Utnapishtim is the Ark’s builder and survivor in the Babylonian flood story related to Noah’s Ark. His account appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh, where the god Ea warns him to build a large boat and preserve life from a coming flood.
Utnapishtim’s story is one of the best-known ancient Near Eastern flood narratives that can be compared with Genesis. The Epic of Gilgamesh describes the boat, the flood, birds being released to test whether the waters have receded, and a sacrifice after the survivor leaves the vessel. Genesis similarly features Noah, an Ark, a catastrophic flood, birds, and a post-flood offering.
The two stories are not identical. Their divine characters, theological purposes, measurements, and narrative details differ. Gilgamesh is the hero who seeks Utnapishtim for advice about mortality, whereas Noah is the central human figure in Genesis. Gilgamesh himself is not the Ark survivor; he visits Utnapishtim after the flood story has already occurred.