[4] On lexical grounds it is presumed that similar reading of the name, even when it was written as Ḫu-wa-wa, might have also been the norm elsewhere in Syria, for example in Alalakh, as well as in Hittite and Hurrian sources, which might indicate Ḫuppipi was the default form in both north and west of the Mesopotamian cultural sphere of influence.

[1] While such a possibility has been suggested in older scholarship,[6] the name Ḫumḫum does not refer to Humbaba, but to an unrelated minor god worshiped in Dūr-Šarrukku, as attested in a text from the reign of Esarhaddon mentioning the return of his statue.

[18] It has also been argued that Humbaba was derived from the Elamite god Humban, but according to Andrew R. George this proposal is not plausible in the light of available evidence, and the most recent attempt at justifying this connection, undertaken by John Hansman in the 1970s, rests on "unsafe historical conclusions".

[19] Humbaba appears in multiple works of Mesopotamian literature focused on the hero Gilgamesh, in which he invariably acts as his adversary during a quest to obtain cedar wood from a distant forest.

[27] In the early poems, Humbaba is described as an intimidating "mountain man" of unknown origin, but there is no indication that his appearance was distinct from that of a human, and he is chiefly set apart from mortals by his supernatural powers.

[31] The location of the forest where Humbaba lives is not precisely defined outside of a reference to “seven ranges” which need to be crossed to reach it, but it is commonly assumed that the heroes’ destination was the Iranian highlands.

[34] In version A, Gilgamesh encounters Humbaba after realizing the impermanence of life prompts him to embark on a quest to bring cedar wood to his city to acquire lasting fame.

[44] Piotr Michalowski additionally notes the quoted passage might be a satire targeting the well attested custom of marrying the daughters from the royal line to rulers of neighboring kingdoms in the Ur III period.

[54] One of the copies might mention Humbaba in the closing formulaic doxology alongside Gilgamesh and Enkidu,[57] which would indicate a degree of veneration, though the restoration of the name is uncertain and it has been proposed that the goddess Nisaba was meant instead.

[68] The change presumably reflected a different geopolitical situation, with closer links developing between Mesopotamia and western peoples and states in the Middle Euphrates and Khabur areas.

[86] However, further details are provided by other, shorter fragments, which indicate that during the journey Gilgamesh had a number of dreams foretelling his confrontation with Humbaba,[87] in which the guardian of the cedar forest appears in various symbolic non-anthropomorphic guises meant to highlight his power: as an avalanche, a thunderstorm, an Anzû bird and a wild bull.

[90] While no known sources describe the battle between Humbaba and Gilgamesh, a fragment from Tell Harmal seemingly does detail his submission, and might indicate that in this version he knew about his incoming defeat due to a dream vision sent by Shamash.

[91] A reference to his death occurs on a tablet from Tell Ishchali, and possibly on an unprovenanced one presently held in Baghdad, though the accounts differ and the latter might instead describe the fate of an unidentified figure belonging to his household.

[107] Al-Rawi and George note that in light of the following passage, Humbaba himself is portrayed not as a “barbarian ogre”, but rather as a foreign ruler enjoying music in his court much like how a Babylonian king would, though the musicians entertaining him are animals rather than humans, reflecting a motif well attested in Mesopotamian art:[106] Through all the forest a bird began to sing: [...] were answering one another, a constant din was the noise, A solitary(?)

[107] In a broken passage, Humbaba learns about the arrival of intruders in his forest, seemingly guesses that one of them must be Enkidu, who he already met in the past, and possibly expresses joy about their reunion.

[53] Humbaba is nonetheless mentioned again when Enkidu relays the dream he had in which the gods judged his actions and despite the pleas of Shamash declared he has to die because of the role he played in the deaths of the guardian of the cedar forest and the Bull of Heaven, apparently with nearly immediate effect.

[129][130] The guardian of the cedar forest is first referenced when Gilgamesh states he would like to see him while meeting with Enkidu and a group of soldiers, seemingly serving as a replacement for the assembly of elders from the Mesopotamian original.

[134] It contains elements absent from the Akkadian original, namely Gilgamesh and Enkidu dragging Humbaba by the hair, as well as apparent involvement of animals referred to simply as unidentified “equids” by Mary R. Bachvarova[132] but as “posted horses” by Beckman in a more recent treatment of the text.

[147] Presumably the large number of literary allusions was meant to make the composition entertaining for its expected audience, namely scribes well versed in the canon of Mesopotamian literature.

[19] According to Gianni Marchesi, Lumma was most likely present in the original version of the text, while the author of one of the two known Assyrian copies, unfamiliar with this god, replaced him with Humbaba, despite the latter not being attested in the roles of a “gendarme-demon” or underworld deity unlike the former.

[156] While it can be assumed that depictions from Nuzi or from various Mitanni sites strictly reflect the Mesopotamian tradition, it is not certain if artists in western Iran or in Anatolia were necessarily using the motif in its original context, and might have instead reinterpreted it as a representation of unidentified local myths instead.

[6] Frans Wiggermann argues that he largely disappeared from visual arts after the Bronze Age,[158] but a relief from Tell Halaf is presumed to be a first millennium BCE example,[159] and according to Gary Beckman representations of Humbaba’s defeat at the hands of Gilgamesh and Enkidu have been identified from as late as the Achaemenid period.

[124] Wilfred G. Lambert cited a seal from Ur from this period as the youngest known work of art showing this scene he was aware of, but it has alternatively been interpreted as a nude woman playing with cupids.

[160] A possible late depiction of the face of Humbaba has been identified in a tomb in Petra, which was assigned the number 649 during excavations, though similar works of art from Mesopotamia are limited to the Old Babylonian period.

[164] Frans Wiggermann has suggested that another Mesopotamian demon, Pazuzu, can be considered a metaphorical “successor” of Humbaba, as both were commonly depicted in the form of disembodied heads and had similar apotropaic functions.

[165] He highlights that a link between the head of Humbaba and the personified west wind, another possible forerunner of Pazuzu, is present in art, with the two sometimes appearing together; both of them were also believed to reside in western mountains.

[8] Matthew Goff proposed the author might have had indirect knowledge of the Epic of Gilgamesh which relied on information originally brought westwards by returning members of an eastern diaspora.

[176] The surviving sections do not indicate that either name is present in a context resembling the earlier Humbaba narratives, and according to Andrew R. George it is safe to say that both are only “incidental characters in a story that revolves around other giants and is unrelated to any episode of the Gilgamesh epic”.

[177] During an assembly held by giants, one of them, ‘Ohyah, informs them about “what glgms (Gilgamesh) has said to him, and what Ḥôbabis yelled”; the topic of this message is unknown, but apparently it inspired joy in the gathered crowd.

[179] Attempts to connect Humbaba with the biblical Kenite Hobab are considered baseless, and the latter name is more likely to be derived from one of two unrelated Hebrew roots, either ḫbb ("cunning") or ḥbb ("kindness").