Let me just preface this by saying that I love studying stories from ancient times. I find them fascinating, and one of my absolute favorite parts about reading them is looking for connections between them and the Bible. Throughout what we have read in Gilgamesh thus far, there have been numerous situations and themes which have been recreated in other stories. One such situation occurred when Gilgamesh killed Humbaba. This is very similar to the story of David and Goliath from the Bible, in which a man kills a giant. A similar situation also occurred with the flood. It bears a striking parallel to the flood from the Book of Genesis from the Bible in which God sends the flood to wipe out the human race. A theme that is very relevant in Gilgamesh is that of sort of a loss of innocence. Enkidu is wild before he meets the prostitute but, upon sleeping with her, he becomes human and in a sense opens his eyes to the world of man. This is very close to the story of Adam and Eve, in which Adam is tempted by Eve to eat the fruit that they had been forbidden, by God, to eat. Upon eating the fruit, both of their eyes are opened to their true human nature. I find it interesting that all of these parallels seem to exist, which can raise the question: were there actual, historical events that happened that would make both the writers of Genesis and of Gilgamesh create very similar stories?
Loading...