Biblical flood and Other flood traditions

[MassMan]

There seems some commonality of the flood traditions from around the world with the biblical account of the flood although there are also differences of them. See the image. My conclusion is these flood traditions seems to originate from a single source. Now what is your conclusion?

Edited December 24, 2018 by MassMan

[Sensei]

This subject was many times discussed on this forum.

Instead of repeating over and over the same thing, I will simply give you links.

 

[Strange]

51 minutes ago, MassMan said:

My conclusion is these flood traditions seems to originate from a single source. Now what is your conclusion?

I would agree, if that source is "floods happen".

It is almost certain that the Biblical version was borrowed from the Epic of Gilgamesh. Others may have been too.

Others could easily arise independently. After all, the majority of civilisations have been either on the coast or on major rivers. So both the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilisations were both dependent on floods (for irrigating and fertilising the land) but also at danger from them. This is probably the reason that they both developed fairly advanced astronomy and, hence, mathematics. So they would both have had stories and legends associated with floods. There was also cultural exchange between them, so it wouldn't be surprising if there was some overlap between their stories.

Some parts of any flood story will be common: "humans saved"? Well, duh, humans are here. "boat built"? Well, what would you expect. 

In other parts of the world, floods could be caused by different things and so some details of the story would be different. For example, it is possible that the legend of Atlantis is based on the destruction of the Mycenean civilisation by a tidal wave.

You don't give a source for your diagram (naughty) but, from the content, I would assume it is not objective and biased towards confirming the Judeo-Christian myth.

[Endy0816]

Most of the other's time spans are much more reasonable too. Probably 7 days began to stretch people's belief as they learned just how much more 'world' there was.

[MassMan]

13 hours ago, Strange said:

I would agree, if that source is "floods happen".

It is almost certain that the Biblical version was borrowed from the Epic of Gilgamesh. Others may have been too.

Others could easily arise independently. After all, the majority of civilisations have been either on the coast or on major rivers. So both the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilisations were both dependent on floods (for irrigating and fertilising the land) but also at danger from them. This is probably the reason that they both developed fairly advanced astronomy and, hence, mathematics. So they would both have had stories and legends associated with floods. There was also cultural exchange between them, so it wouldn't be surprising if there was some overlap between their stories.

Some parts of any flood story will be common: "humans saved"? Well, duh, humans are here. "boat built"? Well, what would you expect. 

In other parts of the world, floods could be caused by different things and so some details of the story would be different. For example, it is possible that the legend of Atlantis is based on the destruction of the Mycenean civilisation by a tidal wave.

You don't give a source for your diagram (naughty) but, from the content, I would assume it is not objective and biased towards confirming the Judeo-Christian myth.

Sorry I forgot to put the source. Here is the diagram source: Chart adapted from B.C. Nelson, The Deluge Story in Stone , Appendix 11, Flood Traditions, Figure 38, Augsburg, Minneapolis, 1931.

 

In response, we couldn't deny the common fact of flood's universality as seen on the diagram.How can civilisation of different locations (rivers & coast) have a similar account for a universal flood? Other than that the commonality also of favored family.

Edited December 25, 2018 by MassMan

[Externet]

The more convincing explanation I read is when an earthquake broke the isthmus of Istanbul and the Mediterranean sea flooded the low lands of the now Black sea.  Centuries of history deformations ended as the biblical flood.

[Strange]

9 hours ago, MassMan said:

In response, we couldn't deny the common fact of flood's universality as seen on the diagram.How can civilisation of different locations (rivers & coast) have a similar account for a universal flood? Other than that the commonality also of favored family.

Because big floods have a lot in common. And human stories have a lot in common.

 

[Sensei]

7 hours ago, Externet said:

The more convincing explanation I read is when an earthquake broke the isthmus of Istanbul and the Mediterranean sea flooded the low lands of the now Black sea.  Centuries of history deformations ended as the biblical flood.

Closure of strait of Gibraltar, would result in evaporation of Mediterranean Sea in couple thousand years. Reopening of strait of Gibraltar, would result in flooding of land which is now below Mediterranean Sea..

 

"It is estimated that, were the straits closed even at today's higher sea level, most water in the Mediterranean basin would evaporate within only a thousand years, as it is believed to have done then,[13] and such an event would lay down mineral deposits like the salt deposits now found under the sea floor all over the Mediterranean."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Gibraltar

[Ten oz]

Human have historically often lived near bodies of water. Large bodies of water attract a large variety of life which humans could hunt and harvest. Water is also essential to human survival. A person can go look get without food than they can without water. Because flooding occurs and bodies of waters move it only makes sense that throughout history countless human populations have experienced floods. 

[Moontanman]

The flood myth of the Bible is plagiarized from a previous flood myth portrayed in the epic of Gilgamesh, which is plagiarized from a previous flood myth whose source escapes me at the moment.  The myths grew as each teller wanted to make his god bigger than the previous god but the flood story started out as a description of a local flood. Many possibilities for this flood from the Black Sea basin to the flooding of the tigris and euphrates rivers joining due to a huge rain event. I have seen a flash flood, they are impressive, primitive man must have feared them greatly.