In the Babylonian flood story Atrahasis, Enki warns Atrahasis to build a boat.
The Atrahasis Epic is an ancient Mesopotamian text that includes a flood narrative. Enki, the god associated with wisdom and water, secretly warns the human Atrahasis about the gods’ plan to send a catastrophic flood. Enki communicates the warning through a wall, allowing Atrahasis to construct a boat and preserve life.
The story’s divine conflict differs from Genesis. In Atrahasis, Enlil wants humanity reduced because of the noise and disturbance attributed to people, while Enki acts to save Atrahasis. The text therefore presents a council of competing gods rather than the single-God framework of Genesis.
Enki is also known by the Sumerian name Ea in Akkadian contexts. That name variation causes confusion when comparing Mesopotamian flood accounts. For the Atrahasis tradition, the expected answer is Enki, while Utnapishtim’s warning in the Epic of Gilgamesh is commonly attributed to Ea.