The Great Flood: Allusions to Genesis in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the world of Hyrule exists as a large ocean known as the Great Sea dotted by small islands across which a few different peoples eek out a living. These survivors of the Great Flood live on the mountaintops of their homeland, the ancient kingdom buried beneath the waves.

After the events of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, in which the Hero of Time defeats Ganon the King of Evil by sealing him in the Sacred Realm, the seal on Ganon began to weaken, letting his evil spill forth into the world. He broke free, and his armies spread across the country. The legendary hero, who always arose to face evil, did not reappear to end Ganon's campaign, and so the people of Hyrule had no choice but to hope for salvation from on high. They prayed to the gods in their hopelessness, and they did not go unanswered.

 

Overwhelmed by the evil in the world, the gods determined to save Hyrule by burying it beneath a torrent of water, saving the chosen people of Hyrule by telling them to flee to the tops of the mountains. In doing so, the gods hoped to end evil's cycle by denying Ganon his prize, but the people where left to survive on the sea.


The people adapted to this new way of life, and after hundreds of years forgot that the legendary country of Hyrule ever existed. During the events of the game, Link travels the ocean to prevent Ganon from returning once more, eventually discovering the remnants of Hyrule which remained hidden and protected beneath the ocean. Ganon succeeds in reuniting the Triforce, but the spirit of Hyrule's last King wishes upon the Triforce for the god's to destroy Hyrule for good, so that Link and Zelda may find a new land and forever break the cycle of evil which began in the old world. Link defeats Ganon as the sea closes in around them, and by divine protection both he and Zelda are brought to the surface, and they set off to find a new world, which they eventually find after the events of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.

While Genesis holds no monopoly on a  flood narrative, specific similarities appear in this form of a flood story. In Genesis, God taps Noah as a righteous man to survive the flood with his family. Just like the God of the Old Testament, the evil of the world overwhelmed the gods of Hyrule, and they determined to end it by flooding the world. In contrast, while the God of the Old Testament only selects a few people to survive, the gods of Hyrule picked any of the good Hyrulians who would listen. Despite this, Link becomes the analogue of Noah, as the protagonist of the story who will eventually deliver the survivors into a world where they can start anew. In essence, the purpose of the flood is the same in both stories: to purify the world of evil and offer humanity a new beginning.

A Rito postman.

It's also a strange coincidence that the people of the Great Sea use a race of bird people, the Rito, to deliver mail, much like Noah used birds to find signs of dry land close to the flood's end.

Psalm 3 Explication

1 A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.

3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill.

5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!

David fleeing Absalom

As explained in verse one, David wrote Psalm 3 when fleeing his son Absalom, who sought to usurp the throne of Israel. In 2 Samuel 15-16, David's journey unfolds as he leaves Jerusalem and encounters several characters, some loyal and some traitorous, and he feels his enemies encircling him.

1 A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.

Bad news for Lego David

Verses one and two initiate the Psalm with an invocation to God, telling God of his need as many
enemies are rising up against him. The repetition of the idea of many foes demonstrates the parallelism of Hebrew poetry. It extends synthetically into from the first verse into the second, completing the idea that David is helpless against so many, and God has abandoned him.

3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill.

The poem continues with David's supplication to God. In verse three, he creates a metaphor, comparing his LORD to a shield which protects him from his enemies, and credits God with his glory as the one who helps him to keep his head lifted even in his most dire circumstances. Verse four includes the supplication in earnest: as David cried out, God has answered him. The alliteration of "he," "his," "holy," and "hill" connects the terms. David elevates God as both holy and above all else on his metaphorical hill.

5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

 David then confesses his faith in his God. He begins with the antithetical parallelism of sleeping and waking and credits God for sustaining him through the night, for his enemies would otherwise surely destroy him as he slept if he didn't have God's protection. Because of his faith in God, David is unafraid of those who make themselves his enemy.

7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!

I guess he was right.

Verse seven gives us a complete parallelism as David again invokes God's name to praise his deeds. The idea of striking on the cheek is completed by the idea of the teeth of the wicked breaking at the act. In verse eight, David declares all salvation belongs to God, and his blessing will be on his people, which contrasts with verse two. David effectively declares that God will save his people, despite the mutterings of his enemies. The various aspects found in each stanza of this poem indicate a lament: David invokes God's name, supplicates himself before God, confesses his faith, and utters praise for his Lord.

Saul's Death: What's with that Amalekite anyway?

"Death of King Saul", 1848 by Elie Marcuse

1 and 2 Samuel record the beginnings of the kings of Israel. God chooses Saul as Israel's first king, but after losing God's favor, Saul develops a rivalry with David, God's chosen successor to Saul. Even as Saul continues to fight the Philistines, he loses power and favor until he faces utter defeat at Mount Gilboa. Dismayed by the encroaching Philistines, he chooses to die rather than face further humiliation if captured or forced to flee. The main themes of the death tale remain consistent between the two different accounts at the end of 1 Samuel and beginning of 2 Samuel: Saul's defeat is assured and he chooses death rather than face any alternate outcomes; however, in 2 Samuel 1:4-10 an Amalekite reports Saul's death to David, and claims responsibility, saying that Saul asked to be killed by him. In 1 Samuel 31:4, Saul throws himself on his own sword after his personal servant refuses, and nobody described as present in this account survives. The Amalekite goes unmentioned.

Saul falls on his sword.

There are many ways to interpret this apparent inconsistency between these two books, mere passages apart during a continuous reading. Josephus wrote that Saul tried to kill himself, but didn't die immediately in the attempt, and so asked the passing Amalekite to finish the job. Some attempt to explain it away by merely stating that the books may have been compilations of various, inaccurate reports, but this can't explain why the conflicting accounts were left in by redactors. The most popular apologetic suggests one account may simply be a lie.

The explanation by Josephus and the documentary hypothesis are closely related. Josephus hopes to reconcile the apparent inconsistency by merely explaining that these are two different, partially true reports which each only explain part of the full story. Similarly, the documentary hypothesis suggests that these two accounts result from the compilation of different sources. Josephus's explanation means Saul was killed by the Amalekite, but the account of 1 Samuel 31 is only told from the point of view of those who recovered Saul's body, meaning the Philistines never suspected the Amalekite was ever present and that Saul only killed himself; meanwhile, the Amalekite's account is recorded in 2 Samuel 1, filling us in on what was not known by those present in 1 Samuel 31. It's an eloquent explanation, but as with the documentary hypothesis, it fails to explain why Biblical editors would leave the inconsistency without further explaining the connection between the accounts.

The recovery of the bodies of Saul and his sons.

One explanation lends some extra intrigue toward the inconsistency. It may be that the Amalekite was lying to David, hoping to gain some favor or reward from David, due to the rivalry Saul held against him. David, however, becomes enraged at the news, and has the Amalekite executed for aiding in the death of Israel's anointed king. The Amalekite may have only heard of Saul's death after the Philistines recovered the body, or he happened upon Saul when scavenging the battlefield, and recognized the king before he fled to inform David. In this case, the narrative elevates David as Saul's successor. He punishes the Amalekite harshly, though Saul was his enemy, and honor's Saul in death although Saul only gave him hate in life.