structed him to take the seeds of life onto the ship with him. Meaning two of each animal, enough food for them and his family to eat for some time, and whatever grain was left over would be planted once the water receded, (Epic of Gilgamesh). Noah was also instructed to do the same. Only his orders came from the one and only God. The Jewish culture believes in one supreme being. God told Noah to build a boat, not of equal width and length, but in more of an oval shape. The boat was built to hold the seeds of life as well, along with Noah’s family, (Genesis, 6). Gilgamesh brought his family on the boat as well, but he also brought all the craftsmen that helped to build it. This is a huge difference between the stories. The craftsmen were an added group that reproduced and passed on their skills. Noah only took his family, relying on God to provide them with the necessary items that they could not produce. There were not any other people on board. Therefore, the corruption of this world is thought to come from one of Noah’s sons, descending down through him. If Gilgamesh brought craftsmen on the boat, this is a new place to lay the blame for today’s violence. The next discrepancy lies in the amount of time it rained. Noah’s story emphasized rain for forty days and forty nights. The number forty also appears in several other biblical stories. Gilgamesh’s rainfall lasts for just six days and nights. Upon the arrival on the mountain top, each man sent out a dove, which returned because it found no place to land. Then, Gilgamesh sent out a swallow, which also returned. When Gilgamesh sent out a raven, it did not return. He knew the raven had found a place to land and food to live off of. So the animals were released and the group started a new civilization. Noah seemed to like the dove, for he sent out another one, seven days later, instead of a swallow. When the dove returned with an olive branch in its beak, h...
