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Updated: May 21, 2025
It would be an insult to Ea's dignity to suppose that he is unable to govern his own territory. The catastrophe comes from above, from Ramman and his associates who act at the instigation of the belligerent Bel. Parnapishtim begins at once to build the ship. He gathers his material, and on the fifth day is ready to construct the hull.
It also recalls the destruction of Sodom, and we shall have occasion to show the significance of these points of contact. Bearing in mind the independent character of the Parnapishtim episode, and the motives that led to its being incorporated in the adventures of Gilgamesh, we may proceed with our analysis of this interesting eleventh tablet.
Gilgamesh falls into a heavy stupor, and continues in this state for six days and seven nights. An interesting dialogue ensues between Parnapishtim and his wife. Parnapishtim says to his wife: "Look at the man whose desire is life. Sleep has fallen upon him like a storm."
The sixth tablet marks an important division in the epic. The Ishtar and Sabitum episodes and the narrative of Parnapishtim itself a compound of two independent tales, one semi-historical, the other a nature-myth represent accretions that may refer to a time when Gilgamesh had become little more than a name, a type of mankind in general.
Beyond some touches in the narrative, we may, therefore, regard Parnapishtim's story, together with the 'lesson' it teaches, as an interesting trace of the early theology as it took shape in the popular mind. What adds interest to the story that Parnapishtim tells, is its close resemblance to the Biblical story of the Deluge.
For six days and nights Wind, rain-storm, hurricane swept along; When the seventh day arrived, the storm began to moderate, Which had waged a contest like a great host. The sea quieted down, wind and rain-storm ceased. Parnapishtim then gazes at the destruction. Bitterly weeping I looked at the sea, For all mankind had been turned to clay. In place of dams, everything had become a marsh.
No doubt, various deeds of Gilgamesh were recounted in the missing portions of the epic, and it is also quite likely that besides the stories in the epic, others were current of Gilgamesh to which a literary form was never given. The Parnapishtim episode passed on to the Arabs, where the hero of the deluge appears under the name of Khadir a corruption of Adra-Khasis.
At this point Gilgamesh propounds a most natural question: How comes it, if what Parnapishtim says is true, that the latter is alive, while possessing all the traits of a human being? The eleventh tablet of the epic begins: Gilgamesh speaks to him, to Parnapishtim, the far-removed: "I gaze at thee in amazement, Parnapishtim. Thy appearance is normal. As I am, so art thou.
Parnapishtim carefully provides plugs to fill out all crevices, and furthermore smears a large quantity of bitumen without and within. He also has a large quantity of oil placed on the boat, oxen, jars filled with mead oil, and wine for a festival, which he institutes at the completion of the structure. The preparations are on a large scale, as for the great New Year's Day celebrated in Babylonia.
If there is any connection between the island where Parnapishtim dwells and the Greek conception of 'an island of the blessed, it is a trace of foreign influence in Babylonian mythology.
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