Gilgamesh Flood Tablet (Tablet XI)
The Babylonian flood story that shook Victorian London
Found 1872 — Read and identified by George Smith (British Museum), from tablets excavated at Nineveh by Austen Henry Layard and Hormuzd Rassam (1849–1854)
Where Kuyunjik (Nineveh), Mosul, Iraq (Iraq)
Dates from c. 650 BCE (story from 2nd millennium BCE) · Neo-Assyrian copy (7th century BCE) of a much older story · Noach's Flood (Genesis 6–9)
Now at British Museum, London (K.3375)
How Gilgamesh Flood Tablet (Tablet XI) was found
Smith, sorting fragments from Ashurbanipal's library, recognized a flood story in 1872 and announced it to the Society of Biblical Archaeology; he then went to Nineveh in 1873 and found a missing piece.
What it is
A clay tablet in Akkadian cuneiform, the eleventh of the twelve-tablet Epic of Gilgamesh. Utnapishtim tells how a god warned him to build a boat, load it with his family and animals, survive a great flood, land on a mountain, send out birds, and offer sacrifice.
Why it matters for the Bible
The story shares striking details with Genesis 6–9: a divine warning, a boat sealed with pitch, animals aboard, the boat resting on a mountain, sending out a dove and raven, and a sacrifice that pleases the gods. It shows the flood tradition was widely known in the ancient Near East. The differences matter too: Genesis has one just God who judges wickedness, while the Babylonian gods flood the earth because humans are noisy and then cower in fear.
The Hebrew word: tay-VAH
תֵּבָה
תֵּבָה is pronounced tay-VAH and means ark, chest (used for Noach's ark and Moshe's basket) (Strong's H8392).
People this discovery connects to
- Noah — נֹחַ (NO-ach) — rest, comfort
Places
- Ararat — אֲרָרָט (ah-rah-RAHT) — Urartu (region of Armenia)
Events
The Flood · Sending out the raven and dove · Noach's sacrifice after the flood
Gilgamesh Flood Tablet (Tablet XI) in Scripture
Genesis 5:29 First mention of Noah in Scripture.
Genesis 6:14 The ark coated with pitch inside and out, as in the Babylonian boat.
Genesis 8:6-12 Noach sends out a raven and dove; Utnapishtim sends a dove, swallow, and raven.
Questions people ask
What is Gilgamesh Flood Tablet (Tablet XI)?
A clay tablet in Akkadian cuneiform, the eleventh of the twelve-tablet Epic of Gilgamesh. Utnapishtim tells how a god warned him to build a boat, load it with his family and animals, survive a great flood, land on a mountain, send out birds, and offer sacrifice.
When was Gilgamesh Flood Tablet (Tablet XI) discovered?
It was found in 1872 by Read and identified by George Smith (British Museum), from tablets excavated at Nineveh by Austen Henry Layard and Hormuzd Rassam (1849–1854), at Kuyunjik (Nineveh), Mosul, Iraq.
Where is Gilgamesh Flood Tablet (Tablet XI) today?
British Museum, London (K.3375).
Which Bible verses does Gilgamesh Flood Tablet (Tablet XI) relate to?
Genesis 5:29, Genesis 6:14, Genesis 8:6-12.
Related discoveries
- תְּהוֹםEnuma Elish (Babylonian Creation Epic)Seven tablets on how Marduk made the world
- תֵּבָהDurupınar Site ('Noah's Ark' boat-shaped formation)A ship-shaped mound in eastern Turkey promoted by Ron Wyatt and recent scan teams
- גִּבֹּרKish and Its 'Flood' DepositThe city where the King List says kingship resumed after the flood
- אֲדָמָהAtrahasis EpicCreation of humans and a flood in one Old Babylonian poem
- כֹּפֶרThe 'Ark Tablet' (Old Babylonian round-ark instructions)A palm-sized cuneiform text giving the flood hero a coracle to build
- מַבּוּלSumerian King List (Weld-Blundell Prism)Long-lived kings before the flood, and kingship after it
Sources
Open Gilgamesh Flood Tablet (Tablet XI) in Hebrew Explorer →