V.

Now before taking up the significance of the additions to our knowledge of the Epic gained through these two tablets, it will be well to discuss the forms in which the names of the two heroes and of the ruler of the cedar forest occur in our tablets.

As in the Meissner fragment, the chief hero is invariably designated as dGish in both the Pennsylvania and Yale tablets; and we may therefore conclude that this was the common form in the Hammurabi period, as against the writing dGish-gì(n)-mash [34] in the Assyrian version. Similarly, as in the Meissner fragment, the second hero's name is always written En-ki-du [35] (abbreviated from dúg) as against En-ki-dú in the Assyrian version. Finally, we encounter in the Yale tablet for the first time the writing Hu-wa-wa as the name of the guardian of the cedar forest, as against Hum-ba-ba in the Assyrian version, though in the latter case, as we may now conclude from the Yale tablet, the name should rather be read Hu-ba-ba. [36] The variation in the writing of the latter name is interesting as pointing to the aspirate pronunciation of the labial in both instances. The name would thus present a complete parallel to the Hebrew name Howawa (or Hobab) who appears as the brother-in-law of Moses in the P document, Numbers 10, 29. [37] Since the name also occurs, written precisely as in the Yale tablet, among the "Amoritic" names in the important lists published by Dr. Chiera, [38] there can be no doubt that Huwawa or Hubaba is a West Semitic name. This important fact adds to the probability that the "cedar forest" in which Huwawa dwells is none other than the Lebanon district, famed since early antiquity for its cedars. This explanation of the name Huwawa disposes of suppositions hitherto brought forward for an Elamitic origin. Gressmann [39] still favors such an origin, though realizing that the description of the cedar forest points to the Amanus or Lebanon range. In further confirmation of the West Semitic origin of the name, we have in Lucian, _De Dea Syria_, § 19, the name Kombabos [40] (the guardian of Stratonika), which forms a perfect parallel to Hu(m)baba. Of the important bearings of this western character of the name Huwawa on the interpretation and origin of the Gilgamesh Epic, suggesting that the episode of the encounter between the tyrant and the two heroes rests upon a tradition of an expedition against the West or Amurru land, we shall have more to say further on.

The variation in the writing of the name Enkidu is likewise interesting. It is evident that the form in the old Babylonian version with the sign du (i.e., dúg) is the original, for it furnishes us with a suitable etymology "Enki is good." The writing with dúg, pronounced du, also shows that the sign dú as the third element in the form which the name has in the Assyrian version is to be read dú, and that former readings like Ea-bani must be definitely abandoned. [41] The form with dú is clearly a _phonetic_ writing of the Sumerian name, the sign dú being chosen to indicate the _pronunciation_ (not the ideograph) of the third element dúg. This is confirmed by the writing En-gi-dú in the syllabary _CT_ XVIII, 30, 10. The phonetic writing is, therefore, a warning against any endeavor to read the name by an Akkadian transliteration of the signs. This would not of itself prove that Enkidu is of Sumerian _origin_, for it might well be that the writing En-ki-dú is an endeavor to give a Sumerian _aspect_ to a name that _may_ have been foreign. The element dúg corresponds to the Semitic _tâbu_, "good," and En-ki being originally a designation of a deity as the "lord of the land," which would be the Sumerian manner of indicating a Semitic Baal, it is not at all impossible that En-ki-dúg may be the "Sumerianized" form of a Semitic BA`L TZOB "Baal is good." It will be recalled that in the third column of the Yale tablet, Enkidu speaks of himself in his earlier period while still living with cattle, as wandering into the cedar forest of Huwawa, while in another passage (ll. 252-253) he is described as "acquainted with the way ... to the entrance of the forest." This would clearly point to the West as the original home of Enkidu. We are thus led once more to Amurru--taken as a general designation of the West--as playing an important role in the Gilgamesh Epic. [42] If Gilgamesh's expedition against Huwawa of the Lebanon district recalls a Babylonian campaign against Amurru, Enkidu's coming from his home, where, as we read repeatedly in the Assyrian version,

"He ate herbs with the gazelles, Drank out of a trough with cattle," [43]

may rest on a tradition of an Amorite invasion of Babylonia. The fight between Gilgamesh and Enkidu would fit in with this tradition, while the subsequent reconciliation would be the form in which the tradition would represent the enforced union between the invaders and the older settlers.

