The Flood Story in Its Ancient Near Eastern Context
Published: October 19, 2014
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Last Updated: September 7, 2026
Babylonian scribes interpreted the name of this city as “gate of the gods” (bāb ilī), but the true etymology of the name remains unknown.
For more on Smith and his discoveries, see David Damrosch, “Epic Hero,” Smithsonian Magazine May, 2007. Online: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/epic-hero-153362976/?all. The flood story in the Gilgamesh Epic is available in numerous translations, including the one here: http://www.livius.org/fa-fn/flood/flood3-t-gilgamesh.html.
For a summary of the parallels, see John Day, “Comparative Ancient Near Eastern Study: The Genesis Flood Narrative in Relation to Ancient Near Eastern Flood Accounts,” in Biblical Interpretation and Method: Essays in Honour of John Barton (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 74–88.
W.G. Lambert and A.R. Millard, Atra-hasīs: The Babylonian Story of the Flood (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1999).
Tikva Frymer-Kensky, “The Atrahasis Epic and its Significance for our Understanding of Genesis 1–9,” Biblical Archeologist 40 (1977):148.
Frymer-Kensky, “Significance,” 150.
Frymer-Kensky, “Significance,” 150. The rejection of the theme of overpopulation and its prevention extends to the “Tower of Babel” story, too. The builders undertake their project to prevent being “scattered all over the world” (Gen 11:4).
