The Historicity of the Genesis Flood Story

Over the past century and a half, a variety of near eastern archaeological discoveries have broadened our knowledge of early Mesopotamian culture and literature considerably. The evidence now seems clear that the flood story in Genesis is a later reworking of a popular Mesopotamian story, a story that existed at least 700 years before Moses' legendary composition of the Torah. In its oldest form, the ark builder is a priest-king named Ziusudra, whose name means "Long of Life" (Hammerly-Dupuy, p. 56). A little later, in the popular story of Gilgamesh, the ark-builder is a man named Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh was an historical king of Uruk in Babylonia, on the River Euphrates in modern Iraq; he lived about 2700 B.C. In addition to the flood story, Gilgamesh is known from at least five short mythological poems in the Sumerian language, known from tablets that were written during the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. In still other variants of the story, the ark-builder is named Atrahasis.

One of the fullest versions of the epic dates to the time just before the Jewish captivity, and was found in the ruins of Ashurbanipal's library at Ninevah. The library was destroyed by the Persians in 612 B.C. The Epic's scribe even identifies himself by name, Shin-eqi-unninni. On tablet 11 of this work, we read:

"By week's end I engineered designs for an acre's worth of floor upon the ark we built so that its walls rose straight toward heaven; with decks all round did I design its space; 120 cubits measured its deck. With division of six and of seven, I patterned its squares and stairs; left space for portals too,secured its beams and stockpiled all that ever could be used. Pitch for the hull I poured into the kilnand ordered three full volumes of oil to start with and two times three more yet. . . "

"Shamash had set for me a stated time: 'When he who orders unease at night Will shower down a rain of blight, Board thou the ship and batten up the gate!' That stated time had arrived: 'He who orders unease at night showers down a rain of blight.' I watched the appearance of the weather. The weather was awesome to behold. I boarded the ship and battened up the gate"

"Six days and six nights blows the flood wind, as the south-storm sweeps the land. When the seventh day arrived, The flood (-carrying) south-storm subsided in the battle, Which it had fought like an army. The sea-grew quiet, the tempest was still, the flood ceased. I looked at the weather. Stillness had set in, And all of mankind had returned to clay. The landscape was as level as a flat roof. I opened a hatch, and light fell on my face. Bowing low, I sat and wept, Tears running down my face. I looked about for coast lines in the expanse of the sea . . . On Mount Nisir the ship came to a halt. Mount Nisir held the ship fast, Allowing no motion"

"When the seventh day arrived, I [Utnapishtim] released a dove from the boat, It flew off, but circled around and returned, For it could find no perch. I then released a swallow from the boat, It flew off, but circled around and returned, For it could find no perch. I then released a raven from the boat, It flew off, and the waters had receded: It eats, it scratches the ground, but it does not circle around and return. I then sent out all the living things in every direction and sacrificed a sheep on that very spot."

This of course matches Genesis 8 closely, with Noah sending out ravens and doves (vvs. 7-12) to find dry land. In both cases, the ark-builders are warned by the God[s] of the impending destruction, and are told to build an ark of specified dimensions. In both cases, the ark builders coat their arks with pitch. In both cases, the ark builders are described as exceptionally righteous men. In both Genesis and the Gilgamesh epic, the ark comes to rest on a mountain. In both Genesis and the Gilgamesh epic, animal offerings are made immediately after landing. In both cases, these offerings are followed by a blessing.

When was the Flood?

The Bible itself never explicitly states when the flood occured. However, it does provide detailed geneaological information from which the time of the flood can be estimated. Starting with the reign of Solomon, who reigned around 960BCE, we can work our way back to Noah. 480 years passed between the time that the Israelites left Egypt and the fourth year of Solomon's reign, so the Israelites left Egypt about 1436BCE (1 Kings 6:1). According to Exodus 12:40, the Israelites had been in Egypt for 430 years before Moses led them out, so the Israelites must have entered Egypt around 1866BCE. Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years before he died at the age of 147, so Jacob must have been born 130 years before 1866BCE, or about 1966BCE (Gen 47:28). Jacob's father, Isaac, was 60 years old when Jacob was born, so Isaac must have been born about 2056BCE (Gen 25:26). Isaac's father, Abraham, was 100 years old when Isaac was born, which would put Abraham's birth around 2156BCE (Gen 21:5). Continuing in the same manner back through Genesis 11 and 5, we can estimate Noah to have been born around 3046BCE. Noah lived 950 years, and since he lived 350 years after the flood, the flood must have occured 600 years after he was born (Gen 9:28-9).

