Genesis 6:9 to 9:29
The End of Nature
Image Caption: Babylonian Map of the World. Source: The Imago Mundi: Babylonian Directions to Noah’s Ark (Armstrong Institute) [https://armstronginstitute.org/1127-the-imago-mundi-babylonian-directions-to-noahs-ark]
Irving Finkel and other researchers at the British Museum deciphered a text on a 2900-year-old Babylonian Map of the World that depicts the location of the ark. The tablet's cuneiform text details an ancient flood story in which a survivor builds a giant ark. The Babylonians refer to the shipbuilder as Utnapishtim. Recent translations of the tablet's back describe a traveler's journey toward remote mountain regions, and that the ark came to rest on a mountain they called "Urartu". Scholars equate this with biblical "Ararat," where Noah's Ark landed. The tablet includes the parsiktu, a measurement applied elsewhere only to the ark, which ties this map’s text to other Babylonian flood narratives.
Mesopotamian Flood Accounts
TBD
The Mesopotamian Flood Hero
Four names — one hero
- Ziusudra, Sumer, Sumerian Deluge Account, 2150 BC
- Atra-Hasis, Akkad, Atrahasis Epic, 1800 BC
- Uta-Napishti, Babylon, Gilgamesh Epic XI, 1300 BC
- Noah, Israel, Genesis 6–9, 1000 BC
Among the Mesopotamian flood stories, there appears to be a common acestry. The hero’s name may change, depending on source language and culture, but the historical derivation seems common. In each case, the name of the hero seems to be role based, rather than historical.
Neo-Sumerian Culture
In the time of the patriarchs of Genesis (22nd to 19th centuries BC), the Neo-Sumerian and later Old Babylonian Empires held sway over northern Mesopotamia and the Levant (ancient Amorites). The Old Babylonian Period (1894 to 1595 BC) absorbed Neo-Sumerian power and culture through a calculated mix of military conquest, political maneuvering, religious and cultural integration, and the centralization of law (e.g., the Code of Hammurabi). Major cities of Neo-Sumer continued on into the Old Babylonian Period, evolving from independent city-states into major administrative and religious centers of Hammurabi’s empire.
- Eshnunna — A key Sumerian and Akkadian city in central Mesopotamia that was eventually conquered by Hammurabi.
- Sippar — An important religious and highly cosmopolitan mercantile center.Kish: Located just east of Babylon, it remained continuously occupied and active.
- Nippur — The spiritual and religious center of Sumer. It survived the longest, remaining an active city well into the later periods.
- Isin — Following the fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur (2004 BC), it became a powerful independent dynasty before being absorbed by Babylon.
- Larsa — A major rival to Babylon, it continued as a significant southern city before falling under Babylonian control.
- Uruk — Remained an important cultural and urban center, despite revolting against Babylonian rule around 1739 BC.
- Ur — The capital of the Neo-Sumerian Empire (2112 to 2004 BC) until the fall of the Ur III Dynasty to Elam (2004 BC). Although no longer a political capital in the Old Babylonian Period, it remained a prestigious center of learning.
- Eridu — Continued into the Old Babylonian period only as a sacred pilgrimage site. Environmental conditions and shifting river courses left the city mostly abandoned, and its political influence was gone. It survived mainly as a religious center dedicated to the god Enki.
Image Caption: Ancient Mesopotamia map featuring insets from Nippur and Uruk. Sources: Uruk Flood Cylinder (Dig Deeper) [http://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2016/12/archaeology-uruk-flood-cylinder.html]; Nippur (Ancient Wisdom) [http://www.ancient-wisdom.com/iraqnippur.htm]; Ancient Mesopotamia Map (Dust Off the Bible) [https://dustoffthebible.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Ancient-Mesopotamia-Map.jpg]
If the city Ur that Abram's father Terah departed was the Sumerian Ur (rather than Ura near Harran), and if Terah's departure happened before Abram reached 75 years (having been born ca. 2166 BC), Terah could not have departed Sumerian Ur because of the fall of the Ur III Dynasty (2004 BC). Rather, he would have left during the height of the Ur III Dynastic Period. In any case, Terah's family was of Amorite (Ezekiel 16:3) come Aramean (Deuteronomy 26:5) descent; they were not Sumerian. Amorites are known to have been widely present in Sumerian Ur at the time, though they were not its dominant culture.
