Swiss [Music] to say [Music] [Music] prepare to have your mind blown the tale of Noah's cataclysmic Global flood is undeniably Iconic etching itself into the record of History and captivating readers across the globe but here's the real kicker it turns out that Noah's heroic Adventure is not as original as we might think brace yourself for a jaw-dropping revelation as this video unfurls the shocking truth the biblical flood starring our beloved hero Noah is essentially a cunning makeover of ancient Mesopotamian mythology Yes you heard it right Genesis chapters 1-11 and even more tantalizing details scattered throughout the book draw heavily from pre-existing myths and legends this begs the question what does it mean if Noah's story is merely a Johnny come lately shamelessly borrowing from older sources to spin the Genesis narrative shouldn't we pause and reflect on the historical accuracy of what we are reading could it be that Adam and Eve Cain and Abel Enoch and Noah are nothing more than fictional figures molded from the much earlier myths they so craftily repurposed now hold on to your seats because this mind-blowing video not only provides undeniable evidence of Genesis dependence on Mesopotamian Tales but it also delves into the intricate web of literary intertextuality and narrative motifs that tie these stories together it's time to embrace the truth these accounts are not factual records but rather captivating stories woven with the fabric of Mythology and Legend so the next time someone tries to convince you that the Bible predates these Mesopotamian myths or that it stands independently without borrowing their narrative threads unleash this video upon them it's a compelling expose that will leave even the staunchest Defenders of biblical historicity in all [Music] the origins of Noah's flood picture this a God who just a few chapters earlier created everything including man fashioned in his Divine image resembling him and his Celestial counsel all was splendidly good until those pesky humans went and messed it all up by nibbling on forbidden Godly fruit let's not forget that it was the same God who planted a talking snake in the garden to tempt these unsuspecting Mortals into unlocking their eyes and gaining god-like knowledge of Good and Evil instead of taking responsibility for placing the Temptation in their path God like any loving parent promptly evicted his own creation from the primordial Paradise that suspiciously resembles a Babylonian Utopia now Adam and Eve are left to toil and struggle scraping out a living and experiencing excruciating pain during childbirth but hold on tight because it gets even worse the first children of these first parents end up on an ancient version of Unsolved Mysteries with Cain committing fratricide and bumping off his only brother Abel and you won't believe the reason behind this murder spree apparently Cain offered God a humble basket of fruits while Abel dazzled the Divine taste buds with a mouth-watering filet mignon and just like a doting parent God rejected the fruit salad in devoured Abel's juicy barbecue it's almost reminiscent of the time Prometheus pulled the fast one on Zeus who demanded that humans sacrifice a portion of each animal to the Gods Prometheus decided to wrap bones in succulent fat cleverly hiding the filet mignon inside the animal's hide when Zeus made his choice he unwittingly selected the fatty deception resulting in his wrath and the subsequent punishment of mankind and Prometheus the good times back to our Twisted family Saga Cain is cursed and banished from the land eventually setting down finding a wife and naming his child Enoch a child with multiple parentage as it turns out you see the genealogies in Genesis 4 and Genesis 5 are nothing more than fabricated traditions cleverly inserted into the Bible it's like having two contradictory creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 where he Priestly scribe tried his best to merge them into one cohesive Tale the same game is at play with these genealogies leading up to Noah's flood the cataclysmic event that wiped out this once very good creation thanks to this Priestly scribe or scribes many later Traditions tried to explain the lineage of Cain versus Seth now if you're as curious as I am about why the seemingly good God would obliterate Mankind and still be regarded as benevolent by the biblical authors then stay tuned this video will not only reveal the true origins of Noah's flood story but also debunked the flood-related conspiracy theories and misinformation that run rampant on the internet so forget tuning into Joe Rogan for ill-informed flood discussions and join us as we present the facts straight from the mouths of experts specializing in ancient Sumer old Babylon Assyria new Babylon the ancient near East and of course the Bible Mesopotamian precursors it should come as no surprise to us that the story of a God destroying the world with a flood was not new to the Book of Genesis more than a thousand years before the story found its way into the Bible it was etched into clay tablets in ancient Mesopotamia in the Sumerian and Acadian languages the earliest cuneiform texts that contained the Mesopotamian flood story date to the early 2nd millennium BCE time known as the old Babylonian period roughly 2000 to 1600 BCE [Music] we will begin with the Sumerian version of the story excavated from the ancient Sumerian city of nepor The Story begins with creation where the Gods on in Lil Inky and ninharsag created humanity and the animals in order that they might do work to provide for the Gods [Music] let them build many cities so that I can refresh myself in their shade let them lay the bricks of many cities in pure places let them establish places of Divination in pure places and when the fire quenching is arranged the Divine rights and exalted powers are perfected and the Earth is irrigated I will establish well-being there after a fragmentary section the story continues describing how kingship descended from Heaven to Earth and the cities were built in Sumer these sacred