Journal: Bible and Spade (Second Run)
Volume: BSPADE 26:1 (Winter 2013)
Article: We Hear You
Author: Editors

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BSpade 26:1 (Winter 2013) p. 2

We Hear You

Editors

The Gilgamesh Epic And Robert Ballard’s Flood Theory

Did the Hebrews copy from the Gilgamesh epic and is this epic older then the Hebrew account? Is there substance about Robert Ballard claiming he has found proof of Noah’s flood?

– Joshua

A Response By ABR Staff Member Rick Lanser:

Thank you for your questions. You can find some background on the Gilgamesh Epic in an article on the ABR website: http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2006/10/30/Who-Was-Nimrod.aspx.

Briefly, the best way to view the Gilgamesh Epic is to say that it draws from the same ultimate source materials as the Hebrew account, but suffered from a great deal of culture-related corruption in the process of being handed down—corruption which, in the providence of God, did not impact the source materials available to Moses when he brought them together into the form we know as the book of Genesis.

Wikipedia observes:

Although several revised versions based on new discoveries have been published, the epic remains incomplete. The earliest Sumerian poems are now generally considered to be distinct stories rather than parts of a single epic. They date from as early as the Third Dynasty of Ur (2150–2000 BC). The earliest Akkadian versions are dated to the early second millennium, most probably in the eighteenth or seventeenth century BC, when one or more authors drew upon existing literary material to create a single epic. The “standard”Akkadian version, consisting of twelve tablets, was edited by Sin-liqe- unninni sometime between 1300 and 1000 BC, and was found in the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh.

Due to the obviously legendary features of the Gilgamesh Epic and its general moral foulness, it makes little sense to view it as a direct precursor to Genesis. This is just a viewpoint that skeptics have latched onto because the alternative—a real God who did the things Genesis says He did—is too offensive to their minds to contemplate.

As for Ballard’s claim of finding proof of Noah’s flood, the best I can do is direct you to the following links:

http://biblicalgeology.net/blog/12-reasons-robert-ballard-has-not-discovered-noahs-flood/

http://biblicalgeology.net/blog/robert-ballards-noahs-flood-not- correct/

The Birth Date Of Jesus

I’m a religion reporter with The Repository newspaper in Canton, Ohio, looking for someone with expertise regarding the birth date of Jesus—specifically whether biblical archaeology suggests a date different from the traditional one of Dec. 25.

A Response By ABR Staff Member Gordon Franz:

Archaeology ...

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