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Could the Sumerian creation myth be the historical root of the Genesis flood narrative?
Debate Information
I will be arguing that the Sumerian creation myth could be the historical root of the Genesis flood narrative.
Although both stories display their own distinctive features, many of the key story elements are common in both..
The tale of Ziusudra from the Sumerian creation myth is known from a single fragmentary tablet written in Sumerian, datable by its script to the 17th century BC, and published in 1914 by Arno Poebel. The first part deals with the creation of man and the animals and the founding of the first cities. After a missing section in the tablet, we learn that the gods have decided to send a flood to destroy mankind. The god Enki (lord of the underworld sea of fresh water and Sumerian equivalent of Babylonian god Ea) warns Ziusudra, the ruler of Shuruppak, to build a large boat; the passage describing the directions for the boat is also lost. When the tablet resumes, it is describing the flood. A terrible storm raged for seven days, "the huge boat had been tossed about on the great waters," then Utu (Sun) appears and Ziusudra opens a window, prostrates himself, and sacrifices an ox and a sheep. After another break, the text resumes, the flood is apparently over, and Ziusudra is prostrating himself before An (Sky) and Enlil (Lordbreath), who give him "breath eternal" and take him to dwell in Dilmun. The remainder of the poem is lost.
The Epic of Ziusudra adds an element at lines 258–261 not found in other versions, that after the river flood "king Ziusudra ... they caused to dwell in the KUR Dilmun, the place where the sun rises". The Sumerian word "KUR" is an ambiguous word. Samuel Noah Kramer states that "its primary meanings is 'mountain' is attested by the fact that the sign used for it is actually a pictograph representing a mountain.
Now this sounds very much like the Genesis flood narrative, and if Samuel Noah Kramer is correct with his translation, then we even have Ziusudra's boat ending up on top of a mountain.
Although both stories display their own distinctive features, many of the key story elements are common in both..
The tale of Ziusudra from the Sumerian creation myth is known from a single fragmentary tablet written in Sumerian, datable by its script to the 17th century BC, and published in 1914 by Arno Poebel. The first part deals with the creation of man and the animals and the founding of the first cities. After a missing section in the tablet, we learn that the gods have decided to send a flood to destroy mankind. The god Enki (lord of the underworld sea of fresh water and Sumerian equivalent of Babylonian god Ea) warns Ziusudra, the ruler of Shuruppak, to build a large boat; the passage describing the directions for the boat is also lost. When the tablet resumes, it is describing the flood. A terrible storm raged for seven days, "the huge boat had been tossed about on the great waters," then Utu (Sun) appears and Ziusudra opens a window, prostrates himself, and sacrifices an ox and a sheep. After another break, the text resumes, the flood is apparently over, and Ziusudra is prostrating himself before An (Sky) and Enlil (Lordbreath), who give him "breath eternal" and take him to dwell in Dilmun. The remainder of the poem is lost.
The Epic of Ziusudra adds an element at lines 258–261 not found in other versions, that after the river flood "king Ziusudra ... they caused to dwell in the KUR Dilmun, the place where the sun rises". The Sumerian word "KUR" is an ambiguous word. Samuel Noah Kramer states that "its primary meanings is 'mountain' is attested by the fact that the sign used for it is actually a pictograph representing a mountain.
Now this sounds very much like the Genesis flood narrative, and if Samuel Noah Kramer is correct with his translation, then we even have Ziusudra's boat ending up on top of a mountain.
Debate Type: Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Voting Format: Formal Voting
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Time Per Round: 24 Hours Per Round
Voting Period: 7 Days
Status: Not Accepted (Post Argument To Accept The Debate)
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