Leaving this aside for the present, let us proceed to a consideration of the relationship of the form dGish, for the chief personage in the Epic in the old Babylonian version, to dGish-gi(n)-mash in the Assyrian version. Of the meaning of Gish there is fortunately no doubt. It is clearly the equivalent to the Akkadian _zikaru_, "man" (Brünnow No. 5707), or possibly _rabû_, "great" (Brünnow No. 5704). Among various equivalents, the preference is to be given to _itlu_, "hero." The determinative for deity stamps the person so designated as deified, or as in part divine, and this is in accord with the express statement in the Assyrian version of the Gilgamesh Epic which describes the hero as

"Two-thirds god and one-third human." [44]

Gish is, therefore, the hero-god _par excellence_; and this shows that we are not dealing with a genuine proper name, but rather with a descriptive attribute. Proper names are not formed in this way, either in Sumerian or Akkadian. Now what relation does this form Gish bear to

[FIGURE]

as the name of the hero is invariably written in the Assyrian version, the form which was at first read dIz-tu-bar or dGish-du-bar by scholars, until Pinches found in a neo-Babylonian syllabary [45] the equation of it with Gi-il-ga-mesh? Pinches' discovery pointed conclusively to the popular pronunciation of the hero's name as Gilgamesh; and since Aelian (_De natura Animalium_ XII, 2) mentions a Babylonian personage Gilgamos (though what he tells us of Gilgamos does not appear in our Epic, but seems to apply to Etana, another figure of Babylonian mythology), there seemed to be no further reason to question that the problem had been solved. Besides, in a later Syriac list of Babylonian kings found in the Scholia of Theodor bar Koni, the name GLMGVM with a variant GMYGMVS occurs, [46] and it is evident that we have here again the Gi-il-ga-mesh, discovered by Pinches. The existence of an old Babylonian hero Gilgamesh who was likewise a king is thus established, as well as his identification with

[FIGURE]

It is evident that we cannot read this name as Iz-tu-bar or Gish-du-bar, but that we must read the first sign as Gish and the third as Mash, while for the second we must assume a reading Gìn or Gi. This would give us Gish-gì(n)-mash which is clearly again (like En-ki-dú) not an etymological writing but a _phonetic_ one, intended to convey an _approach_ to the popular pronunciation. Gi-il-ga-mesh might well be merely a variant for Gish-ga-mesh, or _vice versa_, and this would come close to Gish-gi-mash. Now, when we have a name the pronunciation of which is not definite but approximate, and which is written in various ways, the probabilities are that the name is foreign. A foreign name might naturally be spelled in various ways. The Epic in the Assyrian version clearly depicts dGish-gì(n)-mash as a conqueror of Erech, who forces the people into subjection, and whose autocratic rule leads the people of Erech to implore the goddess Aruru to create a rival to him who may withstand him. In response to this appeal dEnkidu is formed out of dust by Aruru and eventually brought to Erech. [47] Gish-gì(n)-mash or Gilgamesh is therefore in all probability a foreigner; and the simplest solution suggested by the existence of the two forms (1) Gish in the old Babylonian version and (2) Gish-gì(n)-mash in the Assyrian version, is to regard the former as an abbreviation, which seemed appropriate, because the short name conveyed the idea of the "hero" _par excellence_. If Gish-gì(n)-mash is a foreign name, one would think in the first instance of Sumerian; but here we encounter a difficulty in the circumstance that outside of the Epic this conqueror and ruler of Erech appears in quite a different form, namely, as dGish-bil-ga-mesh, with dGish-gibil(or bìl)-ga-mesh and dGish-bil-ge-mesh as variants. [48] In the remarkable list of

## partly mythological and partly historical dynasties, published by

Poebel, [49] the fifth member of the first dynasty of Erech appears as dGish-bil-ga-mesh; and similarly in an inscription of the days of Sin-gamil, dGish-bil-ga-mesh is mentioned as the builder of the wall of Erech. [50] Moreover, in the several fragments of the Sumerian version of the Epic we have invariably the form dGish-bil-ga-mesh. It is evident, therefore, that this is the genuine form of the name in Sumerian and presumably, therefore, the oldest form. By way of further confirmation we have in the syllabary above referred to, CT, XVIII, 30, 6-8, three designations of our hero, viz:

dGish-gibil(or bíl)-ga-mesh _muk-tab-lu_ ("warrior") _a-lik pa-na_ ("leader")

All three designations are set down as the equivalent of the Sumerian Esigga imin i.e., "the seven-fold hero."

