Utnapishtim survives a great flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh, in a story often compared with Noah’s Ark.
In the flood narrative embedded in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the god Ea warns Utnapishtim to build a large boat and preserve life, including animals and craftsmen. After the flood, Utnapishtim releases birds to determine whether the waters have receded. The episode shares several motifs with Genesis, including a warned survivor, a constructed vessel, animals, a flood, and birds used to test conditions.
Utnapishtim is not another name for Noah. He is a character in a Mesopotamian literary tradition, while Noah belongs to the Hebrew Bible. The comparison is important because the Gilgamesh story is preserved in tablets associated with ancient Mesopotamia and predates the surviving manuscripts of Genesis, though questions about the precise development and relationship of the traditions remain subjects of scholarly study.