Noah's Ark for Atrahasis', Utnapishtim's, and Noah's ark, respectively (a difference of 4%). This has led professor Finkel to conclude that "the iconic story of the Flood, Noah, and the Ark as we know it today certainly originated in the landscape of ancient Mesopotamia, modern Iraq." Linguistic parallels between Noah's ark and the ark of the Babylonian flood-hero Atrahasis have also been noted. The word used for "pitch" (sealing tar or resin) in Genesis is not the normal Hebrew word, but is closely related to the word used in the Babylonian story. Likewise, the Hebrew word for "ark" ("tevah") is nearly identical
Philistine captivity of the Ark which was 'volunteered' to take the Ark (vv. 10b-12). The text explicitly ascribes the plague to "Yahweh's hand" (1 Samuel 5:6). In Ashdod, when the Ark was placed in the temple of Dagon, the statue of Dagon was found prostrate in front of the Ark the next morning; after the statue of Dagon was restored to its place, it was again found prostrate the next morning, and this time its head and hands had also been broken off. Leithart provides a number of parallels between the Philistine captivity of the Ark and the Plagues of Egypt in the Book of