- published: 19 Apr 2014
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Divine retribution is supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or all humanity by a deity in response to some human action.
Many cultures have a story about how a deity exacted punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom.
An example of divine retribution is the story found in many cultures about a great flood destroying all of humanity, as described in the Epic of Gilgamesh or Book of Genesis (6:9-8:22), leaving one principal 'chosen' survivor. In the former example it is Utnapishtim, and in the latter example Noah. References in the Qur'an to a man named Nuh who was commanded by God to build an ark also suggest that one man and his followers were saved in a great flood.
Other examples in Hebrew religious literature include the dispersion of the builders of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:20-21, 19:23-28), and the Ten Plagues visited upon the ancient Egyptians for persecuting the children of Israel (Exodus, Chapters 7-12).