Due Feb 6
Biblical epic 1
Reading: Genesis 12-35—Abraham of Ur vs. Gilgamesh of Uruk; Abraham’s progeny: Ishmael & Isaac, Esau & Jacob (Blackboard: HebrewScripture2.pdf)
Writing: Respond to ONE of the following prompts. Keep your response short, posting as a reply under the appropriate heading in the comments section:
- Oddities: quote a line or cite a plot event that strikes you as strange and offer a comment or insight about it.
- Abraham and Gilgamesh come from the same region of Ancient Sumer, but these two heroes seemingly couldn’t be more different. Highlight a difference that strikes you as culturally significant in distinguishing the ancient Hebrews from the other peoples of Mesopotamia. Or highlight an unexpected similarity, if you spot one.
- Assuming that Abraham exemplifies “Biblical heroism” (as per question 1), do his descendants Isaac and Jacob show the same qualities or different ones? Focus on a particular incident or detail.
- In this section of Genesis we follow the line that will produce the nation of Israel, from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob. But both Isaac and Jacob have older brothers—Ishmael and Esau. How does the narrative present these other children? In answering, point to a specific moment or phrase.
Oddities
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I found it to be really odd/interesting when the lord is giving instructions to Abraham to get an heir. The lord says ““Take Me a three-year-old heifer and a three-year-old she goat and a three-year-old ram and a turtledove and a young pigeon.” (Genesis 15) I found this to be oddly similar to modern perceptions of how pagan religions worship, and I just wonder how paganistic religions were deemed to be an enemy of Christianity when there seems to be some basic similarities between the two. Obviously, the two religions are vastly different but the concept of a ritual that involves sacrificing various animals just threw me off as I would automatically associate that with paganism and not christianity.
I found it particularly strange–given my background knowledge of God’s characteristics–that Abram immediately lied and somehow ended up richer. Abram was chosen by God himself and already witnessed the riches god has to offer and still lied, getting Sarai taken. Whats strange is that the “hero” God choses is shady and not truthful for his own benefit when one of the many stories God teaches is to help others. Abram asked, “please, that you are my sister, so that it will go well with me on your count and I shall stay alive because of you.” (Genesis 12-35 12). This line is odd because he is basically saying “lie so i don’t die”. All in all, depiction ends up rewarding Abram.
I came across this quote in Genesis 28 that struck me as odd, “And he came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set, and he took one of the stones of the place and put it at his head and he lay down in that place, and he dreamed, and, look, a ramp was set against the ground with its top reaching the heavens, and, look, messengers of God were going up and coming down it” (Genesis 28). This quote describes Jacob en route to Paddan-Arram to find a wife when he decides to rest for the night and in his slumber he has a dream. In that dream, a ramp appears going from the ground up to the heavens with “messengers of God going up and coming down it” (Genesis 28). Now the “messengers of God” seem to be angels, but what really stuck out to me was the direction at which they were climbing the ramp- they were going up first and then coming down. This directionality suggests that there were angels already on Earth, among the people, and this was their way of reporting back to God.
Abraham contrasted with Gilgamesh
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I think an important and noteworthy difference is how both characters go about in their interactions with Godly figures. In Gilgamesh’s case he seems to be at odds with them, searching for glory, legacy, and conquest. On the other hand, Abraham treats God with obedience and has faith in him, an entirely different perspective. Abraham “goes forth from his land” and obeys God’s order, while Gilgamesh slays God’s in search for his immortality. An unexpected similarity I noticed is how they both are in search for making a name for themselves. God tells Abraham, “I will make your name great” while Gilgamesh searches for immortality so his name can last forever.
I agree with your point about “making the name.” The key contrast between Gilgamesh and Genesis lies in the characters’ agency. Gilgamesh is actively seeking to secure his heroic name through violence and conquest. He does this with strong agency by believing in himself and fulfilling his desires. On the other hand, Abraham gains his name by obedience and trust. The heroic struggle does not occur in Genesis. The difference shows how each texts define the relationship between human and divinity.
To an extent, I agree with this point, as Gilgamesh throughout the story was in some sort of conflict with the Gods. However, I believed that this stems from the fact that not all of the Gods in Gilgamesh were particularly supportive or benevolent in nature. We saw how Gilgamesh idolized, prayed to, and called upon Shamash in a multitude of circumstances throughout the Epic because he acted as a patron and wanted to aid Gilgamesh to help him succeed. In this case, we saw Gilgamesh and his ability to be obedient to a higher power–much to the same effect Abraham is with God in Genesis. The devotion to ‘their’ God shared by the two characters, to me, is what stands out, and is why I partly disagree with Campbell’s argument.
A similarity between both the Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis I noticed was how the deities in the stories tested the main characters to see if they were worthy of rewards. In Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim challenges Gilgamesh to stay awake for seven days to prove he is deserving of everlasting life. In Genesis, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son. When Abraham is just about to kill his son, an angel intervenes, saying he has proven his devotion and God says, “I will greatly bless you and will greatly multiply your seed, as the stars in the heavens and as the sand on the shore of the sea, and your seed shall take hold of its enemies’ gate” (chapter 22). A key difference between these two tests, however, is the fact that Gilgamesh fails Utnapishtim’s test and is not rewarded while Abraham passes and is blessed for it.
Isaac or Jacob contrasted with Abraham
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What to Make of Ishmael and Esau?
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