Wednesday, March 04, 2020

Nope, not Enkidu!

In this sense, the scene in Genesis 2 indicates that Adam is not Enkidu—he finds no companion among the animals, but, like Enkidu, he learns that he is not a beast. Many of the elements in Genesis 2-3 find points of contact in the descriptions of Enkidu in the Gilgamesh Epic, but none of them works the same. In this way, we could say that Genesis 2-3 is engaged in discussing some of the same topics as the Gilgamesh Epic but stands in juxtaposition to it at nearly every point. At one level, then, it is no surprise that Genesis 2 brings up man’s relationships with the animals for discussion.—The Lost World of Adam and Eve, p. 110

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