The ancient past is full of stories told and retold thousands of years before the bible
Some Bible stories were stolen from the Assyrians 2000 years earlier
Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia. Dating from the Third Dynasty of Ur (circa 2100 BC), it is often regarded as the earliest surviving great work of literature
The Flood of Noah and the Flood of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is contained on twelve large tablets, and since the original discovery, it has been found on others, as well as having been translated into other early languages. The actual tablets date back to around 650 B.C. and are obviously not originals since fragments of the flood story have been found on tablets dated around 2,000 B.C. Linguistic experts believe that the story was composed well before 2,000 B.C. compiled from material that was much older than that date.9The Sumerian cuneiform writing has been estimated to go as far back as 3,300 B.C.
In brief, Utnapishtim (Noah) had become immortal after building a ship to weather the Great Deluge that destroyed mankind. He brought all of his relatives and all species of creatures aboard the vessel. Utnapishtim released birds to find land, and the ship landed upon a mountain after the flood.
• God (or several gods in the Gilgamesh account) decided to destroy humankind because of its wickedness and sinfulness (Genesis 6:5–7).
• A righteous man (Genesis 6:9) was directed to build an ark to save a limited and select group of people and all species of animals (Noah received his orders directly from God, Utnapishtim from a dream).
• Both arks were huge, although their shapes differed. Noah’s was rectangular; Utnapishtim’s was square.
• Both arks had a single door and at least one window.
• A great rain covered the land and mountains with water, although some water emerged from beneath the earth in the biblical account (Genesis 7:11).
• Biblical flooding was 40 days and nights (Genesis 7:12), while the Gilgamesh flood was much shorter (six days and nights).
• Birds were released to find land (a raven and three doves in the biblical account, Genesis 8:6–12; a dove, swallow, and raven in the other).
• After the rains ceased, both arks came to rest on a mountain, Noah’s on Ararat (Genesis 8:4); Utnapishtim’s on Nisir. These mountains are about 300 miles apart.
• Sacrifices were offered after the flood (Genesis 8:20).
• God was (or gods were) pleased by the sacrifices (Genesis 8:21), and Noah and Utnapishtim received blessings. Noah’s blessing was to populate the earth and have dominion over all animals (Genesis 9:1–3); Utnapishtim’s was eternal life.
• God (or the many gods) promised not to destroy humankind again (Genesis 8:21–22).
10 Ways The Bible Was Influenced By Other Religions
The story of the Garden of Eden
In the Persian scriptures of the Zoroastrians, the Avesta tells the story of how Ormuzd created the world and the first two humans in six days and then rested on the seventh. The names of these two human beings were Adama and Evah. These texts date back as far as the 10th century B.C. There is also a lot of evidence that the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest recorded texts in human history, had an influence on the biblical creation story.
The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of a man, Enkidu, who was created from the earth by a god. He lives amongst the animals in a natural paradise until he is tempted by a woman, Shamhat. He accepts food from this woman and is forced to leave the place where he lives after becoming aware of his own nakedness. Later in the epic, he encounters a snake which steals a plant of immortality from him.
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http://listverse.com/2013/06/30/ten-influences-on-the-bible/
