The Flood: What’s the Point?
Introduction to the Flood
You know the story.
God decided to flood the entire world, and start over with humanity. God told one man to build a boat of specific dimensions, and load animals of every kind on the boat, along with his family. The rain began, flooding the entire world.
When the rain stopped, the man sent out a dove, which came back (after finding no dry land). Later, he sent out a sparrow, which also came back. Finally, he sent out a raven, which never came back, so he knew dry land was close. When he landed on dry land, the man offered a sacrifice to God.
Most people would read this synopsis and say it was the story of Noah.
Actually, it first was the story of Utnapishtim, and the story comes from Babylon (and it appears that the Babylonians borrowed it from earlier Mesopotamian sources).
The story comes from the Babylonian chronicles called the Epic of Gilgamesh. In it, Gilgamesh is looking for how to become immortal, and he hears that Utnapishtim is immortal. Gilgamesh goes to inquire how he got his immortality. Utnapishtim tells the story of how Ea, the wise earth god, told him of the coming flood, and how to build a boat to survive.
It was common practice in the ancient world to borrow stories from other cultures. In Genesis and Exodus, there are at least a half-dozen stories borrowed from Babylon mythology. But the writers of the Bible never just copied and pasted the story. They changed the story to teach readers something about God.
The Nephilim
In Genesis 6, we read one of the odder passages of the Bible. It talks about how the sons of god—the Nephilim—took the daughters of men as wives. This kind of narrative is popular in other cultures, but it is not a normal part of the Biblical narrative. Theologians have been bending over backwards for centuries to interpret this.
It appears this comes from and ancient Mesopotamian myth. The exact original myth remains elusive, but it has the sound of early Mesopotamian stories.
So why are the Nephilim in the Bible?
The Bible uses this story for a particular purpose: to show the complete breakdown of morality in the universe. It wasn’t just a few individuals who couldn’t get along (like Cain and Abel)—everything was terrible. Things had become so bad, so wicked, so rotten to the core, that God had to do something. The whole universe had gone to hell in a handbasket. God’s only choice was to reboot the human race.
What’s the Point of the Biblical Story of the Flood?
Why did the writers of Genesis decide to use this Babylonian story? How did they change the Babylonian story? What are they trying to teach people about God and our relationship with him?
Here’s a few thoughts.
In the story of Utnapishtim, the god Enlil decided to kill everyone on earth because people were too loud and he couldn’t get any sleep. The Babylonian gods were capricious and prone to violent temper tantrums. In the Biblical story of the flood, the reason God sends the flood is because people were wicked, and every inclination of their heart was evil (Genesis 6:5). Ethics and morality were the issue, not being too loud. Noah’s story is about how God preserves the righteous.
In the Babylonian story, Enlil is enraged that he can’t get any sleep. In the Biblical story, we get a picture of God as mourning. He was sorry that the people were so wicked. Instead of a temper tantrum, God is pictured as if he is a grieved father who’s children had all rejected him.
In the Biblical account, God places a rainbow in the sky and says he will never destroy the world with a flood again. That’s a clear difference with the Babylonian gods, who made no such promise. The Biblical account shows a God who will make a promise to his people—a God who is in a relationship with His people.
Here’s the Point
The story of Noah continues to grab the imaginations of people. Adventurers still search for the ark on Mount Ararat. Many claimed to have seen the ark, which is perhaps a bit like the Christian version of the people who have claimed to have seen Elvis Presley after he died.
News reports still explore the possibility of an ancient flood in the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley. Perhaps, they say, the flood became part of the collective memory of the Middle Eastern culture, and passed down from generation to generation.
But the point of the flood narrative is that God is not capricious or cursed with a violent temper. He is not like the Babylonian gods. God invites us into a relationship with Him. And in love and compassion, He relentlessly pursues us.
If you liked this article, you might enjoy Understanding Genesis: The Beginning of the Promise, a Bible study suitable for personal or group study.
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More Bible and Church Resources
Read the Bible in a Year: 52 Introductions for a Chronological Journey through the Bible
Help! I Want to Read the Bible: A Beginner’s Quick Start Guide
Understanding Genesis: The Beginning of the Promise. A Bible Study
Youth Ministry: Ten Non-Group Models
Conversations at the Pearly Gates: Six Dramas for Lent
Holy Week at the Jerusalem Café: Six Dramas for Lent