Who’s Utnapishtim?

In reply to Ardell’s post:

What if the Gilgamesh Epic IS the story of some king who went and found Noah? Or maybe Shem? Some have called Melchizedek, Shem. And Melchizedek was considered a man without beginning or end. So…

[@more@]So, if Melchizedek is Shem, and considered by most of that world as a
man without beginning or end. Then how easy would it be for him to be
Utnapishtim as well?

Supporting Arguments:

1. ancestor of most of the Middle East peoples.
2. lived long enough to have conversations with short-lived decendents that where several, several generations his junior.
3. considered to be ‘without end’.

Unsupporting Argument:

1. Author of this blog is a redneck
2. Author is not a scholor, historian, or rabbi.