Which text presents the flood as worldwide?

• A. All three describe floods worldwide
• B. Genesis
• C. Quran
• D. Gilgamesh

Answer: (B)

The big idea here is how a story scales its catastrophe. In Genesis, the flood is described as universal—the whole earth is covered by waters, and every living thing outside the ark perishes. That explicit framing of the flood as touching all of creation creates the sense of a worldwide catastrophe, with Noah and his family alone surviving to repopulate the earth. This clear, all-encompassing scope is what makes Genesis the best example of a flood presented as worldwide.

The flood in the Quran also appears in Noah’s story, but the emphasis is more on warning, judgment, and salvation within the moral and social scope of the narrative. It isn’t framed with the same explicit worldwide reach as Genesis, so it doesn’t carry the same universal scope as the biblical account.

In Gilgamesh, the flood is a grand, devastating event described within the Mesopotamian worldview and geography, driven by the gods’ decisions. While enormous, its framing is more about divine intention and regional catastrophe than a universal, planet-spanning flood as Genesis presents.

So the Genesis account most directly presents the flood as worldwide through its language and scope.