Tanakh & the Ancient Near East Index – Parashat Noach

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The flood story has several parallels in Ancient Near Eastern literature. See The Mabbul and Mesopotamian Myths, which explores both the narrative similarities as well as the theological differences underlying the various narratives. The comparison highlights the unique values and belief systems of the Children of Israel, distinguishing them from their polytheistic neighbors.
See Flood Narratives in the Bible and the Ancient Near East, by Avi-Gil Chaitovksy, for an exploration of parallels and contrasts between the different accounts.
Regarding the different attitude towards human procreation and the reason for bringing the flood in the Mesopotamian and Biblical Flood Stories, see:T. Frymer-Kensky, “The Atrahasis Epic and Its Significance for Understanding Gen 1–9.”, BA 2 40 (1977), 147–155.
For discussion of the relationship between the Biblical and Mesopotamian Flood traditions, with an emphasis on the disparities, see: U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis and N.M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis, (New York, 1970): 37–59.
For general background on the Mesopotamian versions of the story, see G.W. Lambert and A.R. Millard, Atra-Hasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood, Oxford 1969 and A.R. George, The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts, 2 Vols., Oxford 2003.
For translations of the Mesopotamian accounts, see Epic of Gilgamesh, Epic of Atrahasis and the Epic of Ziusudra.

Olam Hamikra provides images of ancient ziggurats, which may give context for understanding the significance of the tower of Bavel.
See Noach: And Man’s Loftiness Will Be Bowed by R. Elchanan Samet for an exploration of how knowledge of Mesopotamian ziggurats interacts with traditional commentary on the intentions of the builders of the tower.
See The Mock Building Account of Genesis 11:1-9: Polemic Against Mesopotamian Royal Ideology by Dr. Andrew Giorgetti, which argues that the Biblical account of Migdal Bavel intentionally subverts the messages and motifs of Mesopotamian legends about royal building.
For discussion of the story as an anti-Babylonian polemic, see U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis and N.M. Sarna, Understanding Genesis, (New York, 1970): 63–77.
On the Mesopotamian background of the Tower of Babel story, see S. Bertman, Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, Oxford 2003, 186ff.

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