This would put the flood around 2446BCE. This date matches, at least roughly, the date of 2700BCE given for Gilgamesh's reign in Mesopotamian sources. Since both Genesis and the Mesopotamian sources agree on the general time of the flood, there is little room to argue that the flood was much later or much earlier than this time. If a global flood occured around 2700BCE, killling all humans on the Earth except 8, one would quite reasonably expect a vast discontinuity between pre-flood and post-flood civilization. One would expect to find a cultural mass-extinction.

Clearly this is not the case; many notable ancient civilizations have a continuous history stretching back over two thousand years earlier than this time. Consider Sumer and Babylon, for example. There is more than abundant evidence that city-states in this general region of the Euphrates Valley existed as far back as 5000BCE. We know the names of many of the Kings who ruled between 5-4000BCE, which according to some young-earthers, should predate the creation of the Earth itself. These kings include Enshagkushanna, who is styled King of Kengi, Urkagina, Lugal (lugal, "great man", i.e. " prince", or "king") Shuggur, Gursar, Gunidu, Ur-Ninâ, Akur-Gal, Eannatum I, Entemena and Eannatum. In fact, Babalonion history continues unbroken until at least the time of Nabonidus, who was the last King of Babylon (555-539 B.C.). At any rate, it is clear that Sumerian and Babylonian culture was never wiped out by any global flood at any point between 5000BCE and 2446BCE.

In addition to Babylon and other nations of the Persian Gulf, Egyptian civilization along the Nile likewise shows a continuous existence extending from at least 4500BCE to moden times. Undisturbed graves date back to at least 3600BCE, heiroglyphics to about 3100BCE, and pyramids to about 2700BCE, the Step Pyramid of Djoser being the earliest. The dynasties alone can be traced sequentially from 3100BCE to the Ptolomaic period. Both Chinese cultures and those of the Indus Valley likewise show evidence of continuous existence from at least 3500BCE all the way to modern times. Instead of finding the radical discontinuity implied by a global flood, we find civilizations scattered across the ancient world getting along quite well both before and after this time.

What can we conclude from this discussion? Firstly, we can conclude that both Genesis and the Sumerian sources point to a date around 2700BCE+/-250yrs for the flood, and that, in the case of a global flood, this date is disconfirmed by the presence of the same civilizations both before and after it. After all, it would be absurd to suppose that there were two totally unrelated Egyptian civilizations, one that was wiped out completely in the flood, and another one, essentially identical, that popped up in the same place immediately thereafter.

Other Parallels

There are other parallels with Mesopotamian literature all throughout the Torah. King Sargon, for example, has a birth narrative almost identical to that of Moses. Like Moses, Sargon had been born in secret. Afterward bearing her son, his mother places the baby Sargon in a reed basket, seals it with pitch, and sets it afloat upon the Euphrates. The basket is found by Aqqi, drawer of water, who raises Sargon as a son. Later, of course, he becomes a famous king (Foster, p. 461).

Again, just as Noah is said in Genesis to be the last in a line of greatly aged predeluvians, Ziusudra is said in the Sumerian King List to be the last in a line of predeluvian Sumerian Kings who are said to have ruled for greatly exaggerated lengths of time, into the thousands of years. Whereas Noah is said to haved lived a paltry 950 years, Ziusudra is said to have reigned for 3600 years (10 shar years).

The Garden of Eden, as described in Genesis, has clear parallels with the Sumerian Garden of Dilmun. The word "Eden" itself, in fact, is derived from a Sumerian root meaning "plain" and has the implication of luxury, abundance, and lushness as indicated by the West Semitic root "dn". The meaning of the name "Dilmun" is unknown, yet according to the Sumerian Flood story it is located in the east like Eden. In the story of "Enki and Ninhursag," Dilmun is described as the epitome of peace and abundance:

"In Dilmun the raven utters no cry, The ittidu-bird utters not the cry of the ittidu-bird, The lion kills not, The wolf snatches not the lamb, Unknown is the kid-devouring wild dog, Unknown is the grain-devouring . . . , Unknown is the widow, The bird on high . . . not his . . . , The dove droops not the head, The sick-eyed says not "I am sick-eyed", The sick-headed says not "I am sick headed", Its old woman says not "I am an old woman", Its old man says not "I am an old man", Unbathed is the maid, no sparkling water is poured in the city, Who crosses the river utters no . . . , The wailing priests walk not round about him, The singer utters no wail, By the side of the city he utters no lament"

