Did Noah's Ark really exist? | Irving Finkel and Lex Fridman

Quick Overview

Irving Finkel, a Sumerian scholar, argues that the story of Noah's Ark is not original to the Bible but rather originates in much older Mesopotamian narratives, specifically citing the Epic of Gilgamesh's 'Flood Tablet' (c. 7th century BC), which predates the biblical account by about 1,000 years, suggesting the biblical story is a recycling of this older tradition.

Key Points: The Ark Tablet, part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, dates from 1900–1700 BC (or the library copy from the 7th century BC) and contains a flood story that predates the biblical account. The Mesopotamian flood narrative describes a round boat built by Utnapishtim (the Mesopotamian Noah figure), which was built on dry land. George Smith, an Assyriologist at the British Museum in 1872, discovered the tablet and recognized its parallels to the Genesis flood story. The Mesopotamian narrative features the gods deciding to wipe out the 'noisy' population of Mesopotamia, but Ea (the 'Friend of Humanity') warns Utnapishtim. The biblical flood story is implied by Finkel to be a 'recycled' narrative, as the Mesopotamian account predates the earliest plausible date for the writing down of the biblical flood narrative (c. 1700 BC). The Mesopotamian boat was round, not rectangular like the biblical Ark, and its construction was precisely detailed on the tablet. The Mesopotamians spoke Akkadian and Aramaic, while the Hebrews spoke Hebrew and Aramaic, indicating shared cultural exchange that led to the narrative transfer.

Context: This segment features a discussion between Lex Fridman and Irving Finkel, a Sumerian scholar known for his work at the British Museum, focusing on the origins of the Great Flood narrative. The discussion centers on ancient Mesopotamian clay tablets that predate the biblical account in Genesis, specifically Tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which details a near-identical story of a massive flood and a divinely instructed ark.

Detailed Analysis

Irving Finkel explains that many objects, including the 'Ark Tablet' from the British Museum (c. 1900-1700 BC, with the Gilgamesh version being 7th century BC), detail a flood story that predates the biblical account. He notes that George Smith, an Assyriologist, discovered this narrative in 1872. Finkel emphasizes that the Mesopotamian story involves the gods deciding to destroy humanity because they were too 'noisy,' and the god Ea warned Utnapishtim (the Mesopotamian hero) to build a boat. Crucially, the Mesopotamian boat was described as round, not rectangular, and its precise dimensions and materials were detailed on the tablet. Finkel points out that the Mesopotamians, Hebrews, and Babylonians shared linguistic ties (Akkadian, Aramaic, Hebrew), suggesting a cultural transfer of the story. He argues that the Mesopotamian narrative, which details the ark landing on Mount Nisir and the release of birds to check the waters, was recycled into the Genesis account, which Finkel believes was written down much later (around 1700 BC or later). Finkel suggests the Mesopotamian flood story was an attempt to explain a genuinely terrifying, local disaster, like a massive tsunami or flood event, whereas the biblical version frames it as a divine punishment for sin, which Finkel sees as a theological modification of the original event.