It's notable that this comparison specifically compares The Epic of Gilgamesh with Genesis 1-8, because Genesis 8 brings us specifically to the flood story and Noah's Arc. This is one of the major parallels involved between the two works: both contain a flood story by which humanity is drowned. Noah, similarly, is paralleled with the characters of Utnapishtim, who is likewise instructed to build a ship before the flood, and thus is saved from death.

The critical difference between the two stories lies in the motivation behind the destruction of humanity. In the Mesopotamian flood story, this act of destruction is described as an entirely arbitrary act. The gods were angered by the noise that humanity made, which was preventing them from sleeping. The Genesis story, however, describes God reacting against human wickedness. God is furthermore described specifically in terms of being "sorry that he had made humanity on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart" (Bible, NRSV, Genesis 6.6). Finally, after the flood has ended, God shows remorse for this act of destruction, promising not to again destroy humanity by way of a flood.

In a sense, it does appear as if the two stories are in conversation with one another, given both the similarities and the departures. From a wider perspective, one might also discuss the subject of death from an existential perspective. Human mortality is a central theme in both traditions. Gilgamesh's greatest quest is his attempt to achieve immortality for himself, a quest which ends in abject failure (carrying with it themes of human futility in the face of mortality). Meanwhile we see the theme of death show up throughout Genesis, with the murder of Abel by Cain, and perhaps most importantly, the story of the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. That story carries with it the sentence of suffering and mortality.