Abstract:
The experience of a large, devastating flood is part of the cultural
heritage of mankind. The famous ‘texts of the deluge’ come from Mesopotamia. Here, the flood
tradition dates back to the 3rd Millennium. The longest and most traditional of these texts,
which – amongst other things – deal with the interpretation of these events, is the Atramḫasis
myth. The literary-dependent text is the Gilgamesh epic, and the Old Testament version is the
story of the Flood that is found in Genesis 6–9. For a long time the similarities and differences
between these three texts have been known. However, so far little attention was given to a
passage that all three texts share: the sacrifice of the surviving humans after the Flood. The
reaction of the deity(ies) differs in these three texts. In this article I would like to consider the
similarities and differences between the texts in order to evaluate the significance of the Old
Testament text. This is against the background of recent insights in the field of ancient Israelite
sacrifice, related to cultural anthropology. These three passages are first considered in their
context and then compared to the relevant aspects of each other before a conclusion is drawn.