cities were assigned to individual gods Inky was to lead eridu sud was over sharupak and the Sun God utu was placed in charge of sipar the land had been established the right to rule had been granted by the Gods and the sacred temples had been built in the cities for the benefit of their gods all was right with the world but it was not to last the text again becomes fragmentary but we can see that something eventually went wrong the gods convened and determined that they would send a flood over all the Earth in order to destroy their creation on in Lil Inky and ninhar SOG made all the gods of Heaven and Earth take an oath by invoking on and in little but Inky quietly dissented having taken the oath not to reveal these plans to humanity simply warn the people instead through his cunning he descended to Earth and found sudra the one of long life who would ultimately survive the flood Inky could not simply warn ziud sudra instead he spoke to a wall that ziud sudra was standing near side walls standing at my left side sidewall I will speak words to you take heed of my words pay attention to my instructions a flood will sweep over a decision that the seed of mankind is to be destroyed has been made the verdict the word of the Divine assembly cannot be revoked the order announced by on and in Lil cannot be overturned [Music] Inky then explains to Ziad sudra what he is to do to survive although the text is broken in the section that describes the instructions and the building of the boat when the story picks back up we see the flood had finally happened all the wind storms and gals arose together and floods swept over After the flood had swept over the land and waves and windstorms had rocked the huge boat for seven days and seven nights into the sun god came out Illuminating Heaven and Earth sudra could drill an opening in the huge boat and the hero utu entered the huge boat with his rays utra the king prostrated himself before utu the king sacrificed oxen and offered innumerable sheep in the final section of the story The Gods determine what to do with zeud sudra as they had not expected anyone to survive the flood more and more animals disembarked onto the Earth sudra the king prostrated himself before on and in little on an in-lill treated Zoo utsudra kindly they granted him life like a god they brought down to him eternal life at the same time because of preserving the animals and the seed of humankind they settled sudra the king and an overseas country in the land of ill Moon where the sun rises we now turn our attention to the famous Acadian story of atrahasis part of the old Babylonian flood tradition from Mesopotamia the story opens with the Lesser Gods doing the work of forced labor work that would later be placed upon mankind [Music] when gods were men they did forced labor they bore drudgery great indeed was the drudgery of the Gods they forced laborer was heavy the misery too much the great Gods Anu inlil and Inky divided up the world on taking the sky as his home in Lil taking the Earth and Inky dwelling in the apsu the freshwater sphere under the Earth the Lesser gods toiled and labored eventually rebelling against the great gods eventually the great Gods decided to create Humanity by killing the Lesser God who started the rebellion and mixing him with Clay to create humans who would then bear the load of serving the Gods Humanity begins to reproduce 1200 years had not gone by the land had grown numerous the peoples had increased the land was bellowing like a bull the God was Disturbed with their uproar Inland heard their clamor he said to the great Gods the clamor of humankind has become burdensome to me I am losing sleep to their uproar in-lil devises a plan to get some sleep decimate Humanity he first attempts to send a plague but Inky just as in the Sumerian flood story tells a human by the name of atrahasi's exceedingly wise how to save everyone from the plague and Humanity continues to make noise after another 1200 years the noise continues to increase and in-lill devises another plan cut off Provisions for the peoples let plant life be too scantly for their hunger let a dog the storm of God withdraw his reign below let the flood not come up from the depths again Inky advises atrahasis who rescues Humanity finally in-lil decides to send a flood but not before Inky swears an oath that he will not make known the plan of the Gods to humanity as in the Sumerian story Inky uses his cunning to circumvent his oath whoa listen to me read wall pay attention to my words flea house build boat forsake possessions and save life the boat that you build cover her with tarpalas roof her over like the debts so that the sun will not see inside her let her be roofed over four and aft the gear should be very firm the pitch should be very firm make her strong atrahasis goes to people in his City and gets them to help him construct the boat and he gathers animals and other provisions when the time for the flood actually came he was ready the Outlook of the weather changed A Dodd began to Roar in the clouds the god they heard his clamor he brought pitch to fill his door by the time he had bolted his door a Dawn was roaring in the clouds the winds were Furious as he set forth he caught The Mooring rope he released the boat the storm that brought the flood was so terrible so violent that even the gods themselves were afraid the gods became afraid of the clamor of the deluge they took refuge in heaven they crouched outside Anu became afraid of the clamor of the deluge it was terrifying the Gods furthermore they realized that without Humanity to serve them they were unable to eat and drink for humans provided their daily provisions they immediately regretted their decision to annihilate Humanity there is a break in the text but when it picks back up it appears that the flood has subsided in atrahasis has offered sacrifices to the Gods the gods sniffed the savior they were gathered like flies around the offering after they had eaten the offering nintu arose to rail against all of them where has Anu come to the chief decision maker has