Utnapishtim is the flood-surviving counterpart to Noah in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the poem, the god Ea warns Utnapishtim to build a large boat and preserve living creatures, his family, craftsmen, and supplies from a devastating flood.
The episode appears on Tablet XI of the Standard Babylonian version of the epic. After the flood, Utnapishtim sends out birds to investigate whether the waters have fallen, a detail that resembles elements of the Genesis narrative.
Utnapishtim is not simply another name for Noah. The figures belong to different literary and religious traditions, and their stories contain important differences in language, divine motives, boat design, and aftermath. Scholars compare the accounts as part of the wider ancient Near Eastern flood-story tradition, which also includes the older Atrahasis Epic.