The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels

Description

Cuneiform records made some three thousand years ago are the basis for this essay on the ideas of death and the afterlife and the story of the flood which were current among the ancient peoples of the Tigro-Euphrates Valley. With the same careful scholarship shown in his previous volume, The Babylonian Genesis, Heidel interprets the famous Gilgamesh Epic and other related Babylonian and Assyrian documents. He compares them with corresponding portions of the Old Testament in order to determine the inherent historical relationship of Hebrew and Mesopotamian ideas. Alexander Heidel was at the time of his death in 1955 in the research Staff of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. Cover Back Cover Title Preface Contents List of Symbols and Special Characters 1. The Gilgamesh Epic The Discovery of the Tablets The Publication of the Tablets The Hero of the Epic A Summary of the Epic The Central Theme of the Epic The Sources of the Epic The Age of the Epic Tablet I Tablet II Tablet III Tablet IV Tablet V Tablet VI Tablet VII Tablet VIII Tablet IX Tablet X Tablet XI Tablet XII 2. Related Material A Sumerlan Deluge Version from Nippur A Semitic Deluge Fragment from Nippur The Atrahasis Epic The Deluge Account of Berossus Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld Nergal and Ereshkigal A Prince's Vision of the Underworld 3. Death and the Afterlife The Origin and Nature of Death Burial Customs The Realm of the Dead The Condition of the Dead The Resurrection of the Dead Concluding Remarks 4. The Story of the Flood The Authors of the Flood The Reason for the Flood The Hero of the Flood The Announcement of the Flood The Period of Grace The Ark The Occupants of the Ark The Day of the Beginning of the Flood The Causes of the Flood The Duration of the Flood The Magnitude and Effect of the Flood The Landing-Place of the Ark The Bird Scene The Exit from the Ark The Sacrifice Divine Blessings The Conclusion of the Covenant A New Creation of Humans after the Flood The Problem of Dependence Concluding Remarks