in little drawn nigh the incense they who are rationally brought about the flood and relegated the peoples to catastrophe the end of the story is again fragmentary but in Little finds out that atrahasis has survived the warrior in Lil saw the vessel and was filled with anger at the egigi Gods all we great annuna Gods result together on an oath where did life Escape how did a man survive the catastrophe Anu made ready to speak and said to the warrior in little who could do this but Inky foreign [Music] the final Mesopotamian story that we will cover that preserves the flood story is the Epic of Gilgamesh another text that goes back to the old Babylonian period although the flood story is contained in tablet 11 of the Epic we should briefly explain the events leading up to the telling of the story Gilgamesh who was two-thirds Divine was an unruly King of the city of Uruk the people of Uruk asked the gods to help and they create inkidoo who has commonality with the animal kingdom and lives in the Steep outside the city he is eventually made human and brought to meet Gilgamesh and together they go on Grand adventures in order to make a name for themselves ultimately however in Lil becomes displeased with some of their actions and inkidu is condemned to die after mourning the loss of his friend Gilgamesh fills his own mortality and sets off to find eternal life this ultimately leads him to the end of the world across the sea of death where he finds utna piston meaning I found life a man who had gained immortality when Gilgamesh asked utnapished him how he was able to find eternal life he told them the story of how he survived the flood Bhutan pissed him described How the Gods determined to send a flood to destroy Humanity their father Anu swore an oath and their counselor the hero in little their Chamberlain the God ninerta and their Sheriff the god in Nuki princelyia swore with them also repeating their words to a fence made of Reed offensive read o wall of brick hear this offense o man of sharupak son of uber tutu demolished the house and build a boat abandon wealth and seek survival property save life take on board the boat all living things seed pissed him builds the boat and gathers the animals and all his provisions the flood came and the gods became terrified at the storm and regretted sending the flood [Music] even the gods took fright at the Deluge they fret and went up to the heaven of Anu lying like dogs curled up in the open the goddess cried out like a woman in childbirth belet Ely weld whose voice is so sweet the olden times have turned to Clay because I spoke evil in the gods assembly and declare a war to destroy my people it is I who give birth these people are mine and now like fish they fill the ocean storm eventually relented and the boat ran aground on Mount nimus the seventh day when it came I brought out a dove I Let it Loose off went the dove but then it returned there was no place to land so back it came to me I brought out a swallow I Let it Loose off went the swallow but then it returned there was no place to land so back it came to me I brought on a raven I Let it Loose off it went to the Raven it saw the waters receding finding food bowing and bobbing it did not come back to me disembarks offers sacrifices and the gods gather around the sacrifice in Lil discovers that humans have sacrificed then at once in little arrived he saw the boat he was seized with anger filled with rage at the Divine geeky from where escape this living being no man was meant to survive the destruction after it is revealed how they survived in little grants him and his wife a special gift in the past utnapisti was a mortal man but now he and his wife shall become like us gods who napishti shall dwell far away where the rivers flow forth so far away they took me and settled me where the rivers flow forth [Music] the flood story in the Bible the biblical flood story follows the same pattern as what we have seen thus far in the Mesopotamian Traditions with a few important distinctions that we will cover later Genesis 6 opens with human beings greatly multiplying just as we have seen in other stories however Divine beings come down and procreate with human women in this context the story describes Humanity as being incredibly Wicked leading to Yahweh regretting that he had even created them he then resolves to destroy all humans save for Noah and his family he instructs no one how to build a boat and to gather animals to bring aboard Yahweh sends the flood and destroys all life on Earth save for those on the boat After the flood waters receive Noah sends out his Birds to see if the waters had gone down far enough for land to come back into view after 40 days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the Earth then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground but the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the Earth so it returned to Noah in the ark he reached out his hand and took the Dove and brought it back to himself in the ark he waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark when the dove returned to him in the evening there in its Beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf then no one knew that the water had receded from the Earth Noah and his family ultimately disembark and offer sacrifices to Yahweh who smells the sacrifice and displeased the flood narrative in Enoch The Book of Enoch also describes the flood in an expanded form of what we see in the Book of Genesis when the sons of men had multiplied in those days beautiful and calmly daughters were born to them and the Watchers the sons of Heaven saw them and desired them and they said to one another come let us choose for ourselves wives from the daughters of men and let us beget children for ourselves when these Angelic beings begun to mate with the human women they taught them sorcery charms cutting of roots and plants along with a host of divination practices when we come to the flood story Noah realizes that destruction is on the horizon he travels to the ends of the Earth and finds his great-grandfather