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 b?l)-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-b?l conveys the idea of _abu_, "father" (Br?nnow No. 5713),
just as Bil (Br?nnow No. 4579) has this meaning, while Pa-gibil-(ga)
or Pa-b?l-ga is _abu abi_, "grandfather." [56] This meaning may be
derived from Gibil, as also from B?l = _isatu_, "fire," then _essu_,
"new," then _abu_, "father," as the renewer or creator. Gish with B?l
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_.
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