All this is to suggest that Terah's family may have shared in cultural cross-pollination with peoples of the Ur III and later Old Babylonian Empires, and the patriarchal family may thus have carried ancient myths and stories as a part of their cultural heritage that would later become their family traditions.
Sumerian Deluge Account
TBD
Sumerian Deluge Account: Uruk Flood Cylinder
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Image Caption: Uruk Flood Cylinder: seal impression recovered from Uruk (biblical Erech). The seal depicts an Akkadian king in a boat with crates and animals, and Sumerian boatmen. The flood legend of Ziusudra mentions Puzur-Amurri, the boatman. Source: Uruk Flood Cylinder (Dig Deeper) [http://master1844-dc.blogspot.com/2016/12/archaeology-uruk-flood-cylinder.html]
TBD
Sumerian Deluge Account: Nippur Tablet
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Image Caption: Sumerian Deluge Tablet (Reverse). Nippur, Iraq. 1750 BC. Clay. Source: The oldest Sumerian flood tablet reveals a forgotten deluge story written long before the Bible (Curiosmos) [https://curiosmos.com/oldest-sumerian-flood-tablet/]
Excavators at Nippur (modern Nuffar) in 1892 and 1893 brought 35,000 cuneiform tablets (many Sumerian) to Pennsylvania University. In 1913, Arno Poebel identified and deciphered an important Sumerian tablet containing the earliest known account of the Deluge.
The earliest Deluge Account, sometimes called the Eridu Genesis, is in Sumerian and dated to the end of the third millennium B.C. The Sumerian tablet, arranged in 3 columns on 2 sides, was missing two thirds of its original 350 lines.
The Pennsylvania Museum tablet of the Sumerian flood story is the oldest known exempar of any flood story in the world.
(Enlarge image)
Image Caption: Sumerian Deluge Tablet (Obverse). Nippur, Iraq. 1750 BC. Clay.Source: Two of Each: The Nippur Deluge Tablet and Noah's Flood (Carlos Museum, Emory University) [https://carlos.emory.edu/exhibition/two-each-nippur-deluge-tablet-and-noahs-flood]
The Sumerian Deluge Tablet, discovered among the ruins of ancient Nippur, is a fragmented version of this flood account, known among the earliest cities of Mesopotamia. According to Sumerian beliefs, civilization began in Eridu (Tell Abu Shahrayn), one of the earliest settlements on Earth. Experts say the city of Eridu was founded around 5400 BC (early Ubaid period). The ancients say it was the first city "where kingship descended from heaven."
Sumerian Deluge Account: Nippur Tablet
COLUMN I
After Anu, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursag
had fashioned the black-headed people,
Vegetation sprang from the earth,
Animals, four-legged creatures of the plain,
Were brought artfully into existence
[37 lines are unreadable]
COLUMN II
After the … of kingship had been lowered from heaven
After the exalted crown and the throne of kingship
Had been lowered from heaven,
He perfected the rites and exalted the divine ordinances …
He founded the five cities in pure places, …
Then did Nintu weep like a … .
The pure Inanna set up a lament for its people,
Enki took council with himself,
Anu, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursag … .
The gods of heaven and earth uttered the name of Anu and Enlil
Then did Ziusudra, the king, the priest of … ,
Build a giant … ;
Humbly obedient, reverently he …
Attending daily, constantly he … ,
Bringing forth all kinds of dreams, he … ,
Uttering the name of heaven and earth, he … […]
the gods a wall … ,
Ziusudra, standing at its side, listened.
"Stand by the wall at my left side … ,
By the wall I will say a word to you,
Take my word,
Give ear to my instructions:
By our … a flood will sweep over the cult-centers;
To destroy the seed of mankind … ,
Is the decision, the word of the assembly of the gods.
By the word commanded by Anu and Enlil … ,
Its kingship, its rule will be put to an end.
[about 40 lines missing]
COLUMN III
All the windstorms, exceedingly powerful,
Attacked as one,
At the same time, the flood sweeps over the cult-centers.
After, for seven days,
the flood sweeps over the cult centers.
After, for seven days and seven nights,
The flood had swept over the land,
And the huge boat had been tossed
About by the windstorms on the great waters,
Utu came forth, who sheds light on heaven and earth,
Ziusudra opened a window of the huge boat,
The hero Utu brought his rays into the giant boat.
