The

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

sign gáb, (also qáb), is an uncommon-use sign of the Amarna letters, and other cuneiform texts. It is possibly an equivalent sign for the later version of

DAGAL (extensive Sumerogram) The cuneiform DAGAL sign, which is a capital letter (majuscule) Sumerogram with the Akkadian language meaning of ''to be wide'', or ''extensive''; also "many", Akkadian "rapāšu", is a minor usage cuneiform sign used in the Amarna letter ...

, , with '' an'', , replacing the earlier version, the "star" (as

Dingir ''Dingir'' ⟨⟩, usually transliterated DIĜIR, () is a Sumerian word for 'god' or 'goddess'. Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for religious names and related concepts, in which case it is not pronounced and ...

), contained within the cuneiform sign. This later version of ''DAGAL'' is somewhat similar to ''gáb'', (a 'rectangular-box form'). The meaning of "DAGAL",

Akkadian language Akkadian ( ; )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages''. Ed. Roger D. Woodard (2004, Cambridge) Pages 218–280 was an East Semitic language that is attested ...

for "extensive" – compares to the Amarna letters use of ''gáb'' as Akkadian language "gabbu", English language for "all", or "all (of us)" For Rainey's version of EA letters 359–379 (only 10 actual letters) ''gáb'' is only used to spell Akkadian "gabbu", and 2 words using ''qáb'', mostly for Akkadian "qabû", English "to speak", and in EA 259 (the ''" King of Battle, Tablet I"''), for "battle", Akkadian ''"qablu"''. Cuneiform ''gáb''/''qáb'' is mostly used as a syllabic for the three characters of the sign. It is within a small group of signs that are composed of 1- or 2-vertical strokes (at right or left), the other signs being no. 535

Ib (cuneiform) The cuneiform sign ib, (or ip) is a common-use sign in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', the Amarna letters, and other cuneiform texts. Its common usage is syllabic for ''ib'' (or ''ip''), or alphabetic for ''i'' or ''b''/''p''; the "i" is also exc ...

, no. 536

ku (cuneiform) Ku, KU, or Kū may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Ku (fictional language), a constructed language created for the 2005 film The Interpreter * Esther Ku, a Korean-American comedian * Shawn Ku, U.S. choreographer and motion picture director * K ...

(only 1-vertical, left and right), no. 537

lu (cuneiform) The cuneiform lu sign is a common, multi-use sign, a syllabic for ''lu'', and an alphabetic sign used for ''l'', or ''u''; it has many other sub-uses, as seen in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' over hundreds of years, and the 1350 BC Amarna letter ...

, and no 575,

ur (cuneiform) The cuneiform sign ur () is a common-use sign in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', the Amarna letters, and other cuneiform texts. It has multiple sub-uses in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', as well as use for the Sumerogram (capital letter (majuscule)), U ...

''Epic of Gilgamesh'' usage

The ''gáb''/''qáb'' sign as shown is not found in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. The Epic uses ''kab''/''kap'', for example, -(digitized version).

References

* Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. 393 pages.(softcover, ) * Parpola, 1971. ''The Standard Babylonian

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...

'', Parpola, Simo,

Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project is an international scholarly project aimed at collecting and publishing ancient Assyrian texts of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and studies based on them. Its headquarters are in Helsinki in Finland. State Archives ...

, c 1997, Tablet I thru Tablet XII, Index of Names, Sign List, and Glossary-(pp. 119–145), 165 pages. * Rainey, 1970. ''El Amarna Tablets, 359-379,'' Anson F. Rainey, (AOAT 8, ''Alter Orient Altes Testament 8'', Kevelaer and Neukirchen -Vluyen), 1970, 107 pages. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gab (cuneiform) Cuneiform signs