In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim is the flood survivor who parallels Noah as the builder of a vessel.
Utnapishtim appears in the flood narrative embedded in the later tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The god Ea warns him of a coming flood and tells him to build a large boat, preserve living creatures, and save craftsmen and members of his household. After the flood, Utnapishtim releases birds to determine whether the waters have receded.
The account is one of the major ancient Near Eastern flood traditions compared with Genesis’s Noah story. Both narratives include divine warning, a specially built vessel, preservation of life, a catastrophic flood, and birds sent out after the waters subside. They also differ in details, theology, chronology, and the names of the principal figures.
Utnapishtim should not be called Noah in the Epic of Gilgamesh. He is a distinct Mesopotamian character, although the two figures occupy closely comparable roles in their respective flood narratives.