Ziusudra, the king,
Prostrated himself before Utu.
Source: The Nippur Tablet (Ancient Wisdom) [http://www.ancient-wisdom.com/iraqnippur.htm]
Atrahasis Epic Tablet III
TBD
Atrahasis Epic III (Sumerian)
Image Caption: One of the damaged tablets of the Epic of Atrahasis in cuneiform. Source: Atra-Hasis (Wikipedia) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atra-Hasis#/media/File:Bm-epic-g.jpg]
Tablet III of the Atrahasis Epic contains the flood story. This is the part that was adapted in tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Tablet III of Atrahasis tells how the god Enki warns the hero Atrahasis ("Extremely Wise") of Shuruppak, speaking through a reed wall (suggestive of an oracle) to dismantle his house (perhaps to provide a construction site) and build a boat to escape the flood planned by the god Enlil to destroy humankind. The boat is to have a roof "like Apsu" (a subterranean, fresh water realm presided over by the god Enki), upper and lower decks, and to be sealed with bitumen. Atrahasis boards the boat with his family and animals and seals the door. The storm and flood begin. Even the gods are afraid. In tablet III iv, lines 7-9 the words 'river' and 'riverbank' are used, which probably mean the Euphrates River, because Atrahasis is listed in WB-62 as a ruler of Shuruppak which was on the Euphrates River.
After seven days the flood ends and Atrahasis offers sacrifices to the gods. Enlil is furious with Enki for violating his oath. But Enki denies violating his oath and argues: "I made sure life was preserved." Enki and Enlil agree on other means for controlling the human population.
Atrahasis Epic III (i.b35 to ii.45)
Atrahasis' Dream Explained
[i.b35] Enlil committed an evil deed against the people.
[i.c11] Atrahasis made ready to speak,
and said to his lord:
"Make me know the meaning of the dream.
let me know, that I may look out for its consequence."
[i.c15] Enki made ready to speak,
and said to his servant:
"You might say, 'Am I to be looking out while in the bedroom?'
Do you pay attention to the message that I speak for your:
[i.c20] 'Wall, listen to me!
Reed wall, pay attention to all my words!
[i.c23] Flee the house, build a boat,
forsake possessions, and save life.
[i.c25] The boat that you build
… be equal …
[i.c29] Roof her over like the Apsu,
[i.c30] so that the sun shall not see inside her.
Let her be roofed over fore and aft.
The gear should be very strong,
the pitch should be firm, and so give the boat strength.
I will shower down upon you later
[i.c35] a windfall of birds, a spate of fishes.'"
He opened the water clock and filled it,
[i.c37] he told it of the coming of the seven-day deluge.
Construction of the Ark
[ii.10] The Elders …
[ii.11] The carpenter carried his axe, the reed worker carried his stone, the rich man carried the pitch, the poor man brought the materials needed.
[Lacuna of about fifteen lines; the word Atrahasis can be discerned.]
Boarding of the Ark
Bringing …
[ii.30] whatever he had …
Whatever he had …
Pure animals he slaughtered, cattle …
Fat animals he killed. Sheep …
he chose and brought on board.
[ii.35] An abundance of birds flying in the heavens,
the cattle and the … of the cattle god,
[ii.37] the creatures of the steppe,
… he brought on board …
[ii.40] he invited his people
… to a feast
[ii.42] … his family was brought on board.
While one was eating an another was drinking,
[ii.45] he went in and out; he could not sit, could not kneel,
for his heart was broken, he was retching gall.
Atrahasis Account, translated by B.R. Foster
Atrahasis Epic III (ii.48 to iii.d5)
Departure
The outlook of the weather changed.
Adad began to roar in the clouds.
[ii.50] The god they heard, his clamor.
[ii.51] He brought pitch to seal his door.
By the time he had bolted his door,
Adad was roaring in the clouds.
The winds were furious as he set forth,
[ii.55] He cut the mooring rope and released the boat.
[Lacuna]
The Great Flood
[iii.5] … the storm
… were yoked
Anzu rent the sky with his talons,
He … the land
[iii.10] and broke its clamor like a pot.
[iii.11] … the flood came forth. Its power came upon the peoples like a battle,
[iii.13] one person did not see another, they could not recognize each other in the catastrophe.
