The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament : parallels beyond the Deluge

Abstract

This article examines several parallels between the Gilgamesh Epic and the Old Testament. Due to the limited space for articles and due to familiarity with the material, comparisons between the Babylonian account of the Deluge and the Flood narrative in Genesis 6-9 are omitted. Instead, the focus is on less obvious parallels not necessarily stressing the resemblance between two narratives but rather illuminating a worldview that the Old Testament shares with the rest of the Ancient Near East.