Gilgamesh & Noah?

*The most interesting aspect of the story of Gilgamesh is that he traveled to meet the "Noah" of his day, survivor of the great flood, to ask if all would eventually die.....IF Gilgamesh was born not long after Babel, it would make sense, with the relatively long ages (compared to today) that people were still living, to wonder if they would eventually die of old age.....It's likely Gilgamesh, or another, years after babel went to visit Noah to ask. There is probably at least some elements of real events coming into contact with Noah in the story....And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died. Genesis 9:29

"The Epic of Gilgamesh is contained on twelve large tablets, and since the original discovery, it has

been found on others, as well as having been translated into other early languages. The actual tablets date back to around 650 B.C. and are obviously not originals since fragments of the flood story have been found on tablets dated around 2,000 B.C. Linguistic experts believe that the story was composed well before 2,000 B.C. compiled from material that was much older than that date.

The Epic was composed in the form of a poem. The main figure is Gilgamesh, who actually may have been an historical person. The Sumerian King List shows Gilgamesh in the first dynasty of Uruk reigning for 126 years. This length of time is not a problem when compared with the age of the pre-flood patriarchs of the Bible. Indeed, after Gilgamesh, the kings lived a normal life span as compared with today. The King List is also of interest as it mentions the flood specifically—"the deluge overthrew the land.

The story starts by introducing the deeds of the hero Gilgamesh. He was one who had great

knowledge and wisdom, and preserved information of the days before the flood. Gilgamesh wrote on tablets of stone all that he had done, including building the city walls of Uruk and its temple for Eanna. He was an oppressive ruler, however, which caused his subjects to cry out to the "gods" to create a nemesis to cause Gilgamesh strife.

After one fight, this nemesis—Enkidu—became best friends with Gilgamesh. The two set off to win fame by going on many dangerous adventures in which Enkidu is eventually killed. Gilgamesh then determines to find immortality since he now fears death. It is upon this search that he meets Utnapishtim, the character most like the Biblical Noah.

In brief, Utnapishtim had become immortal after building a ship to weather the Great Deluge that destroyed mankind. He brought all of his relatives and all species of creatures aboard the vessel. Utnapishtim released birds to find land, and the ship landed upon a mountain after the flood.
The meanings of the names of the heroes, however, have absolutely no common root or connection. Noah means "rest," while Utnapishtim means "finder of life." Neither was perfect, but both were considered righteous and relatively faultless compared to those around them.
 It is also interesting that both accounts trace the landing spot to the same general region of the Middle East; however, Mt. Ararat and Mt. Nisir are about 300 miles apart." ICR