C
catholic1seeks
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I was reading about Noah on NewAdvent and came accross the following…explaining the, what I find extreme, similarities between the Babylonian flood story and biblical flood story.
If you aren’t in the mood for reading, just read the part in red…
(The following is from www.newadvent.org)
“The story in brief is as follows: A council of the gods having decreed to destroy men by a flood, the god Ea warns Ut-napishtim, and bids him build a ship in which to save himself and the seed of all kinds of life. Ut-napishtim builds the ship (of which, according to one version, Ea traces the plan on the ground), and places in it his family, his dependents, artisans, and domestic as well as wild animals, after which he shuts the door. The storm lasts six days; on the seventh the flood begins to subside. The ship steered by the helmsman Puzur-Bel lands on Mt. Nisir. After seven days Ut-napishtim sends forth a dove and a swallow, which, finding no resting-place for their feet return to the ark, and then a raven, which feeds on dead bodies and does not return. On leaving the ship, Ut-napishtim offers a sacrifice to the gods, who smell the godly odour and gather like flies over the sacrificer. He and his wife are then admitted among the gods. The story as given by Berosus comes somewhat nearer to the Biblical narrative. Because of the striking resemblances between the two many maintain that the Biblical account is derived from the Babylonian.”
What should I make of the similarities? I guess that’s the question, but it would actually make sense if someone told me the biblical account was derived from this. Of course, many religions have a flood story…
And of course, this isn’t a major* threat to my faith at all, but perhaps a skeptic or atheist would bring it up one day.
If you aren’t in the mood for reading, just read the part in red…
(The following is from www.newadvent.org)
“The story in brief is as follows: A council of the gods having decreed to destroy men by a flood, the god Ea warns Ut-napishtim, and bids him build a ship in which to save himself and the seed of all kinds of life. Ut-napishtim builds the ship (of which, according to one version, Ea traces the plan on the ground), and places in it his family, his dependents, artisans, and domestic as well as wild animals, after which he shuts the door. The storm lasts six days; on the seventh the flood begins to subside. The ship steered by the helmsman Puzur-Bel lands on Mt. Nisir. After seven days Ut-napishtim sends forth a dove and a swallow, which, finding no resting-place for their feet return to the ark, and then a raven, which feeds on dead bodies and does not return. On leaving the ship, Ut-napishtim offers a sacrifice to the gods, who smell the godly odour and gather like flies over the sacrificer. He and his wife are then admitted among the gods. The story as given by Berosus comes somewhat nearer to the Biblical narrative. Because of the striking resemblances between the two many maintain that the Biblical account is derived from the Babylonian.”
What should I make of the similarities? I guess that’s the question, but it would actually make sense if someone told me the biblical account was derived from this. Of course, many religions have a flood story…
And of course, this isn’t a major* threat to my faith at all, but perhaps a skeptic or atheist would bring it up one day.