It just occurred to me that you were referring to the biblical flood account versus other flood myths rather than the bible in general. I'll have to go back and look at your original post on "most detailed," but I was answering with the assumption that you were saying that all biblical accounts were the most detailed available on any subject the bible's many authors wrote of.
The bible is a book of spirtuality so it's primary focus is spiritual. It just so happens that it touches on certain issues. I've have found it truthful in those issues but yes I meant just the biblical account of the flood. On other issues of history the bible relates a passing refrence to nations and people...very rarely is it directly relating individuals unless they impact Israel the Hebrews or of the many other than the 40 people that wrote the bible.
I hope that clarifies my responses to you.
Indeed it does!
But to answer your question above, I agree. The biblical account of the flood is far more detailed that the earlier accounts. Indeed, as you line up the accounts in order of date (the earliest being, I believe, the Deluge), they progress steadily in an evolution of added detail and embellishment.
This is not uncommon when we hear things there tends to be added embelishments. The grape vine effect.
We know that the Gilgamesh epic is probably the source for the Noachian flood myth because of particular details.
I realize that you lean toward this understanding. But "know" is a potent word indeed. The evidence is circumstantial. A forgive me...but I'm likely to take the bibles account as singularly true, untill proven otherwise.
Why? Like I said before the bible refrences History we know Jesus refrenced Noah and there was no semblance of mythical or story like aspect to his warning not to be like those during Noah's Day who didn't take note.
Also considering all those Flood tales...consider just for a moment that none of those people ever questioned whether the flood had occured. Yet they did endlessly speculate on when the next one occured.
The resulting centuries were marked by an increased intrest in astral phenomenon. Several bible writers were known for there study of the stars and were highly sought in ancient times. Those ancient people seemed to be able to discern that disaster was synonomous with heavenly omens and this continued well into the 13th and 14th century. The bible chronicles these people's attitude and behavior.
There are so many accounts...more than 200 I belive exactly 270 global in all. This establishes history if nothing else. That this event did occur. Few things are globally accepted. Science acknowledges them but this one is refuted. I ask why as history...the telling of the past says otherwise?
But we see a steady progression from The Deluge, to the Atrahasis, to the various renditions of Gilgamesh -for which there are several known versions (Babylonian, Akkadian,...). We know that the myth is originally Sumerian because of the writing itself and the details mentioned in the earliest written versions, so it probably existed as an oral tale long before the final, written version of the Noachian myth.
That's more than likely that written forms of the bible proceed the tail of Gilgamesh but this like I said is circumstantial. It doesn't establish origin but writing date. We have 270 similar accounts, who wrote they're version first out of an epic that occured everywhere is like comparing these accounts to scientific paper in which different scientist stumble upon the same conclusion and it's a mere matter of who publishes there version first.
But it's not that simple. The Flood was an event that occured everywhere and affected every thing not an isolated event that can be followed and traced along a path almost with ferensic like detail.
If (from your perspective) the bible account is true...writings of these events would have taken much time to proceed as civilization rebounds plants and tools used for writing became available. Some made due...the bible writters waited...and those accounts as a result verbal or otherwise were recorded for prosperity.
