03_Samet_375_375_390 30/10/15 13:05 Pagina 383 383 THE GILGAMESH EPIC AND THE BOOK OF QOHELET: A NEW LOOK 383 Life is associated here with the light of the sun, since only those who live on earth can see it. The dead, to the contrary, dwell in the dark underworld where no light exists. One’s short life on earth should therefore not be wasted in rest; instead, one should take full advantage of the limited time one is able to see light — or, as poet- ically put by Gilgamesh — nawirtam lušbi, “to be sated with light”. A very similar concept is found in Qohelet 11,7-8: The light is sweet, and it is delightful for the eyes to see the sun. If a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, yet let him re- member the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that comes is vanity. Here too, the light is a symbol for life, while death is described as “days of darkness”, since the dead dwell in the dark under- world. Like Gilgamesh, Qohelet stresses that the days of darkness “shall be many”, as opposed to the short span of man’s life. Man should therefore spend his limited life in tasting the sweet light as long as it is possible. The latter metaphor is reminiscent of the phrase used by Gilgamesh: “Let my eyes look at the sun so I am sated with light”. Each of the above three examples involves specific identical features in both texts, and together they establish a strong case for a literary dependence 25. In addition to these parallels, scholars have pointed to some general thematic connections between the two texts. The theme of mortality is strikingly dominant in both Gilgamesh and Qohelet 26. A typical illustration is found in the following passage from the Old Babylonian Yale tablet of Gilgamesh 27: Who is there, my friend, that can climb to the sk[y]? Only the gods have dw[elt] forever in sunlight, As for man, his days are numbered, Whatever he may do is but wind. 25 For the accumulation of parallels as a criterion for establishing a link between two given texts, see TIGAY, “Evaluating Claims”, 255. See further the references in n. 13 above. 26 JONES, “From Gilgamesh to Qoheleth”, 363. 27 GEORGE, Gilgamesh I, 200-201.