gligamesh and friends
I began fussing with the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Enuma Elish because a group of people with whom I work were curious about Noah.
And I can’t, of course, teach about Noah and the Flood without teaching about the different creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2.
And I most assuredly can’t do them any credit if I don’t make a nod to other Ancient Near East literature.
(Utterly unrelated to the task at hand, this little nugget from Gilgamesh [and I love it that my spell-checker knows this word without even being so programmed. Smart Mac.] caught my little eye.
“Gilgamesh, whither are you wandering? Life, which you look for, you will never find. For when the gods created man, they let death be his share, and life withheld in their own hands. Gilgamesh, fill your belly, day and night make merry, let days be full of joy, dance and make music day and night. And wear fresh clothes, and wash your head and bathe. Look at the child that is holding your hand, and let your wife delight in your embrace. These things alone are the concern of men.”
Some say it is the oldest recorded advice in literature.
Just saying’.)
But vis-à-vis Old Testament tales of creation and floods, these two stories shaped the texts we know so well…even though we don’t know these primary texts well.
Or at all.
The Enuma Elish was crafted around the 12 century BCE.
It’s a tale of two divine figures, the fresh-water male god Apsu, and the salt-water female god Mummu-Tiamat (she was called Tiamat for short). Tiamat is depicted also as a dragon from the sea (think, “Leviathan”).
Their, um, waters mingled, and created more gods. These ragamuffins made Apsu and Tiamut nuts with their racket.
What is inappropriate may be age-appropriate, I always say, but Apsu and Tiamut didn’t see it that way, and decided the best thing to do to quiet the noise was to kill the kids.
The kids, however, found out about this plot, and figured that doing unto others as they intended to do to you was a good policy, and
And I can’t, of course, teach about Noah and the Flood without teaching about the different creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2.
And I most assuredly can’t do them any credit if I don’t make a nod to other Ancient Near East literature.
(Utterly unrelated to the task at hand, this little nugget from Gilgamesh [and I love it that my spell-checker knows this word without even being so programmed. Smart Mac.] caught my little eye.
“Gilgamesh, whither are you wandering? Life, which you look for, you will never find. For when the gods created man, they let death be his share, and life withheld in their own hands. Gilgamesh, fill your belly, day and night make merry, let days be full of joy, dance and make music day and night. And wear fresh clothes, and wash your head and bathe. Look at the child that is holding your hand, and let your wife delight in your embrace. These things alone are the concern of men.”
Some say it is the oldest recorded advice in literature.
Just saying’.)
But vis-à-vis Old Testament tales of creation and floods, these two stories shaped the texts we know so well…even though we don’t know these primary texts well.
Or at all.
The Enuma Elish was crafted around the 12 century BCE.
It’s a tale of two divine figures, the fresh-water male god Apsu, and the salt-water female god Mummu-Tiamat (she was called Tiamat for short). Tiamat is depicted also as a dragon from the sea (think, “Leviathan”).
Their, um, waters mingled, and created more gods. These ragamuffins made Apsu and Tiamut nuts with their racket.
What is inappropriate may be age-appropriate, I always say, but Apsu and Tiamut didn’t see it that way, and decided the best thing to do to quiet the noise was to kill the kids.
The kids, however, found out about this plot, and figured that doing unto others as they intended to do to you was a good policy, and