[iii.15] The deluge bellowed like a bull,
The wind resounded like a screaming eagle.
The darkness was dense, the sun was gone,
… like flies.
[iii.20] the clamor of the deluge.
[Lacuna. The gods find themselves hungry because there are no farmers left and sacrifices are no longer brought. When they discover that Atrahasis has survived, they make a plan to make sure that the noise will remain within limits: they invent childbirth, infant mortality, and celibacy.]
[iii.45] Enki made ready to speak,
and said to Nintu the birth goddess:
"You, birth goddess, creatress of destinies,
establish death for all peoples!
[iii.d1] "Now then, let there be a third woman among the people,
among the people are the woman who has borne
and the woman who has not borne.
Let there be also among the people the pasittu:
[iii.d5] let her snatch the baby from the lap who bore it.
And establish high priestesses and priestesses,
let them be taboo [celibate], and so cut down childbirth.
Atrahasis Account, translated by B.R. Foster
Gilgamesh Epic Tablet XI
TBD
Gilgamesh Epic: Tablet XI
Image Caption: Gilgamesh Epic Flood Tablet (XI), 7th Century BC (British Museum). Source: Flood Tablet (Livius.org) [https://www.livius.org/pictures/a/tablets/flood-tablet/]
The Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, announced in 1862 by Sidney Smith, was the national poem of the Mesopotamian people. It was known to other cultures and was translated into Hurrian and Hittite.
The Deluge account of the Epic of Gilgamesh is contained in Tablet XI. The Gilgamesh flood tablet XI contains additional story material besides the flood. The flood story was included because in it the flood hero Utnapishtim is granted immortality by the gods and that fits the immortality theme of the epic. The main point seems to be that Utnapishtim was granted eternal life in unique, never-to-be-repeated circumstances. So, Gilgamesh cannot fulfill his quest for eternal life by repeating the feat accomplished by Utnapishtim.
Gilgamesh Epic: Tablet XI
Utanapishtim spoke to Gilgamesh, saying:
"I will reveal to you, Gilgamesh, a thing that is hidden,
a secret of the gods I will tell you!
Shuruppak, a city that you surely know,
situated on the banks of the Euphrates,
that city was very old, and there were gods inside it.
The hearts of the Great Gods moved them to inflict the Flood.
Their Father Anu uttered the oath (of secrecy),
Valiant Enlil was their Adviser,
Ninurta was their Chamberlain,
Ennugi was their Minister of Canals.
Ea, the Clever Prince(?), was under oath with them
so he repeated their talk to the reed house:
'Reed house, reed house! Wall, wall!
O man of Shuruppak, son of Ubartutu:
Tear down the house and build a boat!
Abandon wealth and seek living beings!
Spurn possessions and keep alive living beings!
Make all living beings go up into the boat.
The boat which you are to build,
its dimensions must measure equal to each other:
its length must correspond to its width.
Roof it over like the Apsu.
I understood and spoke to my lord, Ea:
'My lord, thus is the command you have uttered
I will heed and will do it.
But what shall I answer the city,
the populace, and the Elders!'
Ea spoke, commanding me, his servant:
'You, well then, this is what you must say to them:
"It appears that Enlil is rejecting me
so I cannot reside in your city (?),
nor set foot on Enlil's earth.
I will go down to the Apsu to live with my lord, Ea,
and upon you he will rain down abundance,
a profusion of fowl, myriad(!) fishes.
He will bring to you a harvest of wealth,
in the morning he will let loaves of bread shower down,
and in the evening a rain of wheat!"'
Source: The Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet XI The Story of the flood. Translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs. (AncientTexts.org) [http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab11.htm]
Gilgamesh Epic: Tablet XI (Cont'd)
Just as dawn began to glow
the land assembled around me —
the carpenter carried his hatchet,
the reed worker carried his (flattening) stone,
… the men …
The child carried the pitch,
the weak brought whatever else was needed.
On the fifth day I laid out her exterior.
It was a field in area,
its walls were each 10 times 12 cubits in height,
the sides of its top were of equal length, 10 times 12 cubits each.
I laid out its (interior) structure and drew a picture of it (?).
I provided it with six decks,
thus dividing it into seven (levels).
The inside of it I divided into nine (compartments).
