And the gods punish Enkidu for his friend's crime. At first Enkidu does not want to kill the demon, because he has portents of a bad outcome. He only helps Gilgamesh because of his love for the king, and the gods turn against him for that reason. Unlike the omnipotent God of the Bible, the gods in Gilgamesh can be tricked -- for example, Enkidu urged Gilgamesh to kill Humababa even when Humbaba tempted Gilgamesh with dominion over the Cedar Forest because he sense the gods were coming to Humbaba's age. Enkidu is cursed for his loyalty to his fellow human and friend, because Humbaba knows that hurting Enkidu is the best way to hurt Gilgamesh. None of the male pairs of the Bible show such sympathetic concern for one another, even for their own brothers. The most intense relationships in the Bible are not between lovers or family members, but between God and one of God's most chosen young sons like Jacob and Joseph. In contrast, the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu is much more intense than the relationship between the gods and Gilgamesh. Some might dispute the idea that the relationship between God and humans in the Bible are more intense than Gilgamesh, because the gods in Gilgamesh are depicted as desiring human beings sexually. When Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar he sets off a chain of events that will result in Enkidu's death. The theme of 'hell hath no fury like a woman spurned" is depicted in a human scenario in the Bible, when young Joseph is even sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph makes the best of his plight, but is nearly undone when his master Potiphar's wife attempts to commit adultery with him. Yet...
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