What's Up With "Noah"?

What about those rock giants in the 2014 film, “Noah” by Darren Aronofsky - are they Biblical?

Giants made of stone are not uncommon in ancient mythology. Their popularity and timeless appeal have seen them feature in more modern imagination such as J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.” But what is the connection to the Biblical narrative?
There is an ancient Hittite text known as “The Song of Ullikummi.” The Hittites were lost to history outside of the Biblical sources, until the late 19th century AD brought archaeological discoveries to light; this sacred text being one of them. This manuscript tells a story of a change in the divine authorities over Anatolia. A deity finds himself deposed by a younger god and decides to fight back to reclaim his turf. He does so by creating a giant of stone out of the earth. 
This stone giant is called Ullikummi. He begins to dominate the world, and the gods are fearful of him. Deciding that something must be done about this towering stone giant, they appeal to the creator god to save them. 

The Biblical primeval history (Genesis 1-11) features two major cycles in which ancient powers attempt to control the destiny of humankind, only to be thwarted by the Creator. In the first, the Nephilim accelerate the depravity of man and resort to violence to attempt to destroy them. In the second, man begins to summon those ancient spirits in order to make themselves godlike, at the Tower of Babel. 
Conflating the two cycles into a single story with a unified message was one way that this tradition found expression in Anatolia. The result is the Tower of Babel itself becoming personified as a monstrous giant made of stone. The idea of giants born of the earth itself, was popular enough to outlive the Hittite Empire and inspire the ancient Greeks. 
Greek influences later began to pervade Jewish thought in the Second Temple Period, to the extent that the Septuagint and other works like First Enoch show evidence of awareness of these ideas. 
And it was that literature (among other sources) which inspired the recent adaptation of the “Noah” story. 
So the stone giants are not Biblical. But the Bible illuminates the truth of the matter once you get a little context. 

For more fascinating insights into the ancient world of "Noah", check out the new episode of "The Commentarians Podcast" which is essentially a feature-length discussion of the film between podcast host Joe Zaragoza and myself. You can listen to the audio or if you have access to the movie, play it while you tune in to the podcast so you can follow the discussion in sync with the film. Enjoy!

​- T.J. Steadman