Noah's Ark Was Plagiarized: How Religions Borrow and Evolve

If Hebrew schools from 3,000 years ago were up to modern standards, the story of Noah’s Ark would have received an “F” for plagiarism. Anyone familiar with the tricks that plagiarists employ to spin content (e.g., by changing a few words) would have recognized that Noah was spun from the much older Sumerian stories of Ziusudra, Atrahasis, and Gilgamesh.

To provide some background, the Sumerian empire formed ~6,500 years ago around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern day Iraq; see map below). To the west, Israel formed ~3,200 years ago next to the Mediterranean Sea.

Sumer was the first civilization to develop writing ~5,000 years ago, and it was around this time that the Sumerian king, Ziusudra, was supposed to have survived a great flood or “deluge” that destroyed mankind.

Why Ziusudra is the Original Noah

In the Sumerian story, Ziusudra is warned by a deity to build a boat of specific size for his family and the animals of the world. Together, they survive on the boat for a specific number of days before the waters recede and the boat comes to rest on a mountain. Ziusudra then releases birds to search for land, and he makes an offering to a deity who blesses him and permits a new batch of humans with a reduced lifespan.

Ziusudra’s claim to be the original Noah is boosted by evidence from radiocarbon dating, which confirms that severe river floods affected several Sumerian cities around 2900 BCE, and these may be the floods that Ziusudra supposedly traversed (although see here for a sceptical view). Without modern media, Sumer's inhabitants might have believed that the entire world had flooded.

The Epic of Ziusudra was presumably recorded not long after his reign, although the earliest surviving record is from ~1,700 BCE and is incomplete and fragmentary. Furthermore, the record of his reign comes from a list written around 2,100 BCE. Nevertheless, the tale lived on and was reproduced in the Akkadian and Babylonian empires that succeeded Sumer, where Ziusudra was renamed Atrahasis or Utnapishtim (to reflect changes in the language rather than the story or its characters).

The Akkakian Epic of Atrahasis is the most complete and oldest surviving record of the Sumerian flood story, at ~1,800 BCE. The story also appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh from around the same time. In other words, the Sumerian/Akkadian flood story is at least 1000 years older than Noah’s Ark.

How do the Sumerian and Biblical Flood Stories Compare?

As described above, the main elements of the stories are identical, including the: angry deity, divine warning, boat construction, boarding of family and animals, destruction of mankind, receding waters, release of birds, beaching on a mountain, sacred offering, blessing, and new human lifespan. However, there are small differences that reflect the cultures and beliefs of the two peoples.

First, Sumerian religion was polytheistic, so a different god flooded the Earth to the one that warned Ziusudra. Second, Sumerian gods were more anthropomorphic, so they were upset by noisy humans disturbing their sleep rather than by immorality, and they became hungry when they killed the humans whose offerings had served as food. The Hebrew authors of Noah's Ark adapted these details to fit their own religious beliefs.

Other edits were minor. For example, the flood lasted longer in the Biblical version, the boat measurements differed (perhaps reflecting contemporary boat design), the name of the mountain changed, and a raven and several doves were sent to search for land instead of a raven, a swallow, and a dove.

These minor changes may also reflect Jewish symbolism and culture, or they might be the signature of a plagiarist "spinning" content. Indeed, entire phrases were lifted from the Sumerian version:— “the gods smelled the sweet savor” of Ziusudra’s sacrifice while “the Lord smelled a sweet savor” in the Bible.

The similarities are undeniable, but also unsurprising. Abraham—the patriarch of Judaism—was born in the Sumerian city of Ur (then a Babylonian city) and the Old Testament is filled with references to Babylon, with some of its writers possibly being exiles returning from Babylon. In other words, the Bible's writers were almost certainly familiar with Sumerian myths.

What Flood Stories Tell Us About the Evolution of Religions

This kind of plagiarism tells us that new religions borrow from old religions; probably because populations of people are accustomed to hearing about particular myths and events (such as a large flood) that they see as partially or completely historical. Any new religion that didn't integrate these myths might be rejected.

While this explanation and the geographical connection explain Noah and Ziusudra, there may be a psychological explanation as well. This is because flood myths appear in cultures with no connection to the Middle East (e.g., Native American) and, while most cultures have experienced large floods, the prolific creation of these spectacular and enduring stories is a topic worth addressing.

It may be that particular stories and plot devices are captivating for other reasons. For example, dozens of cultures have deities born from virgins or who later rose from the dead. Some myths just seem to “work,” and so religions that endure tend to include them.

The Psychology of Religion

An explanation for the persistence of flood myths is that our brains are hardwired to pay attention to and remember them, or that we are particularly motivated to want to believe them. These are called cognitive and motivational explanations, respectively.

1. One cognitive explanation is that supernatural beings grab our attention and are memorable, and this effect extends to narratives that contain supernatural elements as well (such as this study and this one). The effect is greatest when the supernatural parts are minimal and remain relevant to the real world. For example, some of the most memorable stories about Jesus are about fishing, having supper, or helping the needy, with often a single miracle elevating the narrative. Similarly, flood narratives are plausible (although exaggerated) stories about building a boat to survive a natural phenomenon, with the supernatural influence largely limited to the source of the event. 

2. Another cognitive explanation for the popularity of religious ideas is that they contain threats that attract our attention and are memorable. Evolution has disposed us to pay attention to threats for our own safety. This negativity bias is why newspapers are filled with stories about crime and tragedy (fear sells!). It turns out that supernatural narratives are also more likely to concern hazards than benefits, which may be why stories about devastating floods and the gods that cause them are popular.

3. The motivational explanation for flood stories is less obvious because who wants to believe in a god that drowns everyone? Nevertheless, the Sumerian and Biblical stories both end with the protagonist making an offering, and the god either realizing their mistake (Sumerian) or promising not to do it again (Bible). This ending reassures worshipers that an unpredictable natural disaster is unlikely to happen again and, moreover, that they have some control over it if they provide a deity with offerings and worship. Whether these comforts outweigh the idea of a god that can drown everyone is debatable, but the drowning part happens regardless (real floods happen!). Comforts such as these may motivate people to believe in religious ideas, and research suggests that comforting stories are therefore more likely to survive in successive religions.
   
   

In sum, without the Sumerian Epic of Ziusudra, there would be no Noah, or at least no story of Noah that we recognize. However, we shouldn’t be too harsh on the Bible's writers. Yes, they plagiarized, but if Judaism and Christianity hadn’t borrowed from earlier religions, they probably wouldn’t be here today. Other religions that “borrowed better” would be instead. Tapping into what people find plausible, desirable, and intrinsically captivating is what successful religions do.