Berossus was a priest of Marduk who lived in Babylon in the early Third Century B.C. Living in the Hellenistic era, Berossus wrote in Koine Greek, the same dialect that the writers of the New Testament wrote in. Berossus published an unsuccessful work entitled Babyloniaca between 290-278 B.C. This work is now lost to the mists of time, but fragments of his writings have been preserved at some removes by other writers of antiquity. We can get a glimpse of Berossus’ history today through quotations passed down by Alexander Polyhistor, Eusebius, and Josephus.
Berossus is interesting to us because of what the fragments of Berossus have to say about the early history of the human race and the history of Babylon. There is a remarkable correspondence between the fragments of Berossus and the early chapters of the book of Genesis. It becomes even more interesting when elements of these histories appear in the histories preserved by other cultures around the world. The Bible believer realizes that this is not some kind of odd coincidence.
[All quotations of Berossus are from Cory, I.P. The Ancient Fragments. London: William Pickering, MDCCCXXVIII.]
Berossus wrote the following concerning the flood:
“After the death of Ardates, his son Xisuthrus succeeded, and reigned eighteen sari. In his time happened the great Deluge; the history of which is given in this manner. The Deity, Cronus, appeared to him in a vision, and gave him notice that upon the fifteenth day of the month Daesia there would be a flood, by which mankind would be destroyed. He therefore enjoined him to…build a vessel, and to take into it his friends and relations; and to convey on board every thing necessary to sustain life, and to take in also all species of animals, that either fly or rove upon the earth; and to trust himself to the deep…he obeyed the divine admonition: and built a vessel five stadia in length, and in breadth two…After the flood had been upon the earth, and was in time abated, Xisuthrus sent out some birds from the vessel; which not finding any food, nor any place to rest their feet, returned to him again. After an interval of some days, he sent them forth a second time; and they now returned with their feet tinged with mud. He made a trial a third time with these birds; but they returned to him no more: from whence he formed a judgment, that the surface of the earth was now above the waters. Having therefore made an opening in the vessel, and finding upon looking out, that the vessel was driven to the side of a mountain, he immediately quitted it…Xisuthrus immediately paid his adoration to the earth: and having constructed an altar, offered sacrifices to the gods…The remainder having heard these words, offered sacrifices to the gods; and taking a circuit, journeyed towards Babylonia.”
The student of the Bible will see the obvious parallels to the Genesis account of the flood. I find the final detail very interesting in how it corresponds to Genesis. Ararat is in the region of Turkey and Armenia, not east of the plain of Shinar. Yet, Genesis 11:2 says, “And it came to pass, as THEY JOURNEYED FROM THE EAST, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.” That has confused some Bible students. One I have read has even suggested that Shinar must have been in Egypt, not Iraq, for them to have reached Shinar from the east. Berossus’ account no doubt contains a detail remembered in Babylonian tradition that sheds light on this problem. Noah’s descendants reached Shinar by way of a circuit. They first traveled eastward from Ararat, then turned westward again and came to Shinar from the east.
Berossus goes on to say:
“The vessel being thus stranded in Armenia, some part of it yet remains in Corcyraean mountains in Armenia; and the people scrape off the bitumen, with which it had been outwardly coated, and make use of it by way of an alexipharmic and amulet. In this manner they returned to Babylon…they set about building cities, and erecting temples: and Babylon was thus inhabited again.”
After relating the story of Noah and the flood, the first century Jewish historian Josephus appeals to Berossus and a host of other ancient writers to give credence to the veracity of his account of the Deluge. “Now I have for witnesses to what I have said, all those that have written Antiquities, both among the Greeks and barbarians; for even Manetho, who wrote the Egyptian History, and Berosus, who collected the Chaldean Monuments, and Mochus, and Hestieus, and, besides these, Hieronymus the Egyptian, and those who composed the Phoenician History, agree to what I here say: Hesiod also, and Hecatseus, Hellanicus, and Acusilaus; and, besides these, Ephorus and Nicolaus relate that the ancients lived a thousand years. But as to these matters, let every one look upon them as he thinks fit.” (William Whiston translation.)
Not only did Berossus relate the story of the Deluge, he also wrote of the building of the tower of Babel: “They say that the first inhabitants of the earth, glorying in their own strength and size, and despising the gods, undertook to raise a tower whose top should reach the sky, where Babylon now stands: but when it approached the heaven, the winds assisted the gods, and overturned the work upon its contrivers: and its ruins are said to be at Babylon and the gods introduced a diversity of tongues among men, who till that time had all spoken the same language…but the place in which they built the tower is now called Babylon, on account of the confusion of tongues; for confusion is by the Hebrews called Babel.”
These stories weren’t just preserved in the Middle East. They can literally be found all around the world. The Miao people of China also have an account of the Deluge and the Tower of Babel. The similarities to Genesis are stunning.
The patriarch Lama begat Nuah, who begat Lo Han, Lo Shen, and Jah-hu. Nuah was righteous and built a great boat to escape the Deluge. Nuah’s family and the animals, in pairs, rode out the Deluge on the boat. When the boat rested, Nuah sent out a dove to bring tidings. Afterwards, men all spoke the same language. They decided to build a city and a tower that would be raised to heaven. God came down in wrath and confused their speech. The tower was left unfinished and men were scattered all over the earth. It is said that at funerals and weddings, the Miao people recite the ancestries of the principals involved back to Adam!
The above material only represents the tip of the iceberg. Detailed accounts of the early history of man are found all over the world, and they bear a striking resemblance to Genesis. One could understand a Babylonian writer telling a similar story to the Hebrews given Babylon’s close proximity to Israel. But when the same stories are found in China, Africa, Europe, and even among North American Indians; it is no coincidence. These memories were distorted somewhat as time passed; but, common sense dictates that they all had a common origin in catastrophic events that could never be totally forgotten.