Enoch to find out what is happening Enoch replies the command has gone forth from the presence of the Lord against the inhabitants of the Earth that their end is accomplished for they have learned all the secrets of the angels and all the violence of the Satan's and all their powers the hidden secrets and all the powers of those who practice sorcery and the powers of brightly colored garments and the powers of those who cast molten images for all the Earth leaving no question as to the reason for the flood the text reads because of their iniquity their judgment has been accomplished and will not be withheld in my presence because of the sorceries that they have searched out and learned the Earth will be destroyed and those who dwell on it and these will never have a place of Refuge forever for they have shown them what is hidden and they are judged but as for you my son the Lord of spirits knows that you are purer and blameless of this reproach concerning the Mysteries God eventually tells Noah your lot has come up to me a lot Without Blame A lot of love and uprightness and now the angels are making a wooden vessel and when the angels have completed that task I will put my hand upon it and protect it and from it will come the seed of life and a change will take place so that the Earth will not remain desolate the story is not told in the same detail but the destruction of the World by the flood with Noah being saved in a boat Remains the Same [Music] points of contact let's look at some of the specific lexical connections that can be seen in The Genesis Flood story starting with Genesis 6 14. make for yourself an arc of gopher wood make the ark into compartments and cover it inside and out with pitch the Hebrew word koffer pitch it appears in this verse as highly suggestive of dependence of the biblical flood story on the Mesopotamian accounts this word appears only here in Genesis 6 14. it shows up nowhere else in the Bible conversely it's Acadian cognate kuprew is very common and it shows up in a wide variety of contexts including you guessed it the flood stories in both atrahasis and the Epic of Gilgamesh in atrahasis Aya gives these instructions for building the ark won't fit over like the depths so that the sun will not see inside her let her be roofed over for and aft the gear should be very firm the pitch could prove should be firm make her strong similarly in the Epic of Gilgamesh we see the building of the Ark in progress at the first glimmer of dawn the land was assembling at the Gate of atrahasis the carpenter carried his ads the Reed cutter carried his Stone the shipwright carried his broad ax the young men the old men brought the coiled Palm fiber the wealthy carried pitch cupro in short in both atrahasis and the Epic of Gilgamesh in the sections describing the building of the Ark this very common word KU pru pitch bitumen is used to describe how the ark is supposed to be sealed and Genesis 6 14 we see the same Semitic word kofer in the exact same context but moreover this is the only place where the word appears in the Old Testament furthermore there is another word for pitch hemar that appears elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible three times Genesis 11 3 14 10 and exodus 2 3.
this means that Hebrew already had a perfectly suitable word that referred to a substance that was used to seal the outside of something to make it watertight and yet the author of this story opted for an entirely foreign cognate in its place another interesting word is used in Genesis 8 2. the headwaters of the deep and the windows of Heaven were stopped up sakhar and the rain from heaven was held back this word sakar is another of these rare words appearing in the Hebrew Bible only twice here and in Psalm 63 12. however its Acadian cognate sakeru is very common and as you might expect it occurs in contexts that speak of the stopping up of the waters in one version of atrahasis a dog the storm God above made his Reigns scarce below the river was blocked up sakeru and did not raise the flood from the abyss the fields diminished their yields the immediate contexts and these two flood narratives are not the same atrah hasis is speaking of stopping up the waters to keep the crops from growing while Genesis 8 speaks of stopping up the waters to end the flood itself nevertheless the fact that this very rare word is used in common between both texts to describe the same scenario seems more than a simple coincidence before we conclude this section let's look at one final point of contact in the flood account the story of Noah sending out the dove as you recall from the introduction to this chapter there is a clear parallel to this portion of the story in the Epic of Gilgamesh [Music] foreign [Music] I brought out a dove and set it free the dove soared off in search of food no Landing Place appeared to it so it came back I brought out a swallow and set it free the swallow sword off in search of food no Landing Place appeared to it so it came back to me I brought out a raven and set it free The Raven soared off and saw the ebbing of the waters it ate scratched and bobbed its head so it did not come back while there are clear parallels between imagery here and in Genesis 8.
there appears to be a more precise connection with verse 9A and tablet 11 line 150. these lines read but the dove did not find a perch for the soul of its foot and it returned to him to the ark Genesis 8 verse 9 no perch was available for it and it came back to me Gilgamesh tablet 11 verse 150. if there is a direct textual dependence of the biblical text on the Epic of Gilgamesh then the later author would have translated the Acadian line into Hebrew lo and behold here there is a strong conceptual similarity between these two lines [Music] what's the point there is an overall point to the story of the flood in Genesis if you recall from Genesis 1 following their creation Humanity was charged to multiply and spread out through the Earth this command shows up again at the end of the flood account and is ultimately resolved by force in Genesis 11.
