to advise on such matters because he is only a servant: In response, Enkidu cuts his throat. This constitutes a reversal, as through the earlier sections of the story he was meant to act as a voice of reason, advising Gilgamesh to act cautiously. He then cuts off his head and places it in a leather bag. The protagonists take their trophy to the god Enlil, angering him, possibly because he finds the abuse of Humbaba’s trust unacceptable. He states that Gilgamesh should have treated him with respect, and that they both deserved to be similarly honored. However, neither Gilgamesh or Enkidu are punished for their actions in the end. Enlil subsequently redistributes Humbaba’s auras: One of the copies might mention Humbaba in the closing formulaic doxology alongside Gilgamesh and Enkidu, 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. The plot of version B is largely analogous. It is substantially shorter than version A, and it is often proposed that it is more archaic, though the available copies of both are contemporaneous with each other. A difference between the plots of the two versions occurs after the heroes wake up after being stunned by Humbaba’s aura: in version B Gilgamesh doubts his ability, and invokes the god Enki to help him, which the latter does by apparently providing the instructions for tricking Humbaba through Enkidu, enabling the rest of the events to unfold similarly. However, only the footwear is mentioned among the offered gifts. The ending of version B is not preserved, but it sometimes argued that Humbaba was spared in it. The defeat of Humbaba is also mentioned as one of the great deeds of Gilgamesh in Bilgames’ Death, another of the early standalone Gilgamesh narratives. Epic of Gilgamesh A number of the early compositions about Gilgamesh were eventually adapted into the form of a singular epic, possibly either during the reign of Rim-Sîn I of Larsa or Hammurabi and Samsu-iluna of Babylon. The Humbaba narrative was among them, though the version known from the Epic of Gilgamesh is not a direct translation of the Sumerian texts, but rather an original composition influenced by them. As an explanation the existence of an independent Akkadian account of the battle between Humbaba and the heroes, later incorporated into the Epic, has been