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Epic of Gilgamesh (the flood) |
Genesis 6:5 - 8:22
(5)And God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts in his heart was only evil continually. (6)And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (7)And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
(8)But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (9) These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. (10) And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Ja'peth. (11) The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. (12) And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. (13) And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (14) Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. (15) And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. (16) A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. (17) And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die. (18) But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. (19) And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. (20) Of the fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. (21) And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. (22) Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
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(1) And the Lord said unto Noah, come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. (2) Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female. (3) Of the fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. (4) For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. (5) And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him. (6) And Noah was six-hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. (7) And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. (8) Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, (9) There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. (10) And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. (11) In the six hundreth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. (12) And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. (13) In the very same day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Ja'pheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; (14) They, and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind, every bird of every sort. (15) And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. (16) And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in. (17) And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. (18) And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. (19) And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. (20) Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. (21) And all flesh did that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man; (22) All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. (23) And every living thing was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. (24) And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
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(1) And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided; the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; (3) And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. (4) And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. (5) And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. (6) And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made; (7) And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. (8) Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; (9) But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned to him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. (10) And he stayed yet another seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; (11) And the dove come in to him in the evening; and , lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. (12) And he stayed yet another seven days; and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him any more. (13) And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. (14) And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. (15) And God spoke unto Noah, saying, (16) go forth from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. (17) Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. (18) And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him. (19) Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. (20) And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. (21) And the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. (22) While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Reference - a3Return to top
Text from The New Scofield Study Bible- King James Version.
Once very long ago a man named Manu was washing himself. When he reached into the water jar to wash his hands, he pulled up a small fish.
The fish spoke to him, saying, "If you take care of me and protect me until I am full grown, I will save you from the terrible things to come." Manu asked the fish, "What do you mean? What terrible things?" The fish told Manu that there would soon be a great flood that would destroy every human being on earth. The fish then instructed Manu to place him in a clay jar for safety, and Manu complied. As the fish grew, Manu kept placing it in a series of larger clay jars until the fish was full grown and could be placed safely in the sea. Soon the fish became ghasha, one of the largest fishes in the world.
The fish instructed Manu to build a large ship, as the flood was now only months away. As the rains began, Manu tied a rope form his ship to the ghasha, which safely guided him as the waters rose. The waters grew so high that the entire earth was covered. As the waters subsided, the ghasha guided Manu to a mountaintop. Reference - a1Return to top
The sun-god Ra, was warned by his father, the Watery Abyss, that humankind had grown too wicked and was on the verge of full rebellion against the gods. So Ra took his eye, the goddess Hathor and sent her to investigate and punish the evildoers.
Hathor went to earth and began slaying thousands of humans, then millions. She was so terrible that the streets of the town of Chetunuten ran like a river with blood. So much blood poured into the Nile that it overflowed its banks, and the mixture of blood and water inundated the land, destroying everything in its path. The mixture even met the sea, which, in turn, overflowed its banks. Hathor had become literally bloodthirsty, drinking this gory liquid.
Ra's original intention was to punish, but not destroy, humankind. So he called Thoth, the wisest of the gods, for advice. Ra then sent the goddess Sektet and told her to grind a great volume of the dada fruit and mix it with barley to make strong beer. Then the beer would be mixed with the blood of hapless humans to attract Hathor.
Ra instructed his servants to take the jugs of beer and pour them out near Hathor on whatever dry land remained. The beer formed a great sea. Hathor was drrawn by the smell of the blood and began to drink the beer until she was so drunk she could not stand. Completely intoxicated, she could no longer identify the few humans left and she staggered off to sleep.