Of the same general character is the equation in another syllabary: [51]

Esigga-tuk and its equivalent Gish-tuk = "the one who is a hero."

Furthermore, the name occurs frequently in "Temple" documents of the Ur dynasty in the form dGish-bil-ga-mesh [52] with dGish-bil-gi(n)-mesh as a variant. [53] In a list of deities (_CT_ XXV, 28, K 7659) we likewise encounter dGish-gibil(or bíl)-ga-mesh, and lastly in a syllabary we have the equation [54]

dGish-gi-mas-[si?] = dGish-bil-[ga-mesh].

The variant Gish-gibil for Gish-bil may be disposed of readily, in view of the frequent confusion or interchange of the two signs Bil (Brünnow No. 4566) and Gibil or Bíl (Brünnow No. 4642) which has also the value Gi (Brünnow 4641), so that we might also read Gish-gi-ga-mesh. Both signs convey the idea of "fire," "renew," etc.; both revert to the picture of flames of fire, in the one case with a bowl (or some such obiect) above it, in the other the flames issuing apparently from a torch. [55] The meaning of the name is not affected whether we read dGish-bil-ga-mesh or dGish-gibil(or bíl)-ga-mesh, for the middle element in the latter case being identical with the fire-god, written dBil-gi and to be pronounced in the inverted form as Gibil with _-ga_ (or _ge_) as the phonetic complement; it is equivalent, therefore, to the writing bil-ga in the former case. Now Gish-gibil or Gish-bíl conveys the idea of _abu_, "father" (Brünnow No. 5713), just as Bil (Brünnow No. 4579) has this meaning, while Pa-gibil-(ga) or Pa-bíl-ga is _abu abi_, "grandfather." [56] This meaning may be derived from Gibil, as also from Bíl = _isatu_, "fire," then _essu_, "new," then _abu_, "father," as the renewer or creator. Gish with Bíl or Gibil would, therefore, be "the father-man" or "the father-hero," i.e., again the hero _par excellence_, the original hero, just as in Hebrew and Arabic _ab_ is used in this way. [57] The syllable _ga _being a phonetic complement, the element _mesh_ is to be taken by itself and to be explained, as Poebel suggested, as "hero" (_itlu_. Brünnow No. 5967).

We would thus obtain an entirely artificial combination, "man (or hero), father, hero," which would simply convey in an emphatic manner the idea of the _Ur-held_, the original hero, the father of heroes as it were--practically the same idea, therefore, as the one conveyed by Gish alone, as the hero _par excellence_. Our investigation thus leads us to a substantial identity between Gish and the longer form Gish-bil(or bíl)-ga-mesh, and the former might, therefore, well be used as an abbreviation of the latter. Both the shorter and the longer forms are _descriptive epithets _based on naive folk etymology, rather than personal names, just as in the designation of our hero as _muktablu_, the "fighter," or as _âlik pâna_, "the leader," or as _Esigga imin_, "the seven-fold hero," or _Esigga tuk_, "the one who is a hero," are descriptive epithets, and as Atra-hasis, "the very wise one," is such an epithet for the hero of the deluge story. The case is different with Gi-il-ga-mesh, or Gish-gì(n)-mash, which represent the popular and actual pronunciation of the name, or at least the _approach_ to such pronunciation. Such forms, stripped as they are of all artificiality, impress one as genuine names. The conclusion to which we are thus led is that Gish-bil(or bíl)-ga-mesh is a play upon the genuine name, to convey to those to whom the real name, as that of a foreigner, would suggest no meaning an interpretation _fitting in with his character_. In other words, Gish-bil-ga-mesh is a "Sumerianized" form of the name, introduced into the Sumerian version of the tale which became a folk-possession in the Euphrates Valley. Such plays upon names to suggest the character of an individual or some incident are familiar to us from the narratives in Genesis. [58] They do not constitute genuine etymologies and are rarely of use in leading to a correct etymology. Reuben, e.g., certainly does not mean "Yahweh has seen my affliction," which the mother is supposed to have exclaimed at the birth (Genesis 29, 32), with a play upon _ben_ and _be'onyi_, any more than Judah means "I praise Yahweh" (v. 35), though it does contain the divine name (_Ye_hô) as an element. The play on the name may be close or remote, as long as it fulfills its function of _suggesting_ an etymology that is complimentary or appropriate.

