What is the Epic of Gilgamesh? What relation does it have with the biblical Flood?

what does the bible say?

The Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh both contain stories about a worldwide flood and a single man who preserves life. In Genesis, God warns Noah of coming judgment, instructs him to build an ark, and saves his family and the animals from destruction (Genesis 6:13-22). In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods decide to destroy mankind but secretly warn a man named Utnapishtim, who builds a large boat and survives the flood with his household. Both accounts describe the release of birds, the vessel’s settling on a mountain, and a subsequent sacrifice. Despite these surface similarities, the two stories differ sharply in purpose and character. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods act out of anger and whim, regretting their decision afterward. In Genesis, the LORD sends the flood as a just response to human sin (Genesis 9:8-17). The biblical account portrays moral order, divine mercy, and covenant promise, while the Epic of Gilgamesh reflects myth, fear, and human confusion about divine justice. Although the Epic of Gilgamesh was likely written earlier, both reflect a shared memory of a real global flood. Genesis alone records the event through divine revelation, giving the true purpose behind it—God’s judgment on sin and His mercy in preserving life through Noah.

from the old testament

• Genesis describes a flood with many of the same physical elements as The Epic of Gilgamesh, but an entirely different moral framework. It attributes the judgment to one holy God who saw that human wickedness had filled the earth and chose Noah for deliverance (Genesis 6:5-8). God provided detailed instructions for a massive ark, sealed with pitch and filled with pairs of every living creature (Genesis 6:14-20). Rain fell for forty days, but afterwards, the waters slowly receded (Genesis 7:11-12, 8:13). Like Utnapishtim, Noah sent out birds, left the ark, and offered a sacrifice—but only Noah’s family was saved, and God made an everlasting covenant never again to destroy the world by flood (Genesis 8:6-12, 20-22; 9:8-17).

from the new testament

• Jesus affirmed the Genesis flood as a real event. When teaching about His future return, He compared it to the days of Noah, saying that people were eating, drinking, and marrying “until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27). He treated the flood as an act of divine judgment and Noah as a historical man whose obedience brought salvation for his household. By using the flood as a warning to prepare for future judgment, Jesus made clear that it was part of real human history.
• The rest of the New Testament echoes that same conviction. Peter reminded his readers that God “preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5). He later used the ark as a picture of salvation through Christ, saying that just as water lifted Noah above judgment, baptism now marks those who are rescued through faith (1 Peter 3:20-21). The apostles viewed the flood as both an actual historical event and a pattern of God’s justice and mercy—a foreshadowing of the final judgment and the salvation found only in Jesus Christ.

implications for today

Sometimes, there’s no substitute for the real thing: That generic Rocky Road you picked up to stay on budget doesn’t taste as good as your favorite brand. The pants you bought at the discount outlet may not fit as well as designer ones hanging in your closet. Even the remake of one of your favorite song will take some getting used to. The same applies to historical accounts, such as the true flood account in Genesis versus the flood account with mythological flourishes in The Epic of Gilgamesh. The differences between these two are significant. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods are emotional and divided, destroying humanity out of frustration. The flood is arbitrary, and the survivors gain immortality through favor, not faith. Genesis presents the opposite picture: one righteous Creator who acts with justice and purpose, judging sin and preserving life through mercy. The account’s focus is not on the hero’s greatness but on God’s grace. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written before the Genesis account, but that shouldn’t worry believers: It and other widespread flood stories confirm that ancient peoples preserved the memory of a single catastrophic event. Over generations, those memories were distorted into myths, while the actual record was divinely preserved in Scripture. Genesis provides the accurate explanation—the real thing: God’s righteous judgment against human sin and His merciful covenant with Noah, which sustains the world to this day. It’s easy to feel uncertain when scholars claim that the biblical flood story is just one of many ancient myths. But the opposite is true—the number of flood stories across cultures actually supports the truth of Scripture. A disaster that destroyed nearly all life on Earth would naturally leave a deep and lasting mark on human memory. The variations we see in ancient writings show that people remembered the same event, though many retold it through their own distorted traditions. Genesis preserves that shared memory in its purest and truest form because it comes by divine revelation, not human imagination. The flood account reminds us that sin always brings judgment, but that God’s mercy provides a way of rescue. Just as He preserved Noah and his family through the waters, He offers salvation to all who turn to Him through Jesus Christ. The same God who once judged the world by flood now calls every person to find refuge in His Son, who bore judgment on our behalf and gives eternal life to all who believe.

Recap

understand

• The Epic of Gilgamesh contains a flood story similar to Noah’s, reflecting a memory of a real catastrophic event.
• Gilgamesh’s flood depicts arbitrary gods, while Genesis shows God’s just judgment and mercy through the flood.
• The biblical flood is historical and points to salvation through Christ.

reflect

• How does knowing that the Genesis flood was a real historical event affect your trust in God’s justice and mercy?
• How does the story of Noah challenge you to respond in obedience to God?
• How can the contrast between human myths and God’s revelation encourage you to rely on the Bible for truth?

engage

• How do the differences between the Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis help us underst and God’s character and His purposes for humanity?
• What explanations are there for the various flood stories around the world?
• How does the flood story foreshadow the salvation we receive through Jesus Christ, and what implications does that have for our faith today?