Noah was king of Shuruppak

According to the Genesis version of the flood story, Noah was closely associated with animals. But he was not a mere shepherd or cattle rancher. In the Epic of Ziusudra, the Sumerian Noah is repeatedly called a king or chief (lugal). According to the Weld-Blundell king list WB-62, Ziusudra (Noah) was king of the city-state Shuruppak. Lugal literally means great man and was "normally a young man of outstanding qualities from a rich landowning family." The flood hero was a respected leader who spoke to "the city people and the elders" of Shuruppak according to Gilgamesh XI,35 and Atrahasis III,i,39-41. In the WB-62 king list, Ziusudra (Noah) succeeded his father as king of Shuruppak.

The flood of 2900 B.C. deposited sediment in Shuruppak directly above artifacts from the Jemdet Nasr period. Hence, the flood hero was probably chief executive of Shuruppak during the end of the Jemdet Nasr period and the flood story began to circulate during the Early Dynastic I period that followed the flood.

Shuruppak was then a capital city and a commercial center located on the Euphrates River. As head of the Shuruppak city-state government, Noah was probably a wealthy land owner. Wealthy people then invested in cattle and other domesticated animals and so apparently did Noah. A clue to what he did with these animals is found in Gilgamesh XI, 81-82: "All I had of silver I loaded, all I had of gold I loaded ... into the boat." Gold and silver were not a common medium of exchange prior to minting of standard-weight coins in the seventh century BC. In earlier times, gold and silver were used largely by professional merchants and those involved in caravan trade.

Possessing gold and silver, Noah was probably a merchant or government trade official before becoming chief executive of Shuruppak. Perhaps he owned a private merchanting business or managed foreign trade for his father, king of Shuruppak. Early in his career, Noah probably controlled large numbers of workers who transported livestock and other commodities in overland caravans and on small river barges to nearby cities. His workers may also have grown grain, hay and other crops near Shuruppak to feed the animals and to have surplus fodder and food to sell. Noah also had a vineyard (Genesis 9:20) which suggests he had a winery business.

As a wealthy leader of the city-state Shuruppak, Noah would have access to the labor and materials needed to build a large commercial barge. Although popular versions of the story have Noah being ridiculed by the townspeople, actually the elders of Shuruppak probably encouraged and supported building of the barge under control of their own leader Noah, because they may have envisioned that the barge would substantially increase their own personal wealth and the wealth of Shuruppak. Noah promoted this vision and told the elders that the gods would "shower plenty on you, an abundance of birds, a profusion of fish" when the new barge became operational. For several weeks each year, Noah's barge probably hauled cargo to cities on the Euphrates River including the port city Ur then near the mouth of the river.

Although surviving versions of the flood story suggest that the flood hero rode on the barge only once, and that the barge made only one voyage, it is not likely that the storm and flood happened at exactly the right moment to interrupt the barge's maiden voyage. It is more likely that the barge was used many times to transport cargo, but without Noah on board. Kings have better things to do with their time than to ride on cattle barges. Only the final voyage was mentioned in the story, because that may have been one of the few times or the only time that Noah rode on the barge.

Noah's legal problems and his exile are discussed in chapter 5 of the Noah's Ark book

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