I drove plugs (to keep out) water in its middle part.
I saw to the punting poles and laid in what was necessary.
Three times 3,600 (units) of raw bitumen I poured into the bitumen kiln,
three times 3,600 (units of) pitch … into it,
there were three times 3,600 porters of casks who carried (vegetable) oil,
apart from the 3,600 (units of) oil which they consumed (!)
and two times 3,600 (units of) oil which the boatman stored away.
I butchered oxen for the meat(!),
and day upon day I slaughtered sheep.
I gave the workmen(?) ale, beer, oil, and wine, as if it were river water,
so they could make a party like the New Year's Festival.
... and I set my hand to the oiling(!).
The boat was finished by sunset.
Source: The Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet XI The Story of the flood. Translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs. (AncientTexts.org) [http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab11.htm]
Gilgamesh Epic: Tablet XI (Cont'd)
The launching was very difficult.
They had to keep carrying a runway of poles front to back,
until two-thirds of it had gone into the water(?).
Whatever I had I loaded on it:
whatever silver I had I loaded on it,
whatever gold I had I loaded on it.
All the living beings that I had I loaded on it,
I had all my kith and kin go up into the boat,
all the beasts and animals of the field and the craftsmen I had go up.
Shamash had set a stated time:
'In the morning I will let loaves of bread shower down,
and in the evening a rain of wheat!
Go inside the boat, seal the entry!'
That stated time had arrived.
In the morning he let loaves of bread shower down,
and in the evening a rain of wheat.
I watched the appearance of the weather--
the weather was frightful to behold!
I went into the boat and sealed the entry.
For the caulking of the boat, to Puzuramurri, the boatman,
I gave the palace together with its contents.
Source: The Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet XI The Story of the flood. Translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs. (AncientTexts.org) [http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab11.htm]
Gilgamesh Epic: Tablet XI (Cont'd)
Just as dawn began to glow
there arose from the horizon a black cloud.
Adad rumbled inside of it,
before him went Shullat and Hanish,
heralds going over mountain and land.
Erragal pulled out the mooring poles,
forth went Ninurta and made the dikes overflow.
The Anunnaki lifted up the torches,
setting the land ablaze with their flare.
Stunned shock over Adad's deeds overtook the heavens,
and turned to blackness all that had been light.
The... land shattered like a... pot.
All day long the South Wind blew ...,
blowing fast, submerging the mountain in water,
overwhelming the people like an attack.
No one could see his fellow,
they could not recognize each other in the torrent.
The gods were frightened by the Flood,
and retreated, ascending to the heaven of Anu.
The gods were cowering like dogs,
crouching by the outer wall.
Ishtar shrieked like a woman in childbirth,
the sweet-voiced Mistress of the Gods wailed:
'The olden days have alas turned to clay,
because I said evil things in the Assembly of the Gods!
How could I say evil things in the Assembly of the Gods,
ordering a catastrophe to destroy my people!!
No sooner have I given birth to my dear people
than they fill the sea like so many fish!'
The gods--those of the Anunnaki--were weeping with her,
the gods humbly sat weeping, sobbing with grief(?),
their lips burning, parched with thirst.
Source: The Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet XI The Story of the flood. Translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs. (AncientTexts.org) [http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab11.htm]
Gilgamesh Epic: Tablet XI (Cont'd)
Six days and seven nights
came the wind and flood, the storm flattening the land.
When the seventh day arrived, the storm was pounding,
the flood was a war--struggling with itself
like a woman writhing (in labor).
The sea calmed, fell still,
the whirlwind (and) flood stopped up.
I looked around all day long--quiet had set in
and all the human beings had turned to clay!
The terrain was as flat as a roof.
I opened a vent and fresh air (daylight!) fell upon the side of my nose.
I fell to my knees and sat weeping,
tears streaming down the side of my nose.
I looked around for coastlines in the expanse of the sea,
and at twelve leagues there emerged a region (of land).
On Mt. Nimush the boat lodged firm,
Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway.
One day and a second Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway.
A third day, a fourth, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway.
A fifth day, a sixth, Mt. Nimush held the boat, allowing no sway.
When a seventh day arrived
I sent forth a dove and released it.
The dove went off, but came back to me;
no perch was visible so it circled back to me.
I sent forth a swallow and released it.
