The Role of the Divine on Humanity

The Role of the Divine on Humanity

Introduction

There are many gods in the Epic of Gilgamesh including, Shamash, the sun god who gifted Gilgamesh with profound beauty, Enlil, the god of wind and the storm, and Anu, the God of Uruk. Divine creators in the Epic provide Gilgamesh with beauty, courage, and extraordinary strength. However, Gilgamesh turns out to be more god than man, “Two-thirds they made him god, and one-third man.” However, since the creation of the gods in the Epic of Gilgamesh turns out to be part god and partly divine, it creates a distinction between them and the Hebrews. According to the Hebrews, God is a supreme being, supernatural, and no human can be partly God. Hebrews are monotheistic and believe only in one God. The old testament denotes the beliefs of the Hebrews. However, the Epic of Gilgamesh elaborates Middle-eastern beliefs.

The role of divinity in the Epic of Gilgamesh

Gods explicitly control the world in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The existence of many gods is related to natural circumstances. For example, Shamash is the god of the sun and his wife the goddess of the moon; Ishtar is the goddess of both love and war, and Ea the god of water and the arts (Uruk, 1). In the Epic of Gilgamesh, there is a significant personification of gods. The gods of Gilgamesh form relationships with humanity and have favorite individuals or groups that they hate and can destroy. However, because the gods in the Epic of Gilgamesh are many, they sometimes contradict each other. For instance, Enil intends to destroy humankind in flood, but Ea tells Unapithsm to build a boat to save him.

The role of the divine in Genesis

Genesis reveals that God is the creator of man, and creates man in his image and likeness. God is the first parent, and human beings are God’s children or creation. In Genesis, there is only one God, who commands everything in the universe into existence through the benevolence of His powers. Sun, moon, and stars are described in several cultures as gods. However, sun, moon, and stars are called into existence. God describes the role of everything, including man, and provide them with habitation. God makes man the ruler of the earth and commands him to have dominion over it.

The role of god in Genesis is about the encounters between God and humankind. God revealed Himself to man and granted his service. Genesis chapter 8 describes the first altar built by man to God to serve Him, worship Him, thank Him, and offer sacrifices to Him. Noah built an altar where he made an offering of thanksgiving to God. God responds to Noah by making a covenant always to protect creation. We encounter the first murder in Genesis Chapter 4, which happens because God looks in favor of Abel’s offering and not Cain’s. However, God warns Cain not to give up quickly. When Cain kills Abel, God punishes him.

In Genesis Chapter 6, God calls Noah and instructs him to build an ark. Sin had become rampant, and God needed a new beginning. God was remorseful that He had created humankind. “I will blot the earth the human beings I have created,” God calls Noah to save humanity from the coming destruction. In Genesis Chapter 9, God makes a promise with Noah never to destroy the earth with a flood again (Coogan et al. 2010). God brings the rainbow as a sign that He will keep His promise.

The relationships between humans and the divine

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods and men are similar in appearance. The relationship between god and humankind in the Epic is simple. The gods in the Epic of Gilgamesh almost share the same kind of attributes as those of man. The gods expect humans to perform a few tasks to show allegiance. However, humans should also do what the gods ask. The gods should keep humans safe and make them prosper. In Genesis, God and Man relate as the creature and the creator. Human beings are not divine in Genesis. However, they are the most important of all God’s creation. God creates man in His likeness and entrusts man with dominion over everything else He created. When Adam and Eve disobey God, the relationship between man and God changes redeemer and the redeemed.

Impact

The Middle-east, particularly Mesopotamia, were, polytheistic. They personified the gods and linked them to natural occurrences. Also, the gods create relationships with humans where gods choose who to guide and who to destroy. For example, when Elin intends to kill humanity with a flood. The significance of the story of the flood and the personification of gods by Mesopotamian culture shows that people depend on God to control the natural phenomena such as rain and sun. Genesis teaches that the world and humanity has a beginning, all of which were created by God. The origin of God is not explained in Genesis, which emphasizes the belief of the Hebrews that no human should question the beginning of the existence of God because you cannot go past the beginning.

Works Cited

Coogan, Michael David, et al., eds. The new Oxford annotated bible with Apocrypha: new revised standard version. Oxford University Press, 2010.

URUK, GILGAMESH KING IN. “THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH.”