The Ark Before Noah

Decoding the Story of the Flood

By: Irving Finkel

Narrated by: Irving Finkel, Gareth Armstrong

Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Since the Victorian period, it has been understood that the story of Noah, iconic in the Book of Genesis, and a central motif in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, derives from a much older story that existed centuries before in ancient Babylon. But the relationship between the Babylonian and biblical traditions was shrouded in mystery. Then, in 2009, Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum and a world authority on ancient Mesopotamia, found himself playing detective when a member of the public arrived at the museum with an intriguing cuneiform tablet from a family collection. Not only did the tablet reveal a new version of the Babylonian Flood Story; the ancient poet described the size and completely unexpected shape of the ark, and gave detailed boat building specifications. Decoding this ancient message wedge by cuneiform wedge, Dr. Finkel discovered where the Babylonians believed the ark came to rest and developed a new explanation of how the old story ultimately found its way into the Bible. In The Ark Before Noah, Dr. Finkel takes us on an adventurous voyage of discovery, opening the door to an enthralling world of ancient voices and new meanings.

©2014 Irving Finkel (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[Finkel's] conclusions will send ripples into the world of creationism and among ark hunters." ( Guardian)

Volume uneven

Narrator's voice volume varies wildly, sometimes from word to word - one moment he is unintelligibly quiet, the next he is deafeningly loud. Director should have managed this much, much more closely.

Very enjoyable to listen to.

Irving Finkel is an excellent reader. He makes his points in a logical, easy to understand way. He's also very funny. I don't doubt he is an expert Assyriologist and obviously an expert on Semitic languages. I would love to learn to read cuneiform just from listening to this book.

However, I disagree that the captive Jews in Babylon incorporated the Sumerian/Assyrian flood story into their Biblical one. Abram of Ur was a contemporary of Noah and Shem and could have gotten the story first hand. Captive Jews like Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel were obsessed with keeping and preserving the Law of Moses, which included the Noah's flood story.

Irving Finkel is just the best.

Irving Finkel presents a wonderfully compelling and well researched history of the Ark. That, and he makes me now want to deep dive into Assyriology! I really hope for more books from him!

A bit slow to start but worth the wait

The early part of the book is a bit of a slog as it's the author's love letter to cuneiform. It wasn't without some interesting moments but it went on a bit long for my taste. Once it gets more to the point it really gets interesting.

Lively and informative

Frankly, I expected a dry scholarly tome. However, the author’s obvious love for his work comes across in his rather quirky, but lively, reading style. Admittedly it took me a little time to get used to his accent, but nobody could’ve read this book better or imbued it with more energy. After providing a certain amount of background on cuneiform and related research, he delves into several versions of the ark story, including the one in the Old Testament. The author’s reading is like listening to a favorite professor. Delightful moments of humor enliven the fascinating scholarly information. A wonderful book which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Brilliant work

Interesting book with lots of excellent information. Will be pondering his deductions for a while. Enjoy.

Very insightful analysis

Irving Finkel here reads his on book on the Flood tradition, starting with the cuneiform sources. Finkel is one of the foremost scholars in cuneiform studies, and has a very delightful style in talking about the material. I found it an enchanting listen, helped by Finkel's melodious voice. Finkel shows how he thinks through the fragmentary evidence and manages to squeeze an amazing amount of information from them. Highly recommended.

Brilliant and entertaining, as always!

Listening to the passionate and fascinating writings of Irving Finkel is a great pleasure. I’ve heard all his lectures and read anything he’s written on cuneiform.

This book is no exception. He is, in my opinion one of the most fascinating men on the planet.

I think most people will enjoy the book and perhaps catch the bug that sends you into obsession.

excellent, enlightening, entertaining

Any additional comments?

The author successfully combines "modern" detective stories from the 19th, 20th & 21st centuries, archeological, linguistic & literary; with an approachable guide to the history of written language (focusing on cunieform); and the evolution of biblical literature (focusing on the Noah story, but not only that). The writing & the narration, excellent. I was so sorry when the book was over, I wanted to hear more.

Mesopotamian Origins of Hebrew Myth

We are all familiar with the story of Noah’s Ark. The world sins so God decides to punish the world with a huge flood that covers the world. Noah is the only righteous person and so God spares Noah and his family by instructing them to build an ark and take a bunch of animals to save them as well. There are some contradictions to the story for example in one instance god tells Noah to take a pair of animals on the ark. In another he is told to take 7 pairs of clean animals and a pair of unclean animals. Kind of strange if it all came from God. In fact, I did not but rather was based on an older tale, a Mesopotamian tale or myth.

In the Sumerian version of things Noah is called Utnapishtim and he was sort of like a king albeit a righteous one. The people on the planet are far too noisy so the gods decide wipe them out with a flood. Utnapishtim survives. This tale is included in the epic of Gilgamesh. In other Babylonian version and Assyrian versions, the hero is called Atrahasis. There are different versions of the story going around as is with all stories and they can change with each telling.

How did this tale with changed names enter itself into the Old Testament. Assuming that there was a huge flood or at least a flood that impacted that region it was well known to the Sumerians. Abraham the first Hebrew or Jew was from Mesopotamia. A big debate as to whether he was Aramean or Sumerian. He might have learned the flood story from his Sumerian upbringing.

Another theory is that when the Judeans were brought into exile, they were totally shell shocked by being conquered then bought to a more advanced culture. They were assimilated into the Babylonian culture. The Ancient Mesopotamians invented cuneiform writing and it was a special honor to be inducted into a scribal school. Many Judean were inducted. It was from there that they learned the flood myth. Since their mythology might have been lacking some elements, they borrowed and made it their own. There are other elements like the Assyrian king Sargon who was born of a priestess and then cast into the river in a small basket. Sound familiar? Remember Moses going on to Mount Sinai and getting the ten commandments well Hammurabi went up to a Mountain and received the law from the sun god Shamash.

There is a question as to what the water vessel used looked like. Looking at Mesopotamian society and how it is placed on the river it can be expected that they had to get around somewhat by boat and they had to experience periodic flooding. There are two types of craft. One is a round craft made of reed and bitumen and it is water proof. Some versions of the story have it as a craft with one level and another has it as a craft with multiple levels. The other version is a boat like structure that Noah used.

There has been some speculation as to where the ark landed. In the Bible we have been trained to think that the Ark landed on Mount Ararat. In fact the original legend says they landed in the mountain of Urartu. Uartu was a kingdom to the North of Mesopotamia. But there are other legends that place the mountain elsewhere. Assyrian legend which held sway briefly believed that the mountain was Mount Nizar which is in Assyrian territory and part of the Zagros Mountains. Islamic tradition and Nestorian tradition placed it on Mount judi Dar. It held sway for the longest but now everyone settle on Ararat.