The swallow went off, but came back to me;
no perch was visible so it circled back to me.
I sent forth a raven and released it.
The raven went off, and saw the waters slither back.
It eats, it scratches, it bobs, but does not circle back to me.
Source: The Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet XI The Story of the flood. Translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs. (AncientTexts.org) [http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab11.htm]
Gilgamesh Epic: Tablet XI (Cont'd)
Then I sent out everything in all directions and sacrificed (a sheep).
I offered incense in front of the mountain-ziggurat.
Seven and seven cult vessels I put in place,
and (into the fire) underneath (or: into their bowls)
I poured reeds, cedar, and myrtle.
The gods smelled the savor,
the gods smelled the sweet savor,
and collected like flies over a (sheep) sacrifice.
Just then Beletili arrived.
She lifted up the large flies (beads)
that Anu had made for his enjoyment(!):
'You gods, as surely as I shall not forget
this lapis lazuli around my neck,
may I be mindful of these days,
and never forget them!
The gods may come to the incense offering,
but Enlil may not come to the incense offering,
because without considering he brought about the Flood
and consigned my people to annihilation.'
Source: The Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet XI The Story of the flood. Translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs. (AncientTexts.org) [http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab11.htm]
Ras Shamra (Akkadian) Flood Tablet
TBD
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Flood Parallels Map Tablet
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Genesis 6:9 to 9:29 Destruction of Nature
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Locales of the Ark's Landing
Image Caption: Ark Landing Locales (Blue Sites): Mt Ararat summit, the Durupinar site, and the Kagizman Ridge are close (70 miles) — all are part of the same geological formation. Mt Nisir is 276 miles SSE of Ararat. Jebel Al-Cudi/Judi is 175 miles (282 kilometers) SSW of Ararat. Source: Middle East Map showing purported ark landing sites (Google Earth)
Mount Nimush (Nisir), mentioned in Gilgamesh Tablet XI, is part of the Zagros Mountain range. Many identify it with Pir Omar Gudrun (also Pira Magrun) (2,588 meters or 8,490 feet), near the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan. Mount Nimush (Nisir) is located exactly 276 miles south of Mount Ararat.
Mount Ararat, the site of the Genesis flood story, is located in the Ağrı Province of Turkey near the Armenian and Iranian borders. It is a massive volcanic massif with two peaks: Greater Ararat (5,137 meters) and Little Ararat (3,896 meters). For centuries, searches targeted the highest peaks of Mount Ararat (Agri Dagi). Expeditions focused on the Ahora Gorge and the 'Ararat Anomaly' (irregular shapes seen in snow and ice).
The Durupınar site, located 18 miles south of Mount Ararat's peak near Doğubayazıt in Turkey, has a boat-shaped footprint in the earth. Geological testing and ground-penetrating radar have fueled theories that this is a preserved vessel, though many geologists consider it a natural mudflow formation.
The Kagizman Ridge, located 70 miles west of Mount Ararat, is believed by some researchers to be where the Ark landed rather than on the main peak, since this ridge allegedly emerged during the receding phase of the Flood.
Jebel al-Cudi/Judi, mentioned in the Quran, is located at Cudi/Judi in Şırnak Province in southeastern Turkey. It is the landing site proposed by classical Arabic and early Syrian traditions.
When considering the southernmost sites proposed, Mount Nimush (Nisir) and Jebel al-Cudi/Judi, it is interesting to note that both sites on a trajectory pointing to Ararat from the perspective of the locales of their literary origins. Mount Nisir is on a trajectory pointing to Ararat from the perspective of ancient Sumerian cities (e.g., Ur and Uruk). Likewise, Jebel al-Cudi/Judi is on a trajectory pointing to Ararat from the perspective of later Syrian and Islamic centers (e.g., Medina or Mecca). Could these southernmost mountain references then have been to their authors merely waypoints of directional orientation? If so, then everything would seem to point to the Ararat range as the primary locale of the ark landing story.
Sources
- Eames, Christopher. "The Imago Mundi: Babylonian Directions to Noah’s Ark" (Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology, November 11, 2024) [https://armstronginstitute.org/1127-the-imago-mundi-babylonian-directions-to-noahs-ark]
- The Great Flood: Atrahasis (Livius.org) [https://www.livius.org/articles/misc/great-flood/flood3_t-arahasis/]