1. FLOODS (Lecture 14)

2. Near Eastern Flood Narrative
Degraded state of world
•Reason for Flood
Divine decision to destroy world
•Selection of individual human being
•Instructions on boat and stowing of animals
•Drowning of all life on earth
•Attempts to determine when waters subside
•Individual disembarks
•Sacrifice
•Flood condemned
•Reform
•Deity promises not to send Flood again
•Covenant
•Blessing of human being

3. SUMERIAN ATRAHASIS
BABYLONIAN GILGAMESH XI
HEBREW GENESIS
Enlil displeased by noise and overpopulation
Yahweh displeased by moral corruption
Enlil regrets creation, plans flood
Yahweh regrets creation, plans flood
Enki informs Atrahasis about flood
Ea informs Uta-napishtim about flood
Yahweh informs Noah about flood
Enki instructs Atrahasis to build boat with multiple decks
Ea instructs Uta-napishtim to build boat with multiple decks
Yahweh instructs Noah to build boat with multiple decks
Atrahasis fills boat with birds, cattle, wild animals
Uta-napishtim fills boat with household possessions, “all the seed of living things,” cattle, wild beasts
Noah fills boat with seven male/female pairs of each clean animal, one male/female pair of each unclean animal
Enlil sends rain that lasts 7 days and 7 nights
Enlil sends rain that lasts 7 days
Yahweh sends rain that lasts 40 days
all life on earth drowned
[text broken]
boat runs aground on Mt. Nimush
boat runs aground on Mt. Ararat
Uta-napishtim sends dove; dove returns
Noah sends raven; raven returns
Uta-napishtim sends swallow; swallow returns
Noah sends dove; dove returns
Noah sends dove again; dove returns with olive leaf

4. BABYLONIAN GILGAMESH XI HEBREW GENESIS
SUMERIAN ATRAHASIS
BABYLONIAN GILGAMESH XI
HEBREW GENESIS
[text broken]
Uta-napishtim sends raven; raven does not return
Noah sends dove third time; dove does not return
Atrahasis disembarks
Uta-napishtim disembarks
Noah disembarks
Atrahasis makes burnt offerings
Uta-napishtim makes burnt offerings (incense)
Noah makes burnt offerings
gods smell pleasant odor, gather “like flies”
Yahweh smells pleasant odor
Nintu condemns flood, reproaches Enlil
Inanna condemns flood, reproaches Enlil
Yahweh promises not to send flood again
Enlil enraged that destruction is not complete
Enki confesses to warning Atrahasis
Ea confesses to warning Uta-napishtim
Yahweh blesses Noah
Yahweh makes rules about shedding and eating blood
Nintu makes lapis lazuli necklace out of flies as memento of flood
Inanna makes lapis lazuli necklace out of flies as memento of flood
Yahweh establishes rainbow as covenant with Noah
gods create diseases and disabilities to curb overpopulation
gods propose other means (famine, predation) to curb overpopulation
[Yahweh sets 120-year limit on human lifespan]
Uta-napishtim and wife immortalized
Noah’s family multiplies

5. Reason Atrahasis I Gilgamesh XI Genesis 6:1-7
And the country became too wide, the people too numerous.
The country was as noisy as a bellowing bull.
The god grew restless at their racket,
Ellil had to listen to their noise.
He addressed the great gods,
“The noise of mankind has become too much,
I am losing sleep over their racket...”
Shuruppak is a city that you yourself know,
situated on the bank of the Euphrates.
That city was already old when the gods within it
decided that the great gods should make a flood.
1 When men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, 
2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took to wife such of them as they chose. 
3 Then the Lord said, "My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for he is flesh, but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years." 
...
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 
6 And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 
7 So the Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the ground, man and beast and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."

6. Sacrifice Atrahasis III Gilgamesh XI Genesis 6:20-21 He put down [ ],
provided food [ ]
The gods smelled the fragrance,
gathered like flies over the offering.
When they had eaten the offering,
Nintu got up and blamed them all...
I made a sacrifice,
set out a surginnu-offering upon the mountain peak,
arranged the jars seven and seven.
Into the bottom of them I poured reeds, pine, and myrtle.
the gods smelled the pleasant fragrance,
the gods like flies gathered over the sacrifice.
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man...”

7. Covenant Atrahasis III Gilgamesh XI Genesis 9:12-17
Then she went up to the big flies
which Anu had made, and declared before the gods,
“His grief is mine! My destiny goes with his!
He must deliver me from evil and appease me!
[ ]
Let these flies be the lapis lazuli of my necklace
by which I may remember it daily forever.”
As soon as the Mistress of he Gods arrived
she raised the great flies which Anu had made to please her:
“Behold, O gods, I shall never forget my lapis lazuli necklace,
I shall remember these times, and I shall never forget.
12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 
13 I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 
14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 
15 I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 
16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." 
17 God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."

8. Reform Atrahasis III Gilgamesh XI Genesis 6:3
In addition let there be one-third of the people,
Among the people the woman who gives birth
yet does
Not give birth [successfully];
Let the pasittu-demon be among the people,
To snatch the baby from its mother's lap.
Establish ugbabtu, entu, egisitu-women:
They shall be taboo, and thus control childbirth.
Instead of imposing a flood, let a lion come
and diminish the people.
Instead of imposing a flood, let a wolf come
   and diminish the people.
Instead of imposing a flood, impose famine
   and lessen the land.
Instead of imposing a flood, let Erra rise up
   and savage the people.
Then the Lord said, "My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for he is flesh, but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years."