Dilmun is also the place where mankind is created by the Sumerian Gods. Just as Yahweh fashions Adam from clay, Enki and Ninhursag use similar methods to create mankind. Nammu bids Enki to "fashion servants of the gods." Enki replies to his mother, saying:

"O my mother, the creature whose name you uttered, it exists, Bind upon it the image (?) of the gods; Mix the heart of the clay that is over the abyss, The good and princely fashioners will thicken the clay, You, do you bring the limbs into existence; Ninmah will work above you, the goddesses (of birth) . . . will stand by you at your fashioning; O my mother, decree its fate, NINMAH will bind upon it the image (?) of the gods, It is man . . ."

The creation of mankind from clay or dirt was an evidently popular motif in Sumerian mythology, for it is found in several sources. Aside from the above story of Enki and Ninhursag, it is also found in the "Domestication of Enkidu," where Enkidu, the "primitive man," is created by Aruru from a piece of clay (S. Dalley, pp 52-6).

In other instances, we see Sumerian tales which bear striking resemblances to the Genesis story of the tree of eternal life. Elsewhere in the Gilgamesh story, for example, Utnapishtim offers to reveal a secret to Gilgamesh, "a secret known only to the Gods":

"There is a plant that hides somewhere among the rocks that thirsts and thrusts itself deep in the earth, with thistles that sting. That plant contains eternal life for you."

Gilgamesh finds the plant, and plans to "eat it and to be made forever young." Unfortunately, the magical plant of "eternal life" is stolen by a crafty serpent before he can eat it:

"[I]n the pool, a cruel snake slithered by and stole the plant from Gilgamesh who saw the snake grow young again, as off it raced with the special, special plant."

A similar idea is found in one of the prologues of the Gilgamesh epic. Here we read of a special tree that existed in "Inanna's garden in Uruk." Innana had planned to build herself a bed and a throne from the tree, but her plans are foiled when she discovers that " . . . a serpent who could not be charmed  made its nest in the roots of the tree . . . [a]nd the dark maid Lilith built her home in the trunk."

Works Cited

Dalley, S. (1991). Myths from Mesopotamia. Oxford University Press, New York.

Dundes, Alan. (1988). The Flood Myth. University of California Press, Berkeley and London.

Foster, B.R. (1997). The Context of Scripture: Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World, Vol. 1, ed. by W. W. Hallo (Leiden: E. J. Brill).

Appendix 1: Other Early Versions of the Deluge

The Sumerian version of the story reads in part:

"Stand by the wall at my left side . . . , By the wall I will say a word to you, take my word, Give ear to my instructions: By our . . . a flood will sweep over the cult centers; To destroy the seed of mankind . . . , Is the decision, the word of the assembly of the gods. By the word commanded by AN and ENLIL . . . Its kingship, its rule (will be put to an end) . . . All the windstorms, exceedingly powerful, attacked as one, At the same time, the flood sweeps over the cult centers. After, for seven days and seven nights, The flood had swept over the land, And the huge boat had been tossed about by the windstorms on the great waters, UTU came forth, who sheds light on heaven and earth, Ziusudra opened a window on the huge boat, The hero UTU brought his rays into the giant boat. Ziusudra, the king, Prostrated himself before UTU, The king kills an ox, slaughters a sheep

The Akkadian version of the story, called the Epic of Atrahasis, reads:

"Dismantle the house, build a boat, Reject possessions, and save living things. The boat that you build . . . . . . . Roof it like the Apsu So that the Sun cannot see inside it! Make upper decks and lower decks. The tackle must be very strong, The bitumen strong, to give strength. I shall make rain fall on you here . . ."

"The face of the weather changed. Adad bellowed from the clouds. When Atrahasis heard his noise, Bitumen was brought and he sealed his door. While he was closing up his door Adad kept bellowing from the clouds. The winds were raging even as he went up And cut through the rope, he released the boat. . . . For seven days and seven nights The torrent, storm and flood came on. [At the end of the Flood, Atrahasis offers a sacrifice.] The gods smelt the fragrance, Gathered like flies over the offering" (S. Dalley, pp 18-35).