A Student Organization of St. Mary's University of San Antonio Texas

Sponsors

  • College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, St. Mary's University
  • Department of History, St. Mary's University
  • Department of Political Science, St. Mary's University
  • Center for Catholic Studies, St. Mary's University

Support Services

  • The Learning Assistance Center, St. Mary's University
  • Louis J. Blume Library Services, St. Mary's University
  • STRIVE Career Center, St. Mary's University
  • Academic Technology Services, St. Mary's University

About

  • About Us
  • Our Authors
  • Our Archive
  • Contacts

© All rights reserved

Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest