← Back to the front page

40 Days and 40 Nights of Rain: The Significance of the Biblical Flood Narrative and Other Universal Flood Accounts From Around the World

Khalid Elhassan May 19, 2025 17 min

Flood - Noah's Ark during the Genesis flood — Noah's Ark during the Genesis flood. Live Science

18. Similarities With Other Near East Flood Myths

Flood - Utnapishtim's ark in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and Noah's Ark — Utnapishtim’s ark in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and Noah’s Ark. Tablets and Temples

The Genesis flood story shares notable similarities with other ancient Near Eastern flood myths. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim, Noah’s Mesopotamian counterpart, is warned by the god Ea to build a boat and save his family and animals from a great flood sent by the gods. After the flood, Utnapishtim releases birds to find dry land and offers a sacrifice. In the Babylonian tale of Atrahasis, the god Enlil decides to destroy humanity because their noise annoyed him.

However, the god Ea saves Atrahasis, advising him to build a boat. Such parallels suggest that the Genesis account could have been influenced by Mesopotamian flood traditions. However, there are key differences, such as the singular, moral deity in Genesis versus the capricious polytheism of Mesopotamian myths. Many other cultures beyond the Near East also have their own great flood myths.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.