From that remnant, humankind repopulated the earth. Ra was tired of dealing with human beings, Hathor, and the other problems on earth. So he went off to rest on the back of the great cow of heaven, appointing Thoth as his governor on earth. This was an excellent choice, as Thoth taught people how to write, compose poetry, and govern themselves. Reference - a1Return to top
After the death of Ardates, his xon Xisuthrus reigned eighteen sari. In his time happened a great deluge, the history of which is thus described: The deity Cronos appeared to him in a vision, and warned him that upon the fifteenth day of the month Desius there would be a flood, by which mankind would be destroyed. He therefore enjoined him to write a history of the beginning , procedure, and conclusion of all things and to bury it in the City of the Sun at Sippara: and to build a vessel, and take with him into it his friends and relations, and to convey on board everything necessary to sustain life, together with all the different animals, both birds and quadrupeds, and trust himself fearlessly to the deep. Having asked the deity whither he was to sail, he was answered: 'To the Gods;' upon which he offered up a prayer for the good of mankind. He then obeyed the divine admonition, and built a vessel five stadia in length, and two in breadth. Ito this he put everything which he had prepared, and last of all converged into it his wife, his children, and his friends. After the flood had been upon the earth, and was in time abated, Xisuthrus sent out birds from the vessel; which not finding any food, nor any place whereupon they might rest their feet, returned to him again. After an interval of some days, he sent them forth a second time; and they now returned with their feet tinged with mud. He made a trial a third time with these birds; but they returned to him no more: from whence he judged that the surface of the earth had appeared above the waters. He therefore made an opening in the vessel, and upon looking out found that it was stranded upon the side of some mountain; upon which he immediately quitted it with his wife, his daughter and the pilot. Xisuthrus then paid his adoration to the earth, and , having constructed an altar, offered sacrifices to the gods. Reference - a1Return to top
The Hindu Legend of the Deluge
Many ages after the creation of the world, Brahma resolved to destroy it with deluge, on account of the wickedness of the people. There lived at that time a pious man named Satyavrata, and as the lord of the universe loved this pious man, and wished to preserve him from the sea of destruction which was to appear on account of the depravity of the age, he appeared before him in the form of Vishnu and said: in seven days from the present time the worlds will be plunged in an ocean of death, but in the midst of the destroying waves, a large vessel, sent by me for thy use, shall stand before thee. Then shalt thou take all medicinal herbs, all the variety of feeds, and accompanied by seven saints, encircled by pairs of all brute animals, thou shalt fasten it with a large sea-serpent on my horn; for I will be near thee, drawing the vessel, with thee and thy attendants. I will remain on the ocean, O chief of men, until a night of Brahma shall be completely ended. Thou shalt then know my true greatness, rightly named the Supreme Godhead; by my favor, all thy questions shall be answered, and thy mind abundantly instructed. Reference - a1Return to top
From his throne in the high Olympos, Zeus looked down on the children of men, and saw that everywhere they followed only their lusts, and cared nothing for right or for law. And ever, as their hearts waxed grosser in their wickedness, they devised for themselves new rites to appease the anger of the gods, till the whole earth was filled with blood. Far away in the hidden glens of the Arcadian hills the sons of Lykaon feasted and spake proud words against the majesty of Zeus, and Zeus himself came down from his throne to see their way and their doings. Then Zeus returned to his home on Olympos, and he gave the word that a flood of waters should be let loose upon the earth, that the sons of man might die for their great wickedness. So the west wind rose in its might, and the dark rain-clouds veiled the whole heaven, for the winds of the north which drive away the mists and vapors were shut up in their prison house. On hill and valley burst the merciless rain, and the rivers, loosened from their courses, rushed over the whole plains and up the mountain-side. From his home on the highlands of Phtia, Deukalion looked forth on the angry sky, and when he saw the waters swelling in the valleys beneath, he called Pyrrha, his wife, and said to her: 'The time has come of which my father, the wise Prometheus, forewarned me. Make ready, therefore, the ark which I have built, and place in it all that we may need for food while the flood of waters is out upon the earth.' The Pyrrha hastened to make all things ready, and they waited till the waters rose up to the highlands of Phthia and floated away the ark of Deukalion. The fishes swam amidst the old elm-groves, and twined amongst the gnarled boughs on the oaks, while on the face of the waters were tossed the bodies of men; and Deukalion looked on the dead faces of stalwart warriors, of maidens, and of babes as they rose and fell upon the heavy waves. Reference - a1Return to top
The Epic of Gilgamesh (The Flood)
Utnapishtim, the only man to survive the great flood sent by the gods, had lived in the city of Shurrupak, where he served the god Ea. The city and gods grew old, and the goddess Ishtar caused such strife among men that the gods could not sleep for the noise. So Enlil, god of earth, wind, and air, said, "Let us loose the waters on the world, and drown them all." The gods agreed, but Ea warned Utnpishtim of the impending disaster in a dream and told him to build a boat, and take on board two of every creature. For seven nights the tempest raged, until the entire world was covered in water.
At last, the boat ran aground on the top of Mount Nisir. To check the water level, Utnapishtim set free a dove, then a swallow, then a raven. When the raven did not return, Utnapishtim knew it had found a resting place and the waters were subsiding. In thanks, he lit a fire to make a sacrifice to the gods. Enlil was furious when he smelled the smoke, but wise Ea interceded, and Enlil made Utnapishtim and his wife immortal; they are the ancestors of all humanity. Reference - a7Return to top
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