I. Name

According to Mesopotamian tradition the border of the netherworld was marked by a river called Ḫubur in Akkadian and i₇-kur-ra “river of the netherworld”, i₇-lu₂-ku₂-ku₂ “man-devouring river” or i₇-lu₂-ru-gu₂ “river that runs against man” in Sumerian. Hubur, according to the dictionaries (AHW 352 and CAD H 219) a Sumerian loan-word, also occurs as a synonym for the whole of the netherworld (W. G. Lambert, AfO. 17 [1954–56] 312:9; BWL 58:7) and as the name of the place of the river-ordeal (CAD H 219 [a]…