In this way, an artificial division and at the same time a distortion of a foreign name like Gilgamesh into several elements, Gish-bil-ga-mesh, is no more violent than, for example, the explanation of Issachar or rather Issaschar as "God has given my hire" (Genesis 30, 18) with a play upon the element _se_char, and as though the name were to be divided into _Yah_ ("God") and _se_char ("hire"); or the popular name of Alexander among the Arabs as _Zu'l Karnaini_, "the possessor of the two horns." with a suggestion of his conquest of two hemispheres, or what not. [59] The element Gil in Gilgamesh would be regarded as a contraction of Gish-bil or gi-bil, in order to furnish the meaning "father-hero," or Gil might be looked upon as a variant for Gish, which would give us the "phonetic" form in the Assyrian version dGish-gi-mash, [60] as well as such a variant writing dGish-gi-mas-(si). Now a name like Gilgamesh, upon which we may definitely settle as coming closest to the genuine form, certainly impresses one as foreign, i.e., it is neither Sumerian nor Akkadian; and we have already suggested that the circumstance that the hero of the Epic is portrayed as a conqueror of Erech, and a rather ruthless one at that, points to a tradition of an invasion of the Euphrates Valley as the background for the episode in the first tablet of the series. Now it is significant that many of the names in the "mythical" dynasties, as they appear in Poebel's list, [61] are likewise foreign, such as Mes-ki-in-ga-se-ir, son of the god Shamash (and the founder of the "mythical" dynasty of Erech of which dGish-bil-ga-mesh is the fifth member), [62] and En-me-ir-kár his son. In a still earlier "mythical" dynasty, we encounter names like Ga-lu-mu-um, Zu-ga-gi-ib, Ar-pi, E-ta-na, [63] which are distinctly foreign, while such names as En-me(n)-nun-na and Bar-sal-nun-na strike one again as "Sumerianized" names rather than as genuine Sumerian formations. [64]

Some of these names, as Galumum, Arpi and Etana, are so Amoritic in appearance, that one may hazard the conjecture of their western origin. May Gilgamesh likewise belong to the Amurru [65] region, or does he represent a foreigner from the East in contrast to Enkidu, whose name, we have seen, may have been Baal-Tôb in the West, with which region he is according to the Epic so familiar? It must be confessed that the second element _ga-mesh_ would fit in well with a Semitic origin for the name, for the element impresses one as the participial form of a Semitic stem G-M-S, just as in the second element of Meskin-gaser we have such a form. Gil might then be the name of a West-Semitic deity. Such conjectures, however, can for the present not be substantiated, and we must content ourselves with the conclusion that Gilgamesh as the real name of the hero, or at least the form which comes closest to the real name, points to a foreign origin for the hero, and that such forms as dGish-bil-ga-mesh and dGish-bíl-gi-mesh and other variants are "Sumerianized" forms for which an artificial etymology was brought forward to convey the idea of the "original hero" or the hero _par excellence_. By means of this "play" on the name, which reverts to the compilers of the Sumerian version of the Epic, Gilgamesh was converted into a Sumerian figure, just as the name Enkidu may have been introduced as a Sumerian translation of his Amoritic name. dGish at all events is an abbreviated form of the "Sumerianized" name, introduced by the compilers of the earliest Akkadian version, which was produced naturally under the influence of the Sumerian version. Later, as the Epic continued to grow, a phonetic writing was introduced, dGish-gi-mash, which is in a measure a compromise between the genuine name and the "Sumerianized" form, but at the same time an _approach